He stood at the edge of the gathering, on the other side of the ballroom from me. Even though he was halfway between two columns, too far away for either to cast that much darkness over him, his tall body was half in shadow. But they didn’t completely hide how broad his shoulders were. And when he turned his head to scan the room, I caught a glimpse of dark hair cropped short, a strong jaw shadowed with stubble and bisected by a thin white scar that ran from his ear to his chin, and piercing eyes that were nearly black.
He studied the room, every movement controlled until our eyes met across the crowded hall. Then he took several steps forward before regaining his restraint when he reached the edge of the gathering. It was the only outward sign that he felt the tether that snapped into place between us.
My self-discipline wasn’t nearly as strong as his. My aura detonated outward in a corona of white-blue sparks that raced along my arms before I could choke it back. The air around me popped like dry kindling catching. It was a lucky thing that I’d moved just far enough away from everyone that nobody was close enough to notice.
He continued to hold my gaze, and there was no surprise in his dark eyes. Just the same bone-deep certainty that I was feeling.
We were fated to be together. Mates.
I’d spent years denying my succubus nature, refusing to feed. Worried that I would exert undue influence, I never let anyone close enough for my aura to even brush them. Meeting my mate before I gained control over my sensual powers was a cruel twist of fate.
But there was no denying who the powerful demon was to me. No matter how much I wished otherwise since the timing was awful.
As though sensing my thoughts, he started to move forward again.
Panic clawed up my throat. If he got close enough to touch me, my aura might lash out and sink hooks into him without any regard for his free will. The last thing I wanted was for my allure to twist whatever he felt into something false. The thought made bile burn in the back of my throat.
I turned and bolted, darting toward the nearest shadowed corridor. My aura kept sparking, so I didn’t stop until I reached a narrow hallway lined with unlit sconces. I pressed my back to the cold wall, my chest heaving as my palms flattened against the stone. But instead of helping to ground the storm inside me, my powers searched for the nearest outlet.
The lights burned bright as footsteps echoed down the corridor. There was nowhere to run or hide. Not that I thought itwould even help when our connection was so strong that I didn’t need to look to know who it was.
He stopped a few feet away, just close enough for me to feel the weight of his presence pressing against my skin.
“Running won’t change what just happened.”
I kept my eyes on the floor. “I know.”
Our connection grew stronger in the silence that stretched between us.
“Your name?” he finally asked.
My answer was the barest whisper of sound. “Isolde Virelyn.”
“Kastiel Skaithe.”
I risked a glance up at his reply, recognizing his name. He was the head of security for The Abyss, powerful enough that my father had instructed me to find him if I ran into trouble during the celebration. Flames swirled in his dark eyes, a sign his demon was close to the surface. Which only made my succubus half push for control again, sending another surge of power from my palms into the wall.
“Why did you run if you know who I am to you?”
My laugh held no humor. I lifted my chin, forcing myself to meet those unreadable eyes. “Fate did you no favors by tying you to a succubus who can’t control what she is. You don’t want this tether, Kastiel Skaithe. Trust me.”
“We’ll see about that,” he murmured.
Before I could argue, a sharp crack split the air behind me. Whirling around, I gawked as a rift no bigger than my hand tore open in the wall. Black smoke curled out. Something small and vicious skittered through, with red eyes and needle teeth.
Kastiel moved faster than I could track. Shadows lashed from his hands, wrapping the creature in black coils. It shrieked once before he crushed it to ash with a flex of his fist.
Then the rift snapped shut, and he turned toward me again. “Your aura did that.”
He said it more as a statement of fact than a question, or even an accusation. But I still felt exposed in a way that left me vulnerable.
I wrapped my arms around myself. “I told you. I’m broken.”
His gaze swept over me, flames swirling in his eyes again. “Not broken. Just caged too long.”
Maybe. But if I ever let my succubus side out near him, I was terrified I’d destroy the one person fate had chosen for me.
2
