The Darkest Craving (Lords of the Underworld #10)(103)
Author: Gena Showalter

Then, she wrapped her fingers around his wrist, closed her eyes and drew the darkness out of him and into her, just like she’d done that night in the forest. Before, the demon had entered her with a vengeance. This time, he was too weak to scream obscenities. He was merely a heavy weight inside her, a presence in the back of her mind.

She released Kane the moment she knew the demon was with her, not wanting to take his strength, too.

His features smoothed out, and he smiled again, so peaceful her chest ached. He must have sensed, on some level, that he was now alone.

No question, she’d made the right decision.

“I love you,” she said, and kissed his temple. “Never forget.”

CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

KANE AWOKE AS sunlight poured through the open curtains. He sat up with a jolt.

Morning.

He jumped out of bed, then cringed, hoping his abruptness hadn’t woken Tink. But she wasn’t in the bed, he realized. He quickly dressed and left the room. She was probably in the breakfast nook.

It was better this way, he thought. He’d already said goodbye the only way he could. If he were to see her now, he might change his mind. He might break down and cry. If he told her the truth—and she would insist on the truth, and he would give it because he was unable to deny her anything—she would try and stop him. He might let her. Anything for more time with her.

To avoid the guards and servants, he used the secret passageway to get to the garden, and why was his torso burning? He stopped long enough to look under his clothes, and blinked. The butterfly tattoo had faded significantly. Because the demon was dying?

In the warmth and light of the new day, he felt strangely calm and burden free, considering he was about to die. He felt…lighter.

When he turned the corner, he saw Malcolm and Tink standing several yards away. Shock stopped him in his tracks.

“—the ring, just like you wanted,” Tink said, placing something in the warrior’s hand.

Malcolm looked down at her. “As thrilled as I am to have it, my deal was with Kane.”

“And now it’s with me. I absorbed the demon and now carry him in my body.”

The Sent One frowned. “You don’t look as if you carry the demon.”

“That’s because he’s too weak to cause any trouble.”

The conversation confused Kane. He fingered the ring on his—bare skin, he realized. The ring was gone.

Dread slithered through him.

“Without the demon, Kane is going to die, anyway,” Malcolm said. “Why should I help you achieve the same fate?”

“He’s going to… No! I won’t believe that.”

“Nevertheless, it’s true.”

“But…but….” She went still, as if she couldn’t even bare to breathe. “He never experienced the life he dreamed of…a life free of Disaster. He should know how it feels to be at peace before he dies, and I can give him that chance, even if only for a little while.”

“And you’re willing to give your life for that chance? Take a moment. Think about this. Once it’s done, it cannot be undone.”

“I have thought about it. I want to do it here, now.”

Malcolm nodded. “Very well. My bargain is now with you.” He held out his hand and a sword of fire appeared.

In that moment, a sickening realization dawned. Tink had taken the ring, and she’d taken the demon, and she now planned to take Kane’s place.

She was going to die in his stead, simply to give him a few days, maybe a few weeks, without the demon.

“No!” Kane screamed. “No! Don’t you dare!”

But it was too late.

Malcolm had already been in the process of striking. The fire pierced her chest, and her scream of pain shattered every corridor of his heart.

“No!” he cried. “No!”

The sword slid out of her and Kane saw a gap the size of his fist.

Tink collapsed. And Malcolm vanished.

Kane dropped to his knees and roared up at the sky.

* * *

IN A DAZE, when the shock of what he’d witnessed had worn off, but not the horror, never the horror, Kane crawled to his wife, gathered her in his arms and cradled her precious body against his chest. He held her for what seemed an eternity, but it couldn’t have been more than an hour.

There was no blood on her or him. The sword had cauterized the wound, and it wasn’t right. He should be covered in her blood, should have tangible evidence of the pain she had endured. He should have to wear it, a constant reminder of the disaster he had allowed—even without the demon living inside him. He needed to see his shame. His grief. His failure. Something, anything, but this…nothingness.

Nothingness. Yes. That’s all he had now.

His wife, his love, was gone. For nothing! Didn’t she know he could not have peace without her?

Tears must have been brewing at the back of his eyes because they suddenly spouted out, like rivers of anguish. He sobbed like a baby, and he didn’t care who saw him. Guards and Opulens came up to him and tried to talk to him, to learn what had happened, but he snarled and sent them running away.

“How could you do this?” he demanded of Tink. But he already knew the answer, didn’t he. She’d loved his life more than her own. “How?”

He brushed his fingers through the softness of her hair—her  blond hair? Yes. Blond. Even her features had changed. She looked like Petra, and he had a moment of hope, thinking Petra had died and not his wife. But then her hair and features changed again, and he found himself peering down at someone he didn’t recognize.

When she changed a third time, and the strange image remained for an hour, then another, realization hit him and all hope withered. This was Tink, the blonde in the painting, and she was dead.

She had drained the Phoenix, acquiring the girl’s ability to shift identities, that was all. Because, now that the shifting had stopped, whatever spark had tried to ignite had been extinguished.

His Tink was dead, and she wasn’t ever coming back.

He howled up at the sky.

He had his freedom now, but the price had been too high.

He wanted to lash out, to kill someone, destroy something, but he couldn’t bear to release his Tink. So he sat there, even as the sun disappeared behind clouds and rain poured. He sat there as day turned to night.

Malcolm appeared a few feet away, his skin pallid, his lips compressed into a hard line.

A growl rose in Kane’s throat.

“I know I’m the last person you wish to see right now, but I must tell you what I’ve learned. I…went to my leader, told him what I’d done. He has assured me you will survive the removal of your demon, just as the girl wished.”