Until I know which category she falls into, it’s too soon to play my hand. All I know for certain is that I cannot allow myself to become another of the besotted fools following in her wake.
A blood-curdling scream echoes through the thick walls of this fortress.
I jump to my feet, sprinting toward the courtyard where the wailing and shouting increases in volume the closer I get.Are we under attack?
When I skid to a stop by the space used for training and sparring, I’m confused by what I see. The djinn is clinging to the big shifter, weeping without restraint as she holds her hands over his throat. She’s not choking him. Rather, it looks as if she’s trying to staunch the flow of blood.
It’s an action I’ve seen a thousand times during battle triage. But there doesn’t seem to be anything wrong with Joshua’s heir, besides his inability to comfort a distressed female. The buffoon grows increasingly frantic as he tries and fails to soothe her. As for the djinn, she seems to be trapped in a waking... nightmare.
“Ciprian, turn it off. Right fucking now.” The shifter roars at the mouthy, blonde demon. “Her heart rate is way too high.”
“Shit, I’m sorry.” The nightmare is almost as devoid of color as the djinn. “Callum said to show her some stuff so she could practice mental walls. I just went with it. I didn’t realize she’d take it so hard.”
He stops the illusion, but the djinn continues to search for an imaginary wound.
“Blood. There was so much blood,” she hiccups. “Gideon, your throat—it was torn out. I couldn’t hold the blood in.” She pats at the shifter’s unblemished neck in confusion.
“I’m fine, baby,” he tells her, his voice surprisingly gentle. “It was just an illusion. Ciprian was trying to see if you could force him out of your mind.”
“You’re okay?” She asks, the cloud of fear fading from her eyes.
“Yes, I’m healthy as a horse. I can turn into one and you can ride me around if you want more proof.” He presses a kiss to her forehead, and she cracks a small smile, combing her fingers through his hair in a gesture so tender it makes even my heart ache.
“Weird kink, but okay, man.”
I wince as the nightmare demon chooses that moment to open his mouth. The little djinn doesn’t take it well either, her head snapping in his direction like a whip. She leaves the shifter sitting on the ground, stomping over to the blonde. He raises his hands to ward her off.
“Sheena, I’m really sorry. I took it too far,” he admits, but she’s not listening.
Her eyes are a luminescent purple as she glares at him, and I’m not sure who is more stunned when she hauls back and slaps him in the face.
“You ripped out his throat,” she screams. Her hands are shaking and several strands of her long dark hair begin to float. “You made me stand by and watch my mate bleed out with no warning. For what, Ciprian?”
Her mate?Surely she’s talking about the silly human concept of soul mates and not referencing the matchmaking machinations of the gods.
“I thought you weren’t telling people about the mate thing yet,” the demon whispers. He glances around nervously at the audience that formed after hearing the yelling.
Rightly so. It’s incredibly foolish to speak so openly about information that could be used against you.
The djinn’s hair falls back down around her shoulders. Her bottom lip trembles as she realizes they are no longer alone. She looks back at the shifter.
“It’s okay. I don’t care if everyone knows,” he reassures her. It’s a gallant but foolish thing to do in the face of a bombshell of this magnitude. “Everyone, go away,” he snaps at the bystanders. “There’s nothing to see here.”
His demanding tone is enough to scare people off. Instead of following suit, I cast a glamour that shows me walking away with the rest of the crowd, and then I turn myself as close to invisible as I can get. I bide my time, eager to see how this plays out.
“I’m really and truly sorry, Sheena. Callum said to check your mental barriers.” The nightmare demon rushes to explain. His pale cheek burns red from her slap. “I should have talked with you first, but I was hung over. I just went with the first thing I thought of.”
“Callum told you to do this to me?” Her face falls.
“I’m sure he didn’t mean for Ciprian to show you... that.” The shifter puts his hand on her shoulder. He’s quick to back up his friend, but the djinn isn’t having it.
“Don’t protect him from this,” she snaps and turns back to the demon. “Whatexactlydid he say to you, Ciprian?”
The troublemaker looks uncharacteristically miserable—torn, no doubt, between throwing his brother to the wolves and covering for him.
“I’m really not sure I remember. I hadn’t finished my coffee yet.”
He avoids eye contact, and the djinn taps her foot impatiently.
