When It Reigns (Cursed Reigns, #1)

CHAPTER TWELVE

AERYN'S POV

Serene bounded over to me, and I grabbed her horns, hefting myself onto her neck. I pulled back and tilted her head to the opening in the ceiling, commanding, "Follow them."

A scream below captured my attention, and I glanced down to find Racquel stumble as a demon hurtled its body at Misty, sinking its talons into her shoulders. The naked Cursed demon's bones prodded against its translucent skin marked by dark veins, and both eyes were entirely black with burning red pupils as it hissed in Misty's ear. Racquel lost his hold on her, and she crashed to the floor, taking them both down together. The demon landed on Misty's back and hunched over, unhinging its jaw in an unnatural angle as it lowered its needle-like fangs to her neck.

Neither a shifter nor summoner, the demon had no semblance of humanity. It was created by the Ravos Kingdom to infect us with the Curse and damn us to a horrifying fate worse than death with its venom – and Racquel had tried to infect Zoran with the demonic substance.

Uncertainty gnawed at me. I couldn't decide whether to go after Penn or help Racquel and Misty. There was no sign of Penn or the shifter who had taken her and they could have been halfway back to Ravos by now.

Racquel dug a hand into his pocket and removed a yellow dragon scale, summoning his dragon. Rays materialized in a gaseous plume of swirling yellows and greens, and hurled a ball of gas from his mouth as he roared. Racquel scrambled to unhook the gas mask hanging from his belt as he held his breath, cheeks puffing and face turning red with the effort. His eyes watered as he dodged between his dragon's massive legs and dove after Misty. The demon on her back cracked its neck in Racquel's direction as he approached and it released a shrilling shriek, venom dripping from its fangs as it disregarded Misty. Bending its knees, the Cursed demon jumped off her back and flew at Racquel.

Rays aimed a stream of noxious gas at the demon as it soared toward his summoner.

"Racquel!" I shouted, "Catch!"

Racquel's brown eyes found mine and he raised his hand, expertly snatching the ruben dagger I tossed at him out of the air. In the same movement, he swiped the blade across the demon's throat as it burst through the cloud of gas and its talons scraped down the length of his torso, shredding his shirt and clawing the skin underneath.

Black blood spurted from the demon's neck, and it collapsed in a lifeless heap. Racquel dropped to a knee as the demon disintegrated to a puddle of its bubbling blood. Racquel's own blood streamed down his chest as the shirt flapped, but he paid it no attention as he forced himself to his feet and pulled the gas mask over Misty's face. Her eyes widened and her immediate reaction was to shove it off. Racquel placed his hands over hers on the sides of the mask and shook his head as his dragon released more gas at the demons closing in around them.

His mouth opened and he sucked in a breath as the gas washed over him, keeping his eyes on Misty for another second before he wavered a step back and collapsed, dagger slipping between his fingers as he fainted. His dragon's essence whooshed back into the dragon scale as his owner lost consciousness and failed to keep the summon present.

Serene lowered her neck to the ground, making the decision for me. I slid off and jumped over the carnage of demons spasming on the ground as the remnants of Rays' gas dissipated. Kneeling next to Racquel's fallen body, I sucked in a sharp breath as I scanned his mutilated torso. Six ragged claw marks streaked from his chest to the midsection of his abdomen and blood trickled from the corner of his mouth. Pressing an ear to his chest, I heard the faint beating of his heart and sighed in relief.

"Aeryn!" Misty yelled; voice muffled by the mask. "Behind you!"

I just could not catch a break.

My cheek struck the ground as a suffocating weight rammed into my back. The putrid stench of decaying flesh assaulted my nostrils as the hot, pungent breath of the demon hit my face. I recoiled under the constraint as the demon howled, rattling my eardrum with its proximity.