MATERD TO THE SON OF THE DEMON KING
I cried out, my voice echoing off the empty rafters as I rushed down the concrete steps.
He snapped his head up, his eyes entirely crimson, devoid of their usual brilliant green. Black veins were spider-webbing up his neck, pulsing with a volatile, dark energy. "Mercy... stay back," he choked out, his voice a distorted, demonic growl that sent shivers down my spine. "It's... it's too much today. The magic... it's burning me from the inside."
"I'm not leaving you," I said defiantly.
I scrambled over the low partition wall, my sneakers sliding dangerously on the slick ice as I ran toward him. The closer I got, the more the crushing pain in my own chest began to ease, replaced by a strange, mag