With a dark aura and massive presence, Ryker stepped closer. “Spell?”
Persius stiffened from his seat on the bed.
Bael scoffed and also stepped closer to Adar. “Swan boy can’t be stupid enough to bespell our girl.”
“Nix, make them go away,” Adar told her, waving for her to do something. “Don’t you want to be alone with me? Alone with the man you love?”
“Would you all justleave?” Nix demanded, sneering the words at the incubus, dragon, and pegasus.
“First, you enchant her,” Bael muttered, inching closer and closer. “Then, you dye her beautiful goddamn red hair. And…” Bael stepped right in front of where Adar stood. “You actually groped my mate’s lush tits?”
Adar swallowed nervously and looked pleadingly at Nix. “Make them leave—”
“Oh, I’ll leave right now.” Bael grabbed the sides of Adar’s skull and disappeared.
He evaporated from existence, taking Adar with him.
One second, they were there. The next, they were gone. As if a blink had eliminated their mutual existence.
“ADAR?” Nix’s bespelled brain, simply, broke.
CHAPTER 23
Bael popped back into the room, his presence suddenly justappearingthere like he had never left. Like the atmosphere had swallowed him whole, decided he was a little too much, and regurgitated him back into existence without harming a dark, wispy hair on his head.
“What…” Nix trailed off and looked around the room. Bael was back, but Adar was not. Her fingers balled into fists.The man I love was just taken from me. Her pink vision turned red. “Where is he?”
Bael dug a hand into his pocket and unwrapped a round, red lollipop. “Hell.”
“WHAT?” Little flames licked up Nix’s arms. “Bring him back!”
Bael gave his cherry lollipop a long suck, hollowing his cheeks, before murmuring, “Can’t.”
“What do you mean youcan’t?”
Even Persius frowned. “You really took him to Hell?”
“My transporting only has one stop.”
“Go get him and bring him back right NOW.” Nix stomped, and her frustrated flames grew, flowing down over her hands and fingertips.
“Can’t, babe. Only natural-born creatures of Hell can go back and forth.” Bael slurped his lollipop as he pulled it from his mouth and calmly said, “Think of it this way: If he didn’t deserve to be in Hell, he would have simply popped right back here.”
Bael explained, “A person undeserving of torture cannot stay in Hell. The fact that he is still there should tell you everything you need to know.”
“You’ve been bespelled like I was,” Persius started.
“Bring him back to me NOW,” she commanded. Little flames jumped down from her arms to the floor.
Persius quickly stomped on them before they could fully ignite and start a real fire. The flames on her skin moved to cover her neck and torso, burning off the top she wore within seconds. The fabric’s ashes floated down as her legs lit with flames as well.
Persius stepped back from her.
“Hell yeah, baby. I love it when you get so mad at me, your clothes burn away.” Bael strode right up to her, not displaying any fear as he peered down at her. “I guess taking the guy to Hell didn’t undo the spell, huh?”
Nix’s hands shot up and wrapped around Bael’s throat. She throttled him, and he grinned at her like he enjoyed the choking.
“You really…love him?” Ryker asked in a low, raspy voice full of hurt.
