“Comforting,” Nate muttered with a faint smile.
We started forward again, quiet, cautious.
That’s when the air shifted.
A ripple ran through the corridor, subtle at first, like the castle exhaling. Then the shadows stretched across the walls, pooling into shapes that weren’t ours.
Eve cursed softly, bringing her weapon up. “We’ve got company.”
The torches dimmed to a heartbeat’s flicker before flaring again, and when they did, a figure stood at the end of the hall; graceful, tall, draped in darkness like silk.
Iris.
The shadow demon smiled, all teeth and slow delight. “Running already? How dull.”
The sight of her made my thigh pulse sharply, the pain emerging once more as if she was commanding it. I gritted my teeth, fire prickling in my palms.
“I was wondering when you’d crawl out,” I said low, hatred shining through.
Her eyes gleamed. “You remember me. How sweet.”
Behind her, other demons materialized, lesser ones, shapes of smoke and hunger. But I only saw her. The one who had afflicted me with that cursed wound. The one who had smiled as I screamed.
I took a step forward, flame curling up my wrist.
“Don’t,” Lionel warned softly. “We need to keep moving—”
“This will only take a second,” I said, my voice flat.
Iris laughed softly. “Oh, please let her. I’ve missed her little temper.”
She turned her gaze to Malakai then, and the temperature seemed to drop.
“And you,” she purred, voice sweet as honey. “The Demon King’s precious son. I’ve heard stories about you, although she didn’t do you justice.”
Malakai’s expression didn’t change. “Flattered.”
She sauntered closer, hips swaying, the air darkening around her as her purple hair danced with each movement. “You don’t needher,you know. You could have someone who understands what you are. Someone who doesn’t flinch at the sight of blood.”
Jaden leaned towards Eve, muttering under his breath, “Okay, but like, she’s kind of hot, right?”
Eve smacked him hard enough to make his teeth clatter. “Say that again, and we’ll bury you with her.”
Lionel groaned. “Every damn mission…”
Malakai didn’t look away from Iris. His tone was smooth and dangerously calm. “Tempting offer. But I’m afraid my tastes are… exclusive.”
She smiled wider. “Are they?”
He tilted his head slightly, eyes shining. “Oh, very. Besides, you don’t want me. I’m not nearly as fun assheis when she’s angry.”
I felt his gaze slide towards me, smug and deliberate. The corner of his mouth curved into a grin that was all arrogance and provocation.
“Go on, sweetie,” he said lazily. “Or are you going to let another woman steal me away?”
It shouldn’t have worked. It shouldn’t have made my fire flare hotter, brighter. But it did.
Iris’s smile faltered as the heat emanated from me, the floor beneath my boots starting to glow. The pain in my leg burned away beneath the roar of my magic.
