“Again.” His voice was so low that she wasn’t sure she’d heard him correctly, but the unhinged gleam in his eye told her she had.
Nyx pulled back and swung again, landing a blow to his nose. His head flew back and a maniacal laugh bellowed from his chest. Nyx screamed as she raged and let her fists fly, punching him until her arms were too weak to swing and her hands too broken to hurt him, but she didn’t stop there.
Nyx pulled her leg back and swung as she yelled. Over and over, aiming her kicks high and low. First the kidneys, then the thighs and shins.Nyx squared her body, aimed her foot right for his balls, and kicked with as much fury as she could throw behind it.
He grabbed himself and fell to his knees, laughing around coughs and moans as he placed his hands to the ground and held himself up with all four appendages.
“What is wrong with you?” she asked, tears stinging her eyes.
“Gods I love it when you tease me, Kitten.” His voice was breathless, a smile lacing it. The Devil stood, his face bloody with bruises blooming in an explosion of color before he lunged. The Devil grabbed her by the throat and shoved. Her back slammed into a tree, the bark cutting like knives against her skin as he pushed. She screamed until his hand clamped aroundher mouth. The hand was replaced with a forearm as he rested his forehead against hers, their ragged breaths mingling in the silence of the forest.
“I underestimated you,” he said between panting breaths. “So resilient for such a little thief.” The Devil pressed his hips against her stomach and bit his arm to quiet his moan.
Nyx lashed out. Her hands were useless but she bucked against him, legs kicking and head swinging before he nearly crushed her windpipe with his arm.
“Settle down, kitten. No need to be so feisty.” His lips were pressed against the hand covering her mouth, and she was thankful for the barrier.
“Now be a good girl and use one of those hands to reach into my pocket.”
Nyx didn’t move as she stared defiantly into the swirling whites of his eyes.
“Reach into my fucking pocket, Nyx. Or don’t,” he smiled. “I’ll enjoy making you do it. We will take a detour, and I bet your pretty little hand would look delicious wrapped around my cock.”
If hatred could kill a man through a stare, she would have mutilated him ten times over.
Her breath hastened as she glared and reached down into his left pocket. It brushed against his dick and the way he pushed against her made her stomach curl.
A piece of paper met her fingers and she struggled to make them close enough to pull it free.
“That’s my good girl,” he praised, and the way her body reacted to it made her want to die. “That’s for our little problem.”
Nyx furrowed her brows, a silent question as her fingers finally clutched the parchment. The Lord of Nightmares dropped her as he stepped back abruptly and Nyx nearly fell to her knees.
“The fuck is this?” she spat in between coughs.
“That is an invitation to Dionysus’ club. That little piece of paper is worth more than a thousand of your shitty villages so don’t lose it.”
“What am I supposed to do with this?”
“Come now, kitten. You’re such a clever thing. Don’t let me down now.”
Nyx fought to gather her thoughts, but she couldn’t fathom why he would invite her to the club everyone had heard about, but hardly anyone had seen.
“Let me spell it out for you, Nyx. I need him there. Bring the Father of Chaos to this club, and your little Evangeline is safe.”
Her heart skipped a beat.
“I’ll even throw in something to sweeten the deal. Say, a steady supply of food and protection from the soldiers Ares sends to your door.”
“Ha!” she laughed. “That’s hardly a deal. At least Ares doesn’t hold anything over our heads. He wants his money and he leaves.” It would never be that simple with him. There would always be something more she would have to do to keep his protection. “I’m not signing my name on that line, asshole.”
“That’s my deal. You get it all, or you get none of it.”
“Wait,” she exclaimed, her hand flying up to placate him. “You said if I brought them then you’d leave Evangeline–”
“And then I changed my mind. You bring Chaos, I give you the girl, food, and safety.”
Nyx threw her hands up as she paced. “Fine!”
