A Crown Of Shadows And Secrets - Sloane Murphy Page 0,121

love. To protect your beloved Earth and all its ridiculous humans. I could kill Archer for you, call all the Demons back. It would be so simple. You wouldn’t have to lose anyone else.” My heart almost stops at his offer, and I wonder if it’s worth it.

I mean, of course it would be. To save everyone, no more death.

“I could probably even give you the soul of the human Archer killed. It has not been long. It’s not likely her soul will have moved on yet,” he taunts, but he sounds so genuine it makes me stutter.

“What human?” Fallon asks, her hand on her throat.

“Everly,” I whisper, my eyes filling with tears again. I wipe them away quickly and she screams.

“You let him kill her?” She shouts at Azriel, and he winces.

“I didn’t let him do a thing, my little Witch. I had no idea about his plans. But if you want, I could gift you her soul,” he offers and she screams at him again in frustration.

“Fallon, stop.” I pull her off of him, more because I’m worried she’ll hurt herself without her magic down here.

“I will never forgive you for this!” She shouts at him, and I swear I see genuine hurt on his face.

“You have my offer,” he says to me. “Think on it, I’ll give you an hour with your Witch before I’ll return and demand an answer. Do not disappoint me Hunter.”

Azriel disappears from sight and my stomach drops.

What if I could make the deal…? Then call on Caleb to help him release Fallon and me. Would it be possible?

“What is going on in that mind of yours?” Fallon asks, her eyebrow raised. “I know you’re not just here, this easily, not fighting him, without something going on.”

“I, we… we had a plan… but his offer…”

“Don’t do it, Remy. It was worth it for me, but you’d be giving up so much more than I did. I don’t have epic love, or a whole world of people relying on me. They need you,” she pleads, her sadness making her voice crack.

“But what if it was only temporary, wouldn’t it be worth it?”

“Trust me, nothing is worth what this bond does to you. I’m pretty sure my soul was shredded the moment I agreed to it. I’m not the person I was before I came here, please don’t do this to yourself Remy.”

I sigh, and sit on the floor in the sparse room. She follows suit, and we spend the small amount of time we have catching up with everything that’s happened to her. I don’t mention the plan, because I don’t know who else might be listening, but it’s nice to just sit here with her, even if I worry every second about what might be happening to my guys, and back home.

In what feels like no time at all, Azriel reappears with Deacon at his side. His eyes flash to me and he smiles. “Have you decided to take me up on my offer?”

“I’ve thought about it, and I have a counteroffer,” I say, nodding to Deacon as I stand. He disappears from sight and I know it’s all about to happen.

“How about you do everything you offered, and I don’t kill you?” I smile at him, baring my teeth as I move to stand in front of Fallon. Her getting hurt is not on my to-do list. I reach down and pull the small dagger from my boot that I hid there this morning, ready for this exact moment.

His eyes go wide, and in a second, dozens of his Demons stand at his back. I guess he was prepared to kill me after all.

“If you think that’s enough to stop me, you underestimated me.” I grin as I slice the blade across my palm and let my blood drip onto the ground.

“Oh little Hunter, your blood doesn’t scare me.”

“No, but they might,” I say as Caleb, Bryce, Killian, and Malik appear in the room at the same time as my guys with Deacon, with Morgan appearing at my side.

“Betrayer!” Azriel shouts to Deacon, and then all hell breaks loose.

Demons flood the area around us, and I move back to try and keep Fallon from the fray as screams sound out, and more Demons enter the hall from the various doors. I don’t know how Azriel sent up a flare to the battalion Caleb said he’d have, but he did.

“I need you to stay here,” I tell Fallon as I tuck her behind