Sea of Glass ✔️

Chapter 25 - Bloody Demon

I wanted to kill again.

In my dreams, I plunged the blade through Ezra's abdomen and sliced through his spine, soaking the ground with blood. Each time the scene replayed in my head, a sharp thrill ran through me, more pleasurable than any of the distractions in my father's palace. But when I woke, shame hotter than any of Elio's fires burned my cheeks.

The return of my darkest desires set me on edge. It had only been a few days in Damon's absence, but already I was a worse person than when I left him. Blood pounded in my ears. Every fiber of my being ached to murder, to destroy in a way that couldn't be forgotten. The absence of my sword drove me mad and the lack of game in Cinervel meant hunting was sparse.

There was no way for me to release the aggression unless strangling Elio or one of his advisors was an option. Or worse, suffocating one of the Cinian's precious little dragons. Maybe if I killed one of the servants and claimed it was an accident ... no, that too was out of the question. I wasn't that kind of person. If I abused my power, it wouldn't be in that way.

After our encounter with the Demons that night, Elio was furious. The dragon that Ezra tampered with, while still alive, could no longer breathe fire. It was the same for a few other dragons, a careless mistake he could not forgive himself for. His anger was so potent that I had the pleasure of watching him slowly lose his hair whenever his temper flared and flames shot out of his hands.

In retaliation to what had been done in the hatchery, he has begged his father to send an expedition into the mountains so that he may attack the Demons where they lived. I thought it was a solid idea, but I kept my approval to myself. It was equally likely that everyone we sent would come back in pieces.

As I expected, his father refused his request, but not for the sheer risk of it.

"The Demons are a good thing," he said. "They cull the masses and keep them in line. Surely they can be bargained with."

"They can't," I interjected, aghast by his intentions. "They kill like they're made for it."

His lips twitched in annoyance. "It makes them efficient. They're nothing like the savages you have in Myrania. We'll send an envoy and arrange for a meeting."

With a wave of his white-gloved hand, Elio and I were dismissed before I could get another word in. I had a creeping suspicion that the Cinian monarchy was more familiar with the demons than they let on, but for some reason, they kept their son in the dark.

He wasn't the eldest child, but rather the middle son of five children. The Gods knew his family never expected him to be heir, with two sons ahead of him, and yet they blessed neither elder son with the ability to wield magic. Both princes set out to woo the Pantheon, begging for a contract with any God who would have them as their audience. If they couldn't be Chosen Ones, they needed some other way to cement the legitimacy of their royal power. Somehow, no deity, Northern or Southern, took their offer.

But Elio was different. He was blessed with an invitation to the Trials like I was. That alone put him above all of his siblings for the throne but earned him none of the respect his brothers spent years cultivating.

Which was why, without the influence of his name, he was trying to get me to use mine to gather more people to storm the Demon stronghold.

"Your father sent a small army with you for protection," he pointed out. "Why don't you use it?"

Because I would be sending them to die. Demons didn't fall at fire or metal. It would be like adding kindling to the hearth, fanning the flames of this already perilous situation.

"You couldn't burn them to death," I retorted. "And the one we tried to kill hardly suffered from our abilities last night. You are naive if you think more soldiers would make a difference."