The Demon Queen (Otherworld Series #5)

Chapter 25- The Assassin

Nikolai shivered as he blindly made his way through the forest. Runeria's evil laughter echoed around him.

His ears picked up the sounds of his own footsteps and his own harsh breathing, the other sounds were all imaginary. He'd bet his life on it.

He was in some kind of maze that consisted of leafy hedges, his 'mission' was to evade Runeria....if she got him...He didn't know what she would do.

The time in this realm went by awfully fast, he was pretty sure it had been a couple of days.

His eyes hurt every time he opened them, and fear overcame him. Fear of seeing those images again. The history of the Earth. It was too painful for even the eyes of an immortal.

Runeria had been treating him like her dog, she had whipped him, removed a few nails, made him stand on hot coal for hours, just to see how much he can bear and just so she could relish his pain.

"You will pay for all the times you were unfaithful to me, and you will pay for all the times I had to stay away from you." Those were he very words.

They scarred him. Hurt him. Killed a little part of what defined him.

He was hungry, thirsty and sleepy all the same. And so so, tired. He wanted to escaped. Just to return home to Lunia or to anyone who knows him. Hell, even Hanes would do.

Runeria was riding him on the fact that in the center of the maze was a portal that would take him home.

He was too hopeless to believe anything she told him but there was a small part of him whispering that maybe she's not lying, maybe there really is a way home.

So, he ran, his eyes closed. The wounds on his body aching. His hands spanned the hedges, turning and twisting right where they turned and twisted. The ground was muddy and had thorns scattered here and there that, with the amount of wounds on his body, didn't effect him that much.

"Nikolai?" He heard her call out in a sing song voice.

She was fucking playing with him. He was prey, running from the predator. He suddenly heard the flap of wings.

Now that he refused to open his eyes, his ears and sense of smell were sharper. His ability to concentrate more on his surroundings helped him to navigate the maze. But he knew it was hopeless and he would soon meet a dead end.

He pushed himself flat on the ground when he heard the roar of a dragon, but it was useless, he was loved from the ground in clawed, scaly hands.

He shouted out in anger and frustration. She fucking cheated. Taking to the air to find him instead of searching him on her own. In the end, it was hopeless, after all.

He was roughly thrown to the ground after a few moments, he realized that he had almost dozed.

Bile rose up his throat but he swallowed it down.

His body throbbed, he clawed the ground when he heard Runeria land beside him. She laughed and kicked him aside.

He groaned as he turned over. He felt her breath closer, she was crouching over him. Her own clawed hands touched his face, almost lovingly.

"I loved that little game we played there, my king."

He wheezed when her hand suddenly started chocking him. "You cheated." He still managed to accuse her.

She laughed again and let go of him. "All is fair in love and war, my King. And we are so much in love."

Suddenly, she left him and he felt himself flying through the floor, magically, through it completely, to land in a soft bed.