Darkblood Prison - G.K. DeRosa Page 0,88

memorizing his dark features before lifting his head from my lap. Hayden’s big arms cradled his friend and with one parting glance, I sprinted across the chamber.

When I reached Dallas, the vamp jerk rolled his eyes. “I could use a little more muscle.” Sweat glistened on his brow and upper lip as he strained against the door.

“Well, I’m the best you’ve got for now.” I splayed my palms out on the thick oak beside him, pushing with everything I had.

“Remember that magic we talked about earlier, precious? Now would be an excellent time. A blocking spell, perhaps?”

“Right, because I really know how to do that.”

“Figure. It. Out,” he snarled.

Leathery hands and arms slipped through the cracks in the door, claws reaching for us. By the sound of it, more guards were arriving. We wouldn’t be able to hold them off much longer. From the corner of my eye, the golden glow of Hayden’s healing power lit up the opposite end of the room. A swirl of heat flickered through my veins, and the empty void I’d felt in the bathroom begin to fill.

Talon.

I could do this. I had to.

Visualizing my magic as a tiny flame in my core, I focused on the ripple of energy. I squeezed my eyes shut and smelled the charred scent of Garrix, felt the mystical power that flowed around my mom, and the dark energy surrounding my dad. I drew them to me, to the spot in my middle and shattered the walls blocking my abilities.

Darkness streaked across my vision and something cracked inside me, the careful restraint I’d been honing for years came untethered. When the next arm snaked through the opening in the door, I grabbed it. I dragged the monster through as Dallas shouted beside me.

“What are you doing?”

I trapped the narkin’s gaze in mine and power pulsed through my veins. My lips parted and I inhaled deeply, the hunger clawing at my throat. The demon struggled for only an instant before his eyes glazed over.

I slurped in another breath, coaxing a blue haze from his clenched black lips. His jaw loosened until it went completely slack, and his demonic energy surged forth. I gulped it down. A heady rush flowed across my body, his dark essence filling every inch of me.

His head lolled back, and he crumpled to the floor.

I licked my lips, the lingering high buzzing through my veins.

“Azara, are you all right?” Dallas’s face coalesced an inch from my own. A sharp giggle burst from my lips. “Azara?” His hand closed around my shoulder, and he gave me a shake.

I drew closer, inhaling his pungent vampire scent. He smelled delicious—and powerful. My lips parted as the gnawing hunger grew.

“Oh no, you do not, precious.” Dallas jumped back, and the demon soldiers at the door almost busted in. “Control yourself, Azara. This is not the time to go all-demon on me.”

My brain was a murky fog. The darkness consumed my thoughts, the hunger driving me. A tiny voice in the back of my mind told me this was wrong. Dallas was my friend. But the demon urges were in control now.

“Hayden!” Dallas shouted. “I could use some help here.”

Another narkin squirmed through the opening, but I grabbed him before he got far. This time, I barely thought about it. My mouth opened, and his soul practically leapt to the surface.

“Azara, stop!” A deep, growly voice cut through the haze.

My heart staggered, then tripped over its erratic beats. I dropped the guard, and my head whirled toward the familiar sound.

Talon leaned against the wall on the opposite side of the chamber across the graveyard of demon corpses. “Talon?” His name crossed my lips, and my fuzzy thoughts began to clear. Energy zipped through my blood—or maybe his blood, and reawakened my dulled senses. I stared at the body on the floor, and all the air siphoned from my lungs.

Hayden was at my side a second later right as my knees began to wobble. “You okay, pumpkin? I gotta keep this door upright so I can’t hold you too.”

I shook my head and chased away the remnants of the dark fog. “I’m fine. I’m so sorry…” I clamped down on my lower lip as the vacant eyes of the narkin demon stared up at me. The visions or memories I’d been having about that night surged to the surface once more.

“What are you talking about? You killed the bastard, just like the one back there.” He jerked his thumb at the singed