Chapter Fifteen
Demon’s Intent
Violence
An eerie feeling pushes against my chest, tugging at me until my eye open to the dim room. A pale color of red accents the light, washing the room in the color of blood. It seems late into the night, but I really have no idea. My thick hair clings to my neck and sweat dampens my skin, but the moment I realize I’m pressed between the Nollix and Link, I nearly snuggle harder against them. Their arms are draped across my stomach, their bare chests pressed against my arms as I lie between them. It feels safe. It feels calming.
Until that knowing feeling slices through my chest once more. It takes me a moment to slip away from them, and as I pull on my jeans and shirt, I can’t help but study the two men. Nollix’s dark hair and Link’s light hair are dull in the haze of crimson light, but their opposite appearances are a stark contrast.
Another stinging pull within my chest has me gripping Link’s sword as I make my way toward the door. Power claws through my veins with every step I take. My bare feet are quiet against the old boards, but my heart pounds so loudly it’s all I hear.
The hilt of the blade is tight in my palm as I slowly turn the knob. The building tension in my chest rises with each passing second. It’s terrifying and it’s familiar. Terrifyingly familiar.
The door opens with a hissing sound of the hinges. My arms react, raising the blade the moment a shadow inks across the bedroom floor. All that tension washes out of me as the light washes red across Cameron’s face.
His heavy attention stays on me for several moments before shifting behind me to spot Nollix and Link. Their half-naked images flash through my mind, and I suddenly feel awkward standing before him. There’s no judgement in him though. When he looks at me, there’s no anger or disgust in him. He accepts me. I feel his acceptance blooming through my chest, settling that pressing feeling that was previously there. It was our bond that I felt. Our bond woke me in the middle of the night. It’s an aching feeling that hurts when he’s not near enough. Sometimes, all I want is for us to be side by side just to sate that stinging feeling of separation.
Does he feel it too? Is that why he’s here?
“We need to go,” he whispers.
I take a step closer to him, and his palm skims down my arm, making me want to lean into him. He puts his finger to his lips as he takes a step closer to the top of the stairs. I follow him out, just a few feet from the bedroom.
Voices scurry through the darkness. At the sound of their voices, Cameron takes my hand in his.
“The storm has passed,” a masculine voice rumbles. “If we’re going to do it, we should do it now while they sleep. I like the struggle they put up as they’re ripped from their dreams.”
“Youwill nothurt Nollix.” Tantra’s accent waves with demanding emotion.
“I won’t hurt your darling little half Demon.”
Before another word is spoken, I’m pulling Cameron away. On quiet but rushed steps I pull him into the bedroom. The door closes with a click, and I turn the small lock in place. Nothing feels less assuring than a lock the size of my fingertip. Those Demon’s will rip through that door with or without the lock.
Cameron grabs a shirt off the floor and throws it at Nollix, musing his hair as it hits him in the head.
The Demon tenses, his arms flexing as he wakes. He rises, letting the light skim over his smooth skin as he shifts to look at us.
“Get dressed, your friends are plotting our deaths as we speak.” Cameron picks up the other sword propped against the bed, and, oddly, he offers it to Nollix. It feels strange. It looks off to see the two of them working together, but it feels normal. Neither of them makes a big deal out of it.
My palm pushes against Link’s leg, his feet shifting against the tangled blanket.
“Link, wake up. We have to go.”
Lavender eyes meet mine, blinking up at me, and I waste no time tossing his shirt on the bed. Boards creek from somewhere in the house, and before the two of them are even fully dressed, I’m opening the small window. Cameron takes my hand, steadying me as if it’s the most normal thing in the world to help me crawl out of a two-story window. Nollix pulls the blade from my hand and logic kicks in at how dangerous it would be to jump with the sword. Somewhere along the lines … Nollix has become the logical one. Huh, who knew?
He smirks at me for a moment, seemingly oblivious to the danger we’re in. Maybe he’s not completely logical. Maybe that was a bit of an overstatement.
Intense humidity licks at my skin the moment I lean into the heat. Crimson shades kiss the sky, almost lighting our surroundings but not quite. I struggle a little in the small window frame, but it only takes a second to slip my legs outside. Cameron’s grip on my hand tightens as my body extends against the house. Dust and gritty sand brush against my stomach as I slide against the dark siding. I look up at the man who’s hanging half out the window to make sure I’m eased down safely. Cameron’s jaw flexes as he holds on with both hands. Right now, he looks like he’ll never let me go.
Until I release my hold on him.
Warm wind pulls at my hair and in less than a second my boots hit the hard ground. I peer up at the three men staring out the window above. Link tosses a blade to the ground. It hits with a solid thud, burning white light against the dark clay. Anxiety claws at my lungs as Nollix and Cameron both help ease Link down from the window.
A noise bangs through the silence. That single hard-hitting noise strikes fear right through me. I shouldn’t have gone first. I shouldn’t have left them up there alone. I should have waited for them.
The two men drop Link before he’s ready, but the Fae lands on his feet, his palms steadying him against the dark siding of the house. We both step back, and I try hard to see what’s going on in the room behind Nollix and Cameron. Another loud noise strikes like a fist breaking wood. Nollix looks to Cameron for one flashing second, before he grips the side of the window, and with grace and strength, he drops to the ground. His feet crouch against the hard earth and he pushes his hair from his eyes to look up at the Warlock above.
“Let’s go, Warlock. Just waiting on you now. Unless you’d rather stay, that is.”
