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THE DEVIL: LIBERATE YOURSELF FROM THAT WHICH LIMITS YOU
I’d sensed the wrongness in the magic coming from inside the house before the sun slid into the ocean. Knowing Rosemarie is here, that she’s ours? It made me shed my stone form as quickly as I could, launching from the roof even as Theodopolis called for us.
Theo, I remind myself. The dealing demon goes by Theo here. Not that I care either way so long as he delivers our queen to us.
Jace followed me within seconds, asking if I’d heard the female scream from inside. Of course I had. If anything had happened to Rosemarie, we would’ve torn the house to shreds. Having the soul guardian, Hudyakis, show up in the unassuming form of a tiny owl with ruffled grey feathers had been a surprise. It’s been ages since I last saw him. Yet I hadn’t spared a thought for which of the four women inside he might be here to protect. No, my entire concern remained on Rosemarie.
When she’d slipped out of the doors to stand between my twin and me, it reaffirmed my faith in her as our future queen. She came to us as surely as if we’d conjured her.
Her dark eyes—wide with fear—have me scowling. Her beauty this close stuns me. So much that I lose focus for a moment.
Hudyakis zips between my wings and my head, returning me to the present. I cast the shadow magic that comes to me as naturally as flying, threading it around us like a shield.
The owl flutters about as if checking on her, and I don’t interfere with his nearness. Not that a soul guardian would be an easy one to fight in such close quarters. While he may look harmless in this form, he could shift into his other one in a heartbeat. Those soft feathers would turn as sharp as steel, and the tiny talons would become giant, gilded claws made for ripping and tearing. I won’t risk Rosemarie, and if she’s his designated charge, then having a soul guardian protecting her would be a gods-sent gift.
Theodopolis, the dealing demon, charges our way. He wears his human glamour, but his gaze gleams scarlet. Despite his obvious temper, he maintains his straight-laced, I’m superior to you arrogance.
I wrap our Rosemarie deeper in darkness, blocking her with my body even as Jace shields her within his wings. We will never let her go now that she’s in our grasp. If Theo tries to steal her, I’ll kill the demon, regardless of his high status in the demon court. He might be next in line to their throne, but she’s the future of the Bridge of Souls. The hell dimensions can find another ruler. She’s our only chance at finding a queen. I tense, ready to signal Jace to get her out of here before my battle with the demon begins.
To my surprise, Theo doesn’t attempt to take her from us. Instead, he orders us, “Take her and go. Now. The wards are down to allow the matches to travel to their assigned realms, and a door to a forbidden realm opened without a portal guardian.”
“How’s that possible?” I demand. “A portal can’t open to this world without a guardian or a designated escort. Unless a demon royal opens it. A demon royal like you. One charged with keeping those portals locked and this world safe.” I don’t hide my disdain. The demon failed in his highest responsibility. In the gargoyles’ keep, he’d face exile…or worse. He’d face what my brother and I do if we fail to bring the Bridge a queen.
“I’ll find whoever did it, and they will pay.” His snarl has me reconsidering my scorn. “They’ve already stolen one match. Now, get your queen out of here. I’ll take the last of the mates to a stronghold until the danger passes, and then I’ll hunt the perpetrators to the ends of all the worlds.”
“Val?” Rosemarie’s voice is muffled by Jace’s protective hold. The icy fear in her tone stabs at me. “What about Meg?” she asks. “And Ava?”
Theo ignores her, pointing to the wreck we made of the front door in our rush to get to our queen. “Go. Before the monsters who could devour this realm find a way through.”
“Back to the keep,” I tell Jace.
“I’ve nothing to wrap her in to shield her from the wind,” he says.
The sky above is cold in this realm, and humans aren’t made for flight. My go with the flow brother who rarely tests a command seems to have gone weak as soon as he touched our queen. I’ll need to be the strong one…again.
“We won’t be traveling far,” I remind him.
“It isn’t right to make her suffer,” he grumbles, shifting his wings so he can cradle our queen close.
“Then keep her warm. Unless you want to give her to me.”
He tightens his hold on her. “No.”
I switch my attention to our queen, where it belongs. “I vow upon my life to keep you safe. My brother will do the same.” I reach forward to shake Rosemarie’s hand as humans do when they seal a deal. I don’t watch long hours of television as Jace does, but I’m pretty sure it’s how things work here. Or not. She stares at my outstretched palm. Unsure of what else to do, I gently close my fingers around hers.
She gives me a wary look but squeezes her slim fingers around my clawed hand. No matter how many times I imagined being this close to her, I couldn’t have guessed how soft she is. How warm. How vivacious. She’s our queen. I know it. I feel it with more certainty than in the millions of moments I’ve watched her.
I soak up the view of her midnight hair, the smoothness of her creamy skin, and the curve of her lush lips. I need to taste her, to memorize her curves, to know what sounds she makes when she comes.
She causes me to forsake control. That I can’t allow.
Besides, according to the books I’ve found, modern women don’t seek chivalry and champions. Now, women prefer…I search my mind for the word I’d read…alphaholes, yes that was it. Today’s women want alphaholes—villainous, arrogant, and ruthless.
I need to ignore my heart and keep my wits if I’m going to get us all through the queen trials. Concentrating on my list of what comes next, I make a mental note to ask Truman for a status report, convince the best brownie housekeeper in the Borderlands to care for Rosemarie in our tower, and hire an orc to guard her during the day. Wrangling my emotions into the vault where they need to stay, I focus on strategy and control as I pull away and head outside, ready to take point.
Without the full dark of a midnight sky, we’ll need to be more careful. Our shadows will only hide us so much. Luckily, the graveyard with the closest entry point to our realm isn’t far. There’s no time to delay, yet my instincts scream to think and assess the risk before we act.
Looking to Jace and keeping my gaze off Rosemarie, I say, “I’ll do a quick loop to check the skies before we go. I hope you like flying, my queen.”
