Queen of the Underworld | Book 3

• sixty-two •

If violet eyes were impossible for Damien, then Robyn's blue were equally impossible. They were too blue, but even then, blue just fell flat to describe it. It was truly a color that couldn't even be named.

Mal's eyes were the same. It was how I was convinced that she was his daughter in the beginning.

Those blue eyes, menacing and venomous looked at me now with a hate I remembered.

Her small pink lips were curled in disgust as she watched me. Her cold, delicate hands pressed around my neck and instantly, she began to scream in frustration. She pulled away instantly looking at her hands with stunned frustration.

"I can't do it," she screamed. "I can't kill her."

I watched Mal in disbelief. Asmo's bargain...

I pushed myself up off the floor, my head still spinning. Somehow, everyone was gone and it was just Leah, Mal and myself in the cavern.

I pushed past my dizziness and stood, gathering whatever little power I felt in my hands. The iron was gone but I could still feel the impact of it on my magic. I was slowly gaining it back but barely.

Mal turned her attention to Leah as she lay unconscious on the floor. Before Mal could move, I was on her, pushing her with the power in my hands as hard as I could.

Mal fell back landing on her back against the cold, dark stone of the cave.

Her eyes burned through me with loathing. Her dark hair was disheveled and disarray. Her chest rose and fell rapidly as she panted hard from the exertion. "Give me my throne! It's my birthright!"

My heart broke as I watched her. She seemed smaller than usual, not at all like the menacing figure that stood in front of the throne claiming that it was hers. The dress and armor she wore looked like it was ready to swallow her whole. She was small and skinny, her eyes were sunken and hollow.

"They're eating you alive, aren't they?" I asked quietly.

She laughed. "What are you trying to do? Intimidate me? Make me think that you feel sorry for me?"

I shook my head. "Your mother didn't want this for you."

She scoffed. "Is that what the Light Faes told you she said before they murdered her?"

I frowned. "No. I've never met another before that man in the cabin. Your father, Robyn made sure of that."

She shook her head and looked away.

"Your mother showed me that herself. Somehow, she showed me." My voice cracked with emotion as I remembered Tianna struggle to breathe after Mal was born, still happy her daughter came to be. "Your mother, she loved you so much. It was Runith that tricked her. Runith she bargained with--"

"Mal!"

Runith's screams made the hair on my arm stand on end and before I could stop her, Mal was gone, running through the catacombs.

I looked back at Leah and stopped. She was still unconscious on the ground breathing deeply.

I couldn't leave her.

But I couldn't take her with me to the fight if she was defenseless.

I followed Mal through the catacombs, too afraid that I would be unable to control where I spectered.

My heart was pounding in my chest.

Somehow, our plan had worked. We knew we couldn't change our plans too much in case Asmo had told them our plans when he left. We had to keep them more or less the same to avoid suspicion and surprise Mal.

The demon....was a miscalculation and not something we were expecting. I hoped that Damien was doing all right against him.

We thought that we would go against Mal and Asmo. Asmo no doubt had a bargain to help them and he was powerful enough as it was, just like Mal. It was why we couldn't take any changes and had Vy and her Hounds help.

My heart ached. After everything, Asmo did betray us. He went to them, told them some of our plan, if not all, and betrayed us to the demon and Mal.

I was sure he felt justified to do the bargain with Mal as wrong as it was.

When I reached the chamber everyone was in, something came flying towards me.

I immediately ducked.

I moved as fast as I could, moving out of the way of Mal who continued to push short bursts of power towards me, catching me unaware. I jumped out of the way and broke my fall with the palms of my hands, scraping them up to my elbows. I moved to stand again and when I did, I found all three Runith, Asmo and Mal standing in front of me breathless.

I took a couple of steps back and took my place with the others, watching our enemies closely.

Runith's yellow eyes were almost shining and a large, knowing smile broke. His menacing eyes turned to Asmo. "Time to actually fulfill your part of the bargain, half-breed." He spoke deep, guttural words in a language I'd never heard before. It seemed ancient and forbidden and I involuntarily began to cringe.

Everything happened at once.

Asmo fell on his knees grabbing his middle. His shoulders expanded much larger than would be considered natural. The bones of his shoulders snapped and popped, growing and contorting into bizzare angles. They stretched unnaturally, further and bigger than the body could normally. New bulges of muscle and mass made his arms grow at an unnatural rate. The sleeves of his coat ripped into shreds against the sudden force.

Asmo screamed out in pain. One of his free hands shot out, reaching out and keeping him in place where he kneeled. His fingernails turned to claws and scraped against the harsh rock he stood on.

Damien looked between Runith and Asmo. He cried out and released a bolt of power towards Runith. Somehow, before any one of us realized it, Asmo was standing before him, blocking Damien's attack and protectively standing before Mal and Runith.

"Asmo?" Damien breathed his cousin's name is disbelief. His arms were low at his sides in defeat though I could see the power charged in his balled fists.

I watched the conflict in Damien's eyes. He could attack the demon in front of him, his instincts were begging him to but he couldn't attack his cousin. He had seen him transform before us against his will overcome with power that he didn't know Asmo had in him.

Had he lost control? Had Runith unleashed something in him deep and ancient that he didn't know could happen?

Runith gave a knowing smile as he watched Damien.

Asmo's yellow eyes moved between the four of us quickly, like a tiger in a cage.

Runith's smile didn't waver. "Get them."

Asmo lunged towards us.

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