Oh, and this demon? This demon would make damn sure nothing stood in the way of him getting everything he wanted.
Chapter thirty-four
Dagon
Yesterday was perfect.
Not perfect in the way humans used the word – clean, untouched, easy. Perfect in the way I meant it. Perfect because Di had folded the towel six times and then looked at me, terrified, and I had looked back at him without flinching, proving that I didn't see him as deranged or a monster. Perfect because he had explained the compulsions and I had listened, and neither of us had pretended the conversation was easy. Perfect because we had wrestled on the couch and read a book and he had cockblocked me with a Kindle, and at no point in the entire day had he had to be someone he wasn't.
That's what perfect meant, in our world. Di getting to be Di – towel-folding, ring-twisting, intrusive-thought-having,bookworm-obsessed, smart-mouthed, kind, generous, gorgeous, deeply loving Di – and being met for it. Not in spite of it. For it.
That's why I was even more anxious about bringing Diablos with us today.
Setting my emotions aside, there was something different about Di today. I kept stealing glances at him as we drove to the location Adam mentioned yesterday.
Di seemed way more relaxed and focused than usual and more than I expected. No, that didn’t sound right. It wasn’t that I minded him being calm. I just didn't expect it. I expected nerves, fear, restlessness. But he was composed. Too composed. And my gut told me there was something I didn't know.
He looked like a different person.
I hoped I was just overthinking. I was also not my usual self after all. I was gearing up for a fight, and I couldn’t afford to let my emotions take the wheel.
We rode in silence. Finally, after what felt like a few hours later, we arrived at a bare, enormous field. On the right stood an abandoned barn. A déjà vu of that abandoned town from a few days ago hit me hard. Dense woods lined the left side. There were no birds singing, no wind, no signs of life at all.
It was unnatural.
Too quiet.
The moment I stepped out of the car, I sensed demons, a lot of them. I couldn’t see them, but I knew they were here. At least twenty Fireborns. The question still remained, why would Fireborns be after a celestial object? It didn’t make sense.
Di, Adam, Talon, Cain, and I stepped deeper into the clearing. A female and a male Fireborn emerged from the barn and strode toward us.
What was their plan? Facing so many of us? They didn’t stand a chance, and they knew it. Unless they had a hidden advantage,we didn’t know about. The sudden urge to get Di out of here was overwhelming. My instinct screamed to protect him.
“I see you brought friends. There was no need for that,” the woman spoke, her eyes locked on Di.
I stepped closer to him, my body coiled, ready to unleash all Hell just because she talked to him. Her voice grated on my nerves. I wanted to wipe out her cunning, disgusting smile.
“You have friends too, don’t you,” I answered instead of Di.
“You can never be too prepared.”
“I could say the same.”
“All we need is the one whose hand you’re holding,” she said, eyes never leaving Di. He stiffened beside me. “We just need you to unlock something. That’s all. No one will be harmed.”
“Talk to me. Not him,” I growled.
“Huh, don’t you have other things to do,Starborn? Is playing the protector your kink? If it is, you’ll fail, dear. Besides, it doesn’t suit you.” The venom in her voice when she said Starborn made it clear, she loathed us. “Give us what we want, and you may stay alive.”
Yes, I believed that as much as I believed in Santa Claus. No way in all of Hell would they let us go. Besides, I wouldn’t let them walk away from here, either. They were a threat to Diablos. And anything that was a threat to him should be eliminated.
It was as simple as that.
My demon lurked so close to my skin. It wanted out. It wanted to tear everyone to shreds.
“I don’t think so,” I answered calmly.
She nodded at the man beside her, who slipped back into the barn. Then she turned back to us, smiling.
