Oblivion.
For I had given her another name.
“Tut, tut, little beauty,” I murmured softly near her ear, the faintest trace of amusement threading through my tone despite the tension coiled beneath it.
“I told you to call me, Wye.”
The correction was quiet, almost playful, though the reminder carried a restrained edge. If she belonged anywhere in my world, then she would use the name I had chosen to give her. Which was why my voice hardened slightly as I continued.
“You came here searching for something, and it would be discourteous of me to pretend otherwise.” The words carried just far enough for those nearest to us to hear without making a scene. Around us, the crowd stirred uneasily, a few demons already sensing that something was about to unfold. Beneath our feet, the runes awakened, and her body stiffened against my hold.
“I don’t understand,” she muttered softly, and I couldn’t help but lean closer before whispering the promise near her ear.
“You will.”My gaze then lowered briefly toward the marble floor, where the spell waited patiently for me to snap my fingers. A sound that cut cleanly through the low murmur of the club the second I did it, and for a single heartbeat, nothing changed.
Then the marble began to glow.
The pale silver veins threaded through the black stone beneath our feet brightened gradually at first, like distant lightning trapped beneath the surface of the floor. The light spread outward in arcs, tracing the intricate patterns hidden within the marble. Soon the symbols emerged clearly enough for the nearest onlookers to realize this was no mere decoration.
The circle awakened exactly as it had been designed to. Ancient runes unfolded in widening rings around us, their lines sharp and precise as the magic threaded through the stone. The glow deepened rapidly, flowing from pale white into a sicklygreen that cast harsh shadows upward across the faces of those watching.
A murmur rippled through the crowd. The demons nearest the forming circle stepped back instinctively, widening the perimeter without needing to be told. And my girl felt it immediately.
“What are you doing?” she asked, and the moment she tried to step away, I tightened my arm around her waist.
I pulled her back against me in one smooth motion before she could cross the boundary of the spell.
“Ah-ah… oh no you don’t.” My hand spread firmly across her abdomen as I held her in place, the strength of my grip leaving no room for argument. Beneath our feet, the circle continued to blaze brighter. The runes completed themselves with a final surge of green light as the air inside the circle warped.
Then it fractured.
The fabric between realms split open like glass under pressure, and the demon I had been waiting for finally appeared. My surprise was immediate. Not only was this not who I had expected, but the creature itself was incapable of the power signature I had felt.
A Kobalos demon dropped to one knee within the glowing perimeter. One hand braced against the marble as his body solidified fully within the circle, exactly where I wanted him.
The runes surged instantly, lines of green light rising around him in vertical arcs that snapped into place like the bars of a cage, imprisoning him. For the first time that evening, satisfaction settled fully into my chest, although I was still full of questions. He had lingered near her long enough, and now he belonged to me, soon to face judgment as he had taken the bait.
The Kobalos rose slowly within the circle, the green light reflecting sharply across the tension in his posture as he tested the boundary without hesitation. The moment his fingersbrushed the glowing barrier, the runes snapped violently in response, the energy striking him back with a hissed breath as sparks scattered across the marble floor.
I had suspected he had been near her earlier that day, though I hadn’t known when or where. Perhaps in her apartment before I had arrived. Perhaps in the morning, before she had even left. Either way, the signature he left behind had been enough for my spell to work.
“Bo!” Her voice tore through the room before she could stop herself. The sound struck me far more sharply than I expected, as it was more like she was calling out to her friend.
He lifted his head immediately, his gaze locking onto hers across the circle, and the brief flicker of surprise hardened quickly into something far more protective.
“What have you done?!” she accused as she twisted instinctively against the arm I held around her waist. The sudden movement sent a ripple of tension through her body as she tried to break free of me. My hold tightened quickly as I gritted my teeth.
“What I should have done sooner,” I replied, unable to keep the anger from slipping into my voice.
“He has lingered too long, and I do not tolerate attachments to what belongs to me.” My words were quiet but firm, and I meant every one of them. The Kobalos straightened fully within the circle, the green light casting jagged shadows across his face as he regarded me with open hostility.
“Bo!” she cried again, struggling harder against my hold as though she believed she could somehow reach him. The desperate pull of her instinct urged her forward, and my arm became a solid band across her torso. I pulled her back firmly against my chest before she could take even a single step away from me.
“Girly, it’s okay.” The Kobalos’s voice carried across the circle, steady despite the tension tightening his posture as the runes continued to pulse around him. Her anger ignited instantly, while mine was barely restrained as I heard the familiarity in his voice when speaking to her.
“Release him!” The venom in her tone cut through the air, and my grip tightened fractionally as I felt the change in her mood. The earlier warmth between us vanishing beneath the force of her fury.
“He entered my domain without invitation…repeatedly,” I said evenly, my gaze fixed on the Kobalos as the circle flared brighter around him.
