Orpheus retreated a step and slunk lower in worry.
Showing her he was surrendering, submitting, his eyes going white, he watched her approach. Perhaps she is just angry with me because she was taken. He was hoping she would just scold him and wasn’t here to say she hated him too.
She ran past him.
He turned just in time to see Reia tackle Katerina who had been holding a dagger above his head while he was looking away. It clanked against the stone ground, ringing in the echoey room.
He shuffled back in surprise. She was going to attack me?
And it looked as though she’d been aiming straight for his skull – a blow that would have killed him had she managed to pierce his skull and crack it.
Katerina screeched in surprise before she hit the ground with Reia on top of her, who then reached her arm back and proceeded to punch her in the face as she straddled her waist.
“What the hell, Jabez!?” Katerina yelled, trying to fight Reia by reaching to grab her arms. “You were supposed to hold onto her!”
Orpheus turned his head to the smell of the Demon King scent that suddenly pierced the air of the room. He was
holding his groin, his teeth bared as if he was hissing in a breath.
“She bit my hand and punched me in the fucking seam!”
Orpheus knew how much being hit in the seam hurt. It radiated pain through his cock, the sac that was embedded at the base, and all the way through his groin. No wonder he’d let go of Reia. Orpheus doubted he’d be able to hold onto anything if he was dealt with such extreme agony.
But Reia was in danger, being rolled over so that Katerina could be above her instead. He spun to them to help.
She protected me. Hope soared within him. Katerina had lied, Reia didn’t want to be here.
Jabez materialised in front of him before he could even take a step.
“Where do you think you’re going, Mavka?”
Orpheus roared and leaped forward, tackling the biggest threat to the ground. He stole her. The Demon King had taken his female from him, and currently he was a danger to them both.
When they hit the ground, before Orpheus could lower his claws that he’d raised to strike, Jabez disappeared. He slashed the stone instead.
He looked behind him to where his scent reappeared and ran in that direction. Jabez disappeared before he could reach him.
Materialising behind him, he wound his arms around Orpheus’ neck and grabbed a horn and started pulling his head to the side.
“I know how to kill you now,” he chuckled, making his head turn as he pulled harder. “That skull of yours will be nice when it’s broken into pieces.”
Orpheus’ neck twisted as he rotated his head on his neck, turning, and turning, and turning until he was facing Jabez behind him. Like an owl, he could turn his head almost three-sixty degrees. With a snarl, he launched it forward and bit into his shoulder.
Sweet because of the Elven in his blood, but also putrid because of the Demon in him, his reddish-purple blood slipped into Orpheus’ mouth. His eyes had long ago turned crimson, and they deepened as anger and hunger took focus.
Jabez winced before disappearing to escape Orpheus’
fangs.
“Jabez!” Katerina screamed with her hand held up to the side.
Reia had grabbed her sword and was now running towards Katerina with the intention of swinging it. A sword appeared in her hand just in time for her to deflect Reia’s blow.
Orpheus was launched across the room when a fist landed against his cheekbone because he’d been distracted. Pain shot through him, his neck crumbling sideways due to the strike, and he hit the ground with a deep crunching thud.
There was nothing that could keep him down as he spun back to his four limbs, roaring once more as he sprinted for Jabez.
He disappeared just as he tried to slash him with his claws. Orpheus laid down on his stomach when he reappeared beside him to miss the fist that was sailing through the air to hit him.
While still being low, he pushed himself forward and bit into Jabez’s ankle.
He pulled back, tripping him over as Orpheus stood up.
Shaking his head, he clamped his jaw down to dig his fangs deeper. Jabez roared in pain, moving slightly side-to-side on his back from Orpheus’ ferocious head shake.
Their fight was evenly matched despite Orpheus being faster and stronger than the Demon King. His ability to teleport at will, even when captured, put him at an advantage.
They both could have their heads ripped off, but Orpheus could continue to fight if his heart or body was pierced,
whereas Jabez would require retreating. If Jabez’s head was torn from him, he would die, but Orpheus’ could grow back.
However, now that he knew the Demon King had learned how to kill Mavka, he was sure he would break his skull if he removed it from his body this time – since Orpheus had his head removed by him in the past only to reform his body a day later where his skull rested.
Neither could land a debilitating blow. Jabez’s claws gouged into Orpheus’ chest in a deep and long strike, but Orpheus did the same to his back. Jabez dug his claws into his neck, but Orpheus turned his head and bit into his arm before he could rip his throat out.
The sounds of swords clung rang in the background, and he’d seen peeks of Reia and Katerina fighting with each other. Their movements were slow in comparison to Orpheus and Jabez fighting, who were swift and short with their attacks, dodging and disappearing in flashes.
Orpheus couldn’t focus on them, he needed to face his own opponent, but he’d seen Katerina was constantly on the back foot. The Witch Owl’s training book had given Reia the skills to fight against her with ease.
