I couldn’t tell if he was bluffing, but Vas’s face was now purple. I dropped my shields so fast that black spots appeared in front of my eyes. Samael’s power licked at me, but I pushed him out with a flood of power.
It seemed to take over every inch of my body. Bile crept up my throat at the unfamiliar sensation and I heaved, struggling not to puke.
“Not good enough,” Samael snapped. And then he threw Vas across the room. The demon hit the wall and slumped to the ground, raising his hands in supplication as Samael advanced.
I sprinted toward Vas, leapt over the couch, and pulled more knives, throwing them at Samael.
He laughed, nimbly dodging one before he sent another flying off target with a flick of his hand.
Panic wrestled with fury. But beneath it, was shock. Samael’s face was almost unrecognizable as he smiled at Vas.
“I’ll enjoy this,” he promised, and I gaped at him. Vas choked out a curse as Samael dodged smoothly past me and slammed his fist into the demon’s face again.
Vas spit blood, obviously dazed. It wasn’t a fair fight. Vas hadn’t expected Samael to turn on him, and was still catching his breath after the bastard choked him out.
The Mistilteinn Dagger purred, drawing my attention to it. I was sure the dagger would like nothing more than to bathe in demon blood. I ignored it. If I used the dagger, it would be a last resort.
Vas roared and kneed Samael in the gut, and I used his distraction to throw another knife, which sunk deep into Samael’s shoulder. The demon turned and snarled at me.
I snarled back. “Let Vas go.”
“Fine.” He punched the other demon in the gut and took a step back. Vas folded, his eyes dazed.
I gaped at him. “You son of a bitch. What’s wrong with you?”
“You’d like me to stop? Make me. He can’t take much more damage, Danica. Even demons can die if I prevent them from healing.”
“Why?” I whispered, and his eyes cleared for a single moment before he turned back to Vas.
“Do you, or do you not carry one of his feathers in your car, witchling?”
I choked on my own shock, hauling in a breath.
“Are you kidding me right now?”
I’d let my guard down around Samael. I hadn’t realized it at the time, but I’d started treating him almost like a human man. He wasn’t, and would never be anything remotely close to a human. He was a territorial, possessive, obviously psychotic demon.
I attempted to ignore the squeezing sensation in my chest. It felt a lot like grief, and I ruthlessly pushed it down.
“You’d kill one of your own demons for that?”
“Vassago knows better than to touch what ismine.”
For the first time, true fear crossed Vas’ face as Samael advanced once more. I’d raised my shields again at some point, and I dropped them. The expression on Samael’s face was scarier than the magic winding through me, dark and deadly.
Samael may have been fast, but I was fast too. And unpredictable. I wished I’d brought a gun, but my knives would have to do. I threw one of them, aiming low.
It stuck in the back of Samael’s calf. He glanced down, and I used his moment of inattention to duck past him, positioning myself between him and Vas.
The demongrowledat me, threat oozing from every inch of his body.
Selina’s words echoed in my head.
“Embrace your power. Even the parts that scare you.”
I still didn’t know how to keep my shields up and wield my power. There was nothing elegant about the way I used it. But I did it anyway. With a wordless scream, I reached for the dark tendril curling up from somewhere deep within my soul.
Something cracked. I instinctively knew I’d just done damage to the suppression spell.
