Inside the Rink once more,Shadrach paced. The humans couldn’t hear what was going on inside the makeshift cell, and the other demons didn’t seem to care. His only reprieve was outside, but now, he couldn’t bring himself to go. His imagination would be worse than hearing what was actually happening.
“Tell me what I want to know,” Talon growled, low and vicious. His voice was muffled through the door, but Shadrach heard him clearly.
Isaac’s quiet groan sent equal parts heat and ice down Shadrach’s spine. He sounded beautiful when he was in pain, and Shadrach wanted to scream and snarl and rip thedoor off its hinges in frustration that Talon was pulling those sounds from him for thewrong reasons.
And then Isaac laughed, hysterical and mocking. “You think Sloan tells me his plans? Please. Tell me another joke.”
The sound of bone on bone made Shadrach flinch, and Isaac grunted. His loud breaths filled the air for a moment, followed by a sigh.
“You know,” Isaac said lightly, “it seems strange to me that you’re even sticking around.”
“What?” Talon bit out.
“Yeah. You can do that teleporting thing, right? It’s how you got me here. You could go anywhere in the world, couldn’t you? You could take Alex and go anywhere. The paladins could be someone else’s problem.”
Talon’s cold chuckle rolled through the door. “I’m not going anywhere, holy man. This is my town. I was here long before the guild even existed.”
Isaac hummed a doubtful note. “Eh, I don’t know. The guild was founded by the Catholic Church. Are you older than Catholicism—ah!” His breathing was hard and fast, pained little whimpers escaping with every exhale.
Shadrach stopped pacing and closed his eyes.
“No, no, no,please.” It wasn’t loud, but it was enough.
Shadrach moved without thinking, rushing for the door and shoving it open. It banged hard against the wall as Shadrach’s eyes found Talon and Isaac. Isaac was bruised and bloody, his shirt ripped down the middle. Half-healed cuts littered his chest and stomach, the demon blood working overtime to heal them all. Talon was gripping his face, forcing his head back, and held a knife poised over one of his pretty, green-gold eyes.
He grabbed Talon and flung him away. Talon’s grip onIsaac sent the chair toppling over, and Isaac cried out in pain just as Talon’s back collided with the wall.
Isaac. Shit, Isaac. It was the only thought blaring through his mind. He hauled his chair upright, and Isaac whimpered. His arm was bent at an unnatural angle. The weight of the chair had broken it when he fell.
“Oh, shit.” His stomach lurched with worry, and he rounded Isaac to untie him. His fingers scrambled at the knot until a hand landed on his shoulder and jerked him around.
“What the fuck do you think you’re—” Talon started.
Shadrach reacted, slamming his fist into Talon’s face and grabbing him, shoving him up against the wall.
There, they both froze, their hands tangled in each other’s shirts and their teeth bared at one another—because this was foretold months ago.
‘When you and Talon finally come to blows, it’ll be overyourhuman.’
Shadrach’s eyes widened, and Talon’s narrowed.
“No,” Talon snarled. “Hell no. This one? Seriously?”
Shadrach pushed off of him, turning away. The others were crowding in the doorway, watching the whole thing. Ira was the only one who looked unsurprised.
“What the fuck is going on?” Storm asked.
Malachi looked downright gleeful. He waved a finger between Shadrach and Isaac. “That’s?—”
“Shut the fuck up,” Shadrach ordered, returning to Isaac’s bonds and untying them. The last thing he wanted was for all of them to start fucking gossiping in front of them while Isaac had a broken arm.
“Talon, come here,” Alex said, reaching for him.Shadrach kept one eye on Talon as he passed them, but he made no move toward either of them.
Isaac hissed as the rope loosened and fell away, leaving his arm to dangle. Shadrach cradled it, touching the break gently.
“My blood will heal it,” he said softly, kneeling beside him, “but the bone has to be lined up. Just hold on.”
Isaac threw his head back, his body tightening like a wire as Shadrach moved the bone, sliding it into place and holding firmly until the discoloration began to fade away. Little by little, as the pain dimmed, the tension drained from Isaac’s body, leaving him slumped and exhausted in the chair.
