He stopped her words with a furious kiss. All the anguish he felt, all the frustration, he poured into that kiss. When he pulled away at last for air, Gemma had a dazed look in her eyes and whispered, “Wow.”
Beyha whistled low to draw their attention back. “I don’t understand the attraction of these Vartik males, but they must have something that makes normally level-headed females lose their minds.” She gave Midnight an annoyed look but the other demon was still ignoring the rest of the room, totally engaged in her exchange with Juston.
“Still,” she said, stepping closer to Gemma, “you make a good point.”
Beyha lunged forward in a flash, and Cal saw what she meant to do. He tried to tug Gemma out of the way but he couldn’t. Gemma knew what was about to happen and resisted him.
I should be able to pull her across the room easily, he thought, confused. Then he realized she was a Guardian now, and the being inside her might even be more powerful than he was.
Beyha reached for Gemma’s arm and the world slowed down as Cal watched. He couldn’t let this happen. All of a sudden, he felt awash in warmth. His powers were back.
“Stop!” he commanded, using every ounce of persuasion inside him.
The demon froze, her hand less than a millimeter away from Gemma’s skin. Cal pulled his beloved back just as Beyha broke his hold on her mind.
Cal was drained already. He’d regained his powers but had only been able to hold the demon for a moment. She was too powerful, as much as it hurt him to admit that.
They would have to find some way of keeping her from going for Gemma’s powers again. He propelled them both backward, feeling Gemma bump into the cabinets once he’d backed them up as far as they could go.
Cal raised his hands, ready to block any attempt Beyha might make to get at Gemma. He was quickly running out of ideas, wondering if he would have to resort to fist-fighting a woman. Was it still ungentlemanly if that woman was also a demon?
Luckily for him, Gemma was never out of ideas for long, and when Beyha reached striking distance, his beloved was ready with a surprise for her.
Gemma leapt out from behind his back and Cal watched as a metal blur flashed in front of his eyes. She’d hit the demon with a metal tray she must have found in the cabinets behind him.
The demon fell back, but not for long. She sprang forward, her eyes full of violence. Cal put himself between Gemma and Beyha, and the female demon hit him like a freight train. He barely managed to keep his feet.
The Seeker straightened, her eyes full of malice. “Okay, assholes,” she said, inhaling deeply. “It’s time for you to die.”
Cal saw the truth in her eyes. Beyha intended to kill them. And she might be able to accomplish it. Even if the demon couldn’t rip him apart, if she got past him and got Gemma’s powers, he would die from sadness. He prepared himself for the fight of his life.
The demon let out a screech and sprinted forward, only to be struck by an invisible force before she could reach them.
Beyha’s eyes were wild as a layer of ice began to form over her body. She was rooted to the spot, icicles climbing her limbs until she was completely encased. Frozen over.
Cal looked up, not understanding what had happened. Then he saw Dunkel, the one they called Midnight, breathing heavily, tears streaming down her cheeks.
“I’m a traitor too, now,” she sobbed, then rushed to the door and burst out of the room.
“Wait,” Juston shouted, running after her.
“Juston!” Cal called. “We’ve got to get out of here.”
“Not without her!” his brother shot back and was gone.
Fuck. He’s fallen in love with her. It was obvious. But could they really wait around while his brother chased a demon female around the loony bin?
Gemma put a hand on his shoulder. “She helped us. You have to give her a chance. And him.”
Cal turned, filled with such emotion that he couldn’t express it. All he could do was pull Gemma into his arms and kiss her with all the pent-up passion he had.
