As water dripped down her arm, she mentally wrestled with herself. If she did remove the circle, it would be permanent. That would be it. She’d never see him again unless she wrote down his name in a notebook, but that would mean he’d linger in the back of her mind forever.
Her heart tightened in an inexplicably painful way.
You know what? I want to yell at him.She wanted to get her rage out, because all this was unfair.
She deserved the semblance of a normal life, even if she had to go through different relationships until she found the one.
She threw the rag to the side, clicked her fingers to make the candles spark to life, and shoved her hands down as she began to chant. Her lightly dripping wounds from the creature biting her should be enough of a blood sacrifice.
I’m going to make him regret doing this to me.
She’d also give back his weird noodle rat with wings too.
The summoning circle glowed to life, and she hadn’t even finished the second repeat of the chant before a hand reached through and slammed the ground outside the circle. Claws scraped against the wooden floorboards as they fought for purchase. A second hand came up, and she could see him pulling himself through – quicker than ever before.
Her blood ran cold when a face, an actualface– with a nose, lips, pointed ears, and all – emerged. And it was snarling, baring sharp white fangs below bright, electric-blue eyes glowing in the muted light, glaring dangerously in her direction.
The same colour blue swayed from a gust of power on top of his head, his hair short around black horns tipped with glowing blue ends. His skin was a such a light blue it was easy to mistakeit for human, and it gave his lips a slight purple tinge to their pinkness.
Even though she hadn’t finished the chant, it didn’t seem to matter. He grunted when the portal tried to suck him back through, as she hadn’t completed the spell, and his strong biceps flexed in strain as he fought. He shoved his completely human legs up into a crouch above it with his legs in the air, only to slam his feet on the hard ground when it turned solid. A long tail, split at the end like a two-pronged fork, flicked to the side.
A face that was ungodly beautiful greeted her, chiselled like a handsome marble statue, with straight blue eyebrows, an aquiline nose, and full lips. Her jaw dropped in disbelief.
It was him. Even if it didn’t look like him, she knew his glow, knew his presence.
“You have been very naughty, little witch,” he sneered... out loud. With actual words. And his voice was rough, rogue, and wicked, with an accent that sounded entirely inhuman.
She’d been intending to yell at him, but the air in the room suddenly choked her with waves of hostility. The tiny hairs on her arms lifted as goosebumps prickled across her flesh.
One word blasted through her mind.
Run.
Chapter
Twenty-one
Skylar didn’t even make it to her feet.
She was about to leap up from her hands and knees, but his soft, warm hand wrapped around her ankle and pulled her leg. She squealed when she was flipped, then dragged across the ground and under him as he curled his body entirely around her to stop her from escaping.
Skylar pushed at his broad chest and dug her knees into his gut, then the realisation that she had a very naked and very angry whatever he was above her gave her pause. He lay down on top of her, forcing her legs together with his knees as she slipped between them.
Growling still, he slid his nose under her jaw, then traced along the hard length of bone, only for long fangs to follow behind it.
She stiffened when she thought he was going to bite her.
Instead, his noises shifted into a deep, rumbling purr that radiated through her hands.
“I am displeased, darklight,” he grated out, his voice tangled with aggression that didn’t match his contented noises.
“L-let go of me,” she demanded sternly, her hands crackling with electricity in warning. “Or I swear I’ll hurt you.”
Her stupid body betrayed her by tingling in utter delight when his hot breath exhaled around her ear. “We both know your protection magic doesn’t work on me.” She tried not to arch from his breath or the depravity of his voice, then something cold pressed against the back of her hand. “This will, though.”
Her ritual dagger was placed in her palm by his forked tail, and despite everything, she instantly threw it away like it would give her frostbite. In her heart, she immediately knew she didn’t want to hurt him.
Especially when it didn’t appear he wanted to harm her either.
