Blood oozed down Storm’s thigh.
He watched it with morbid fascination. The gash on his leg was trying to heal, but his body could no longer draw on his jaguar’s healing powers.
Not without shifting.
Hanhau had upped his game, sending four demons the last time. Storm doubted that Hanhau had noticed Evalle’s presence when she’d visited, but some of the demons had.
They stayed on edge in this fire pit coated with ice, and that made them uber-sensitive to visiting spirits. Evalle hadn’t found him without calling in spirits, but how had she done that when the only spirits who could reach Mitnal were dark in nature? Storm found it hard to imagine that Evalle would ask her white witch friend Nicole to touch anything dark.
Frigid air washed over his skin.
He’d been shivering for so long now he couldn’t remember when he hadn’t, yet a fire raged inside him, a constant burning that he kept hoping would torch him. Anything for relief. The slightest touch on his skin sent pain spiking through every muscle.
That’s why demons out in the open space had sensed Evalle. Maybe not when she first arrived and traveled slowly through that throng of monsters to reach his hidey-hole, but he’d scared her so badly she’d flown out of here.
Speaking of monsters.
I couldn’t stop my jaguar from lunging at her when all my beast could understand was that I wanted her to leave. Storm cupped his head. He hadn’t been prepared or he’d have kept his animal in check.
But the longer she stayed, the more agonizing it was to forget that she’d once been his.
He still wasn’t sure his beast could harm her when she was not physically here, but he’d stopped the jaguar only an inch short of reaching her.
That had been too close.
Dropping his head back against the cold stone wall, he closed his eyes and pleaded for death. If he died, he could join his father and keep him company in the realm of the lost souls. On the way there, Storm would see Kai one last time, just long enough to let her know he was gone. He’d use every second with Kai to beg her to find Evalle.
Kai would do that. She’d find his mate and make sure Evalle never risked hunting for him again, even if she could find a way into Mitnal.
Knowing his hellion, she could.
He laughed, but it ended in a moan.
She’d been so angry with him, thinking he’d quit fighting. She couldn’t know that he battled with every breath, refused to give up hope of being with her again even when he knew this was no place for something as fragile as hope.
Opening his eyes, he lifted his hand.
Not a hand, but a paw. Claws extended and contracted. Fur sheathed the paw and continued up his forearm, fading near his elbow.
The rest of him had shifted back the last time.
He would never give up, but neither would his jaguar, and right now the beast was winning. One more shift might be all he had left in him. He’d heal to fight again, but if he didn’t shift back to human right away ... hope would die a cold death, right along with his humanity.
When that happened, he would give the demons his throat.
Not even Hanhau could save him from a pack of hungry demons that would shred his jaguar, then devour him.