Page 6 of Demonic Affliction

I look at Nyx, my heart jumping to my throat.

"Run for it!" I yell, grabbing Willow and bolting for the exit.

We’re a few paces from freedom when a fourth figure materializes in the mouth of the cave, sending out a blast of magic powerful enough to stop us in our tracks. The female hovers, her feathered black wings beating gracefully, gently lowering her to the ground.

“Malice, Kaebl, Roark, please… let's all calm down for a moment.”

The female is smaller than I expect for the authority in her voice. Her long black hair falls loose around a face set in fierce concentration, which contrasts greatly with her warm bronze-colored eyes. She whips her head to take us in, and as she does, I catch the faintest ring of silver flickering at the edge of her irises, like something coiled just beneath the surface, waiting to strike.

Her cunning eyes take in Willow’s shivering form tucked safely between us, and her gaze narrows in assessment before something in her expression shifts.

“You… are not Slaine,” she says.

"No. He is dead. He has been gone for a very long time,” I say.

She raises her brows. “How do you know?”

“Because we were born of his ashes,” Nyx explains, stepping forward with a glare. “Rhune tried to explain, but they wouldn’t listen. The four of us—my brothers and I—are all that's left of Slaine, and we are nothing like him," Nyx says with barely restrained disgust. "We have never been like him, and we will never be like him."

"I see…” The female glances over her shoulder, locking eyes with the gold one. She is silent for a long while, and I realize they are having a telepathic conversation through their mate bond. Astounding…

After a while, the woman turns her attention back to us. “We believe you." She takes a small step closer. "It may be stupid of us, but we do."

“You have no reason not to trust us,” Nyx points out. “You are the ones who threatened us.” He turns his glare toward the red one.

“You’ll have to forgive Malice. He tends to think violence is the solution to everything.”

“It has yet to fail me,” he adds with a feline smirk.

She waves a hand dismissively. “He’s sweet when you get to know him. Until then, just try not to piss him off.”

She stops a few paces away, her eyes trying to see over my shoulder. "Is that your mate?"

I nod stiffly. "Yes. And if you threaten her like the red one, I will not hesitate to attack you."

She raises her brows as a single, barking laugh explodes into the air. "I don't doubt that. I wouldn't recommend it, though." She shoves her thumb over her shoulder with a grin, gesturing to the purple demon. "Roark has a mean set of claws, and he never needs much of an excuse to use them when he feels his mate is in danger."

"So we are the same in that regard, at least." I fix the red one with a glare, watching his movements carefully. He may be larger, but I am speedier… which means I could tear out his throat before he could crush me in his mammoth-sized paws.

The woman turns, addressing the room at large. "Everyone, stand down. This was clearly a misunderstanding. Slaine is dead. He's not coming back, and we have nothing to gain by fighting each other over it."

The tension slowly bleeds out of the cave. The gold one's shoulders drop first, then the purple one's, his glare softening into something almost sheepish. Even the red one settles, though his molten eye never quite leaves me.

She turns back to me, her expression gentling. "My name is Dagny. Dagny Olavera.” Her eyes flick over my shoulder again. “Can I say hello to her? Your mate?"

“I suppose… if she wants to.” I gaze down at Willow, surprised to find her expression lit up with excitement. “Do you want to say hello?”

“Duh!”

Before I can react, Willow rushes out from behind me, and she and Dagny throw their arms around each other in a firm embrace.

“Oh my God!” Willow squeals. “I never thought I’d see another human again! Much less a woman! My name’s Willow, and it’s so nice to meet you!”

Dagny chuckles, running her palm over Willow's back in a motherly caress. “I am only half human. But it’s wonderful to see another woman after being surrounded by all these stinky men for the last twenty-six years.”

Willow giggles, pulling back slightly to grin at Dagny. Only when their eyes meet does Willow’s expression go slack, and her eyes start glowing a bright, ominous red.

Her body seizes a heartbeat later, limbs jerking as a guttural language tumbles from her mouth. Words and ancient syllables fill the air, scraping against something old and primal in my soul.