“Erik found me in the club and threatened to tell everyone in the Order that I was a demon-loving whore when I refused to kiss him.” The tears blurring my vision spill over. “He had photos of me and Kaiden on his phone. He said Grayson put him up to it and he’s been following me for a long time. That he knew it wouldn’t be long before I showed my true nature and betrayed the Order.” I sniffle. “I think he’s been in my apartment, too. Someone stole some of my underwear, and things were slightly out of place. I chalked it up to me being tired and forgetful with all the crazy shit that’s been happening since the umbra attack…but maybe it was him all along.”
I shake my head. “Anyway, I think the motherfucker roofied me. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been able to overpower me. I was tipsy, clearly not that drunk. He must have slipped the drugs into my water when I got distracted by a ghost. Yeah, I saw another ghost to add to my crazy, and I know: stupid fucking decision to leave my glass unattended. I started feeling weird, and I desperately needed some fresh air, but I couldn’t walk properly. It’s all hazy; I kept blacking out. This guy took me outside and…and then Erik was there.” Swallowing past the lump in my throat, I mumble, “He tried to, um…he tried to…rape me.”
Sam resembles a tornado as she pushes off the bed to pace the length of the room in long strides. The undercurrent of Sam’s magic electrifies the air before leafy vines spread up the walls. In two minutes flat, Kaiden’s bedroom becomes a jungle.
“That sorry waste of oxygen! Motherfucking dickbag piece of shit!” she yells before she stomps back to the bed and plops down unceremoniously, the vines retreating until there’s nothing left. “Sorry. You can continue now.”
A soft smile tugs at the corners of my lips. “Feeling better?”
Her nostrils flare. “No. I wish I could strangle him right now. I would throw such vile hexes at him, Iris. He’s lucky you killed him before I got my hands on that human version of period cramps.”
I pull her into the tightest hug my battered body allows me. “I love you so fucking much, you know that?”
“I love you too, ho-bag. But I think I’ve aged at least thirty years these past months because of you. You owe me a lifetime of paying for my drinks when we go out.”
“Deal.” My smile dies when I remember Erik’s words, and my eyebrows knit in a frown. “Do you remember those women found dead with ‘demon whore’ carved into their bodies?”
Sam inches backward, then gives me a confused look. “Huh? What women?”
“They found the last one in a back alley of a club in the Raven district the night before my birthday. You know, when the umbra came through the portal and attacked me in the forest. You were sipping wine on my bed when they announced it on the news.”
“Oh yeah, I remember now. What about it?”
“Erik kept spewing some weird shit about how he needs to cleanse the demon from my body like he did to the other demon whores. His word choice was so specific. Because of the drugs, I couldn’t grasp its significance at first. Then realization dawned…Sam, I think he killed those women. And I was supposed to be his next victim. Although, I also think he was the one behind the text Grayson sent me that night—the text that sent me into the trap. I mean, it would have been really easy for him to get ahold of Grayson’s phone since he’s his grandson. But it doesn’t make sense why. Why send me into a trap if he planned on killing me all along?”
A knock comes from the open door. Fire and brimstone meet my gaze, and my pulse scatters. From under Kaiden’s death grip on the doorframe, thick smoke wafts and the smell of burning wood fills the room. He surely heard our conversation because he looks downright murderous, the tendons in his hand threatening to snap from the pressure.
Sucking in a sharp inhale, he approaches the bed with measured steps. I don’t miss the fury seeping out of his pores, akin to noxious fumes, or the charred imprint he left behind.
“How are you feeling?” Kaiden bends over me and gently traces my cheek with his knuckles before tucking a stray hair behind my ear. As always, his touch leaves a delicious wake of shivers behind.
Sam slaps her forehead. “Shit, I forgot to ask you that,” shesays guiltily from beside me.
“Like I got hit by a truck.” I try to smile, but I’m sure it looks more like a grimace.
Kaiden’s fingers curl into tight fists. “I’m going to run you a bath,” he says in a raspy voice as he straightens and strides into the en suite bathroom, shoulders stiff.
“Sheesh. He’s intense,” Sam quips, throwing a side-eye my way.
“Yeah…”
“You should have seen him when we found you. He was feral. I had to fight him off you just so I could check if you still had a pulse. He also accidentally set the club on fire and somehow started an earthquake.”
I gulp hard. I’m not ready to think about why he would be so affected by me getting hurt.
“Mmhm. I tried my best to heal you, but there was only so much I could do. Kaiden said his warlock friend, who healed you the last two times, had gone after that guy…what the fuck is his name?” She snaps her fingers a few times. “Adramelech! Lucifer’s chancellor. He brought in his best doctor for you, though. You have a concussion and a few broken ribs. But, Iris, it’s insane how fast you’re healing. I mean, I’m not complaining, but it’s weird because it surpasses your hellseeker abilities. At this rate, you should look good as new in a week.”
“Well, that’s not the only thing that’s weird. I rotted Erik with my bare hands. How in the world was I able to do that? This…dark power electrified every cell in my body, and then it seemed to spill from me—like wisps of shadow. Don’t get me wrong, I’m grateful this happened because otherwise…otherwise he would…he would have…” I gulp, unable to voice the words for a second time. “And as if this isn’t crazy enough, I’m still seeing ghosts on top of everything. What is happening to me?” I whisper.
Sam’s eyebrows shoot up almost to her hairline. “I’ll startasking around. But as far as I know, there’s no being able to do what you did,” she muses. “I know this is all insane, but we’re not going to freak out, okay? You need to focus on getting better right now, and then we’ll figure everything out.”
“But—”
“Nu-uh. Healing first, freak out later.” She stands and passes me a glass from the nightstand on her side. “Here. You should drink this; it will help speed up the recovery time.”
Eyeing the suspicious brown liquid, I wrinkle my nose. “Do I even want to know what’s in it?” My stomach clenches at the disgusting smell as I bring it to my lips.
“Nope. Now, drink up.”
