Page 16 of Demonic Affliction

“Did you need something?” she asks. “Or did you just come to make sure I was safe?”

“Malice needs you,” he says. “He needs to speak with you about something, but he would not tell me what.”

“Hm. Best not to keep him waiting, then.” Dagny gestures for me to follow her. “Come on. I’ll show you back to your room.”

She leads me back toward the bedroom my mates are waiting in, but just before we enter, my bladder decides to make itself known.

“Um…”

“Yes?” Dagny asks.

“You don’t happen to have a little girls’ room anywhere around here?”

She laughs, pointing me down a hallway to my left. “Walk down that passage, and you’ll find it. Sorry to leave you so quickly, but I have to deal with this.”

“It’s no problem. We’ll talk later.”

“Yes.” She waves goodbye. “See you later, Willow!”

“See you!”

After waving goodbye, I make my way toward the bathroom, letting out a deep sigh of relief when I find it.

Except, as soon as I sit down, I’m interrupted by a familiar intruder.

Rough morning?

I stifle a scream as the disembodied voice breaks out in my mind. Sweet lord, not this again…

You should get used to it, babe. As I said, I’m not going anywhere.

“I remember,” I groan, throwing an arm over my eyes. “What the hell was that earlier?”

What do you mean?

“The blackout? You took over my body and tried to kill my mates? Is any of this ringing a bell?”

Oh, that. Yes, it’s all coming back to me.

“Care to explain?”

The entity lets out a deep sigh, and when it speaks, its words are laced with regret. I will admit, that was a mistake. It was… reckless of me. I should not have overridden your will before we were assimilated fully—your vessel could have been damaged beyond repair. But… The serafyn releases a low growl. But when I saw the halfling, I could not help myself.

“The halfling?”

The one you call Dagny. She is a dangerous, unholy creature made from two worlds, belonging to neither. My baser instincts told me she needed to be removed from existence.

There is a long pause. I would have been successful, too, if my pea-brained vessel did not insist on rejecting me and our bond so strongly.

“I’m not pea-brained. I’m just not an evil bitch!”

Are you certain about that?

“Ugh!”

Dagny knocks on the door, startling me back to reality. “You okay, Willow? I thought I heard you talking to someone.”

“I’m fine!” Go away, I tell the voice. You’re making me look crazy.