It was almost impossible to keep my balance as power left me in awoosh. Purple and gold swirled around me, Samael on one side and Vas and I on the other. If I’d thought my magic was a gentle breeze, this was a fucking hurricane.
Samael’s face went blank as he studied my ward, and I held it in place as he lifted a hand, his magic slipping toward mine, tasting my ward.
“Now that’s a ward.” Pride dripped from his voice and I blinked at him. I couldn’t keep up with his changing moods. And I didn’t want to. I dropped to my knees, ignoring the male outrage on his face as I turned my back on him.
“Are you okay?”
Vas was wiping blood from his face and he nodded, his gaze wary as he glanced past me to the demon on the other side of my ward.
Samael made an impatient sound in this throat and I turned, meeting his silver eyes.
“You may lower your ward now.”
“You may fuck off.”
His eyes widened and then narrowed once more. “Vas is fine, little witch.” When I didn’t reply, his expression went cold. “Lower your ward or I will break it.”
I didn’t trust him as far as I could throw him.
“Try it,” I snarled.
He held his hand to my ward, his eyes widening as it stayed in place. Yeah, it surprised the hell out of me too. Blood dripped from my nose and something like fear crossed his face as he stared at me.
“You’re about to drain your power and hurt yourself,” he warned, and I bared my teeth at him.
Vas shook my arm, but I got to my feet in front of him, attempting to push him behind me. He made choking sounds and I whirled on him. “Are you laughing?”
“I can’t help it,” he said. “You’re so… fierce.” He shivered in mock terror and it hit me. Adrenaline drained from my body, replaced by relief. The switch made me dizzy. And pissed. “You set me up.”
He shrugged, a hint of regret entering his eyes. “I do as I’m ordered. I heal almost instantly, Danica. It was worth a little pain to see your ward. It’s beautiful.”
I stared at him silently. Behind me, Samael let out a low growl, and Vas held up his hands.
“Not touching her,” he said, backing away, and I turned back to the demon, who flashed his teeth at me.
“Enough,” he said. “You will drop your ward, or you will end up back in my bed, recovering from the aftereffects of a flame out.”
I wouldn’t do shit for him. He was a monster.
He read my reply in my face and a muscle ticked in his jaw.
“Very well.”
He lay his hand back on my ward, ignoring Vas’ curse. My ward flickered but I held on, pouring everything I had left into it.
“You’re strong, little witch,” Samael purred. “But compared to me, you’re a toddler learning to walk. I’ve been running forcenturies.”
I poured more magic into my ward, but I was almost blind. If I didn’t stop now, I’d collapse, completely powerless and vulnerable.
I had no desire to end up unconscious in his bed, so I took a deep breath and reached for my power, pulling it back into me. My shields went back up the moment my ward dropped, and I made a mental note to start practicing keeping them up while using my power.
I hadrealpower. Not the tiny trickle I’d always assumed was mine, but a deep well of magic that was dark and unfamiliar, yet could be harnessed to keep me from getting killed. Sure, I’d believed Selina when she told me about it, but feeling it stream through me made it real.
“Good,” Samael purred as the purple and gold disappeared. He took a step toward me and I stumbled away until my back hit the wall. He froze as I stared at him.
I’d forgotten. Somehow, I’d managed to forget just who this demon was. I’d managed to forget that demons may look similar to humans, but they had very different ideas about right and wrong.
Of course he wouldn’t see anything wrong with hurting one of his demons to make me perform like his little dancing monkey. Given what I knew about Samael it was entirely on-brand.
