The van’s engine sputtered but didn’t come back to life.
When there were fewer than ten demons to deal with, I went after Kenna, knowing Ryder could take care of them.
Nigel saw me coming and threw open the driver door, the dagger poised in his hand. “Stop!”
“Or what?” I asked, through gritted teeth.
I didn’t give him time to answer that. I swung my sword hard, knocking the dagger from the man’s hand. Then, I plunged my sword into his chest, right through his heart.
I pulled my sword away and let his body fall at my feet. Disgusted, I stepped over the body and opened the van’s doors.
Kenna cowered in the back of the van, her eyes slightly dazed. Whatever they had given her still muddled her mind. But when she saw me, her shoulders relaxed and a sob shook her body. I scooted to her, and tore the gag from her mouth and the ropes from her arms and torso. She leaned into me and I pulled her into my lap.
“Shh, you’re safe now.”
Her limbs were heavy, but she held my shoulders, her face in my chest. She lifted her chin and looked at me. “You came.”
I nodded, as finally the dam broke inside of me. Relief poured through every inch of my body. I had done it. I had saved her.
And I wouldn’t let her go.
I would protect her until the end of our days.
Nothing else, no one else, would hurt her.
“Of course I came.” I cupped her face and ran my thumb across her cheek, glad she was okay. “I’ll always come.”
She leaned her hand into my hand. Her brows curled down and her gaze shifted to my neck. No, to my collarbone. She reached up and tugged the collar of my vest down, revealing the silver chain. She pulled the necklace out from underneath and stared at the ring—her ring—liked she had done before.
“This ring,” she whispered. She rested the ring in the palm of her hand. A gasp came from her lips and her eyes widened. She blinked fast a handful of times, then she looked at me, her eyes on mine, still huge. “I remember,” she whispered. “I remember everything.”
Present
Kenna
On the way back to Misty Hill, I replaced the half-assed bandage Nigel had placed on the wound on my shoulder, the one he had inflicted. At least it wasn’t deep and should heal nicely. I told Devon about my past in this lifetime. Or at least, what I knew about it. My guess was that Slater had erased my memories of my childhood to make it easier for him, so I wouldn’t fight him. But I always fought. From the moment he abducted me and locked me inside his hidden mansion, I fought him. There had been other girls there, human girls he sold like cattle—Cecilia had been among them. Slater hadn’t sold her, though. He kept her there to take care of the girls before they were sold to the highest bidder.
That and selling drugs was how he had money to own such a huge mansion and to have so many lackeys to run his main operation—find the tomb of Ingur.
This, of course, was broken into two steps: find the one who could open the tomb and find the tomb. I remembered how excited he had been when he first brought me to his mansion. He treated little me like a queen, giving me anything I asked for, but freedom. But as time passed and he couldn’t find the tomb, he grew aggravated. He started lashing out at Cecilia and me. He started using me and my powers to his advantage—robbing people and undermining powerful demons. I always refused, but he threatened to hurt Cecilia, the only person I cared about, the mother I didn’t have, the one who took care of me. So, I did all he asked, and after, I cried for days, unable to sleep because of the nightmares that assaulted me.
I tried escaping a few times, but gave up because each time I was caught. Slater had beaten me within an inch of my life, and then he hurt Cecilia too.
When I was older and stronger, a plan started forming in mind. My powers grew with me, but I didn’t reveal that to Slater. I didn’t show him all I could do, because if he knew, he would have tightened security around the mansion, around me. He would have had more demons watch every movement I made.