“You have no claims here, no debts to collect. Explain yourselves.”
“We don’t need to explain anything to a fucking bloodsucker,” the elder Oniguro stated, his voice low and controlled. “Now, you can either hand over my future daughter-in-law and we leave you with your life intact, or…”
Balls of flame burst to life in Ronan’s palms, skittering along his hands and forearms like mice along a wall.
“Or we make your poor wife a widow,” Ronan finished.
I felt Vorthain’s cold, dark power begin to surge behind us. “So you’re the one Sage couldn’t forget.”
Victor’s head swiveled between me, the dark priest, and the demon threat across the small coffee table. “For the love of Sanguiel, someone explain to me right now why the Oniguros are in my office demanding my mate!”
“They’re here because you’re not my mate,” I replied, smiling at Ronan.
He winked, making my heart flutter.
Victor grabbed the hair at the nape of my neck, forcing my head back. “What was that, darling?”
“I said,” I gritted my teeth, holding out my hand to stop Ronan from intervening. The pain was nothing compared to the joy of finally seeing the look on Victor’s face when I told him the truth. “You’re not my mate. Ronan is.”
Victor’s expression blanked, and then his jaw clenched. “Ronan…” He whispered his name like a curse, then faced my demon mate again. “This is impossible. She’s mine!”
“She isn’t yours,” Ronan said, stepping forward. Orange sparks licked the ceiling as the flames grew larger. “And she never was.”
The room detonated.
Asmodiel ducked and moved out of the action as Ronan leapt over the couch, kicking the small table between the couches, splintering wood that slammed into Victor’s knees. I shrieked as Victor shoved me off his lap, and barely caught myself on the arm of the chair.
Victor then roared, moving faster than my eyes could follow. He pushed into Ronan with such force that the couch groaned under the impact. Ronan grunted, fire flaring in his hands, throwing Victor off balance.
I ran behind the desk, hoping that would be enough to shield me from the fiery shrapnel.
“You think a few flames will stop me?” Victor spat, leaping and grabbing a hanging light fixture as leverage to fling himself at Ronan again.
“A little more than a few,” Ronan growled.
The rest of the demons joined the fray, and they all collided in the center of the room, a violent inferno threatening to consume everything in its path. Victor escaped the arms of the demons holding him back and slammed Ronan against thefloor, knocking the wind out of him, but Ronan rolled, flames snaking up the marble columns, and shoved Victor back into the bookshelves.
Victor snarled, swinging with his enhanced strength, and Ronan ducked, rolling under the blow. Fire shot from his fingertips, burning the floor where Victor had stood moments before.
The vampire guards finally poured in, teeth bared and claws extended, but the demons answered in kind. Fire met fang, and the room became a blur of heated motion. I could barely keep up with my eyes, let alone think, as chaos swirled around us.
One figure, however, stood stationary, simply observing the melee with vague interest. Why wasn’t Vorthain helping Victor?
Not that I wanted him to, of course. But his decision not to intervene was troubling.
Victor swung again, catching Ronan by the shoulder and hurling him into the far couch. It cracked under the force. Ronan sprang up immediately, flames flaring around his hands, and tackled Victor backward, slamming him into the wall.
The impact split the air with heat and power, and I ducked, my heart hammering in my chest. Demons and vampires collided, the sound of ripping fabric, shattering furniture, and snarls filling the room.
Then, out of the corner of my eye, I spotted him—the vampire from the hallway. Calm, precise, and utterly composed amidst the madness, walking straight through the fray like it was a scene choreographed just for his entrance.
Was he actually whistling?
When the time comes, stick with me.
He reached behind the desk for my hand, steady and sure, and I took it without hesitation as he exchanged a secret nod with Ronan.
Victor’s dark gaze swung toward the vampire guard. “Take her to the rooms!” he barked, assuming the vampire was loyal to him. “Now!”
