Ariel shrieked and tried to pull away, but the Saxon held fast to her.
An overwhelming emptiness consumed Valteri. Fury blinded him. No one would take his Ariel! He’d rather die than live another moment without her by his side.
He ran after them, intent on killing the bastard.
But more demons ran between them, separating them.
Gold wings sprang out of Ariel’s back and an ethereal glow highlighted her entire body.
Suddenly, that glow blinded all of them.
“She doesn’t belong here.”
The creatures around him hissed those words.
“Butyoudo!”
Valteri scowled at them. “Get away from me!” He tried to knock them away. “Ariel!”
She ignored his call.
Furious, he tried to get her attention. But instead he came face-to-face with a man with eyes like his.
One brown and one green.
Stunned and confused, he stared at the stranger. Yet there was something eerily familiar about him. With long dark hair, the man was even in height with him. “Who are you?”
Al-Baraka. The demons whispered the name that meant “broker.”
Katadykari—the damned.
“We are all demon born.”
Valteri turned to find an orange-fleshed demon behind him. But this one wasn’t attacking.
“But it’s up to you whether or not you’re damned.” With those words, Al-Baraka turned and unsheathed his sword so that he could help to fight off the demons after Valteri. “Go! Never come here again!”
Flames burst all around as the orange demon kicked him.
“Valteri?”
Out of nowhere, gentle hands stroked his cheek with a warm softness he could scarcely comprehend.
Opening his eyes, he stared up into the tender blue gaze of his wife.
His wife. He swallowed at the thought. For once the title didn’t fill him with dread. Nay, it was more like a caress.
A slow smile spread across her lips and her eyes softened even more, bringing a raging fire to his loins. Though a thousand aches pounded through his body, not even they could detract from the need he felt for her.
“Good evening, milord,” she whispered, rising from his bed with a gentle grace.
Valteri reached for her arm. He didn’t want her to leave. Not after his nightmare.
He’d almost lost her to demons.
“Are you all right?”
He nodded, not quite trusting his voice. Reluctantly, he forced himself to let go.
