I didn’t have to turn around to know exactly where his gaze had landed.
Fear soured my gut, spiking my blood with adrenaline.
“She’s spent,” I hedged, stepping in front of his path as he stalked closer to Gray’s form. “Not worth your effort—trust me.”
Ignoring this, he sidestepped me, a blur of color that vanished before my eyes, then reappeared right next to her. He knelt down and touched her face, fingering a lock of her hair, then pressing it to his lips to inhale her scent. A low rumble of desire reverberated in his chest.
But unlike the kind of desire I’d witnessed the night we’d shared her in bed, bringing her to the edge of ecstasy in a tangle of hot limbs and endless kisses, this was different. Dangerous. This desire meant to devour her, drain her of all that remained.
Every hair on my body stood at attention, my muscles tensing for a fight. But I couldn’t make a move in here. Not without risking his ire. Risking her life.
Best I could hope for was a distraction.
“We need to get out of here,” I said, forcing my voice to stay calm and steady. “You killed one of hell’s soldiers. More will come. Let’s go.”
“Without this lovely creature?” He stroked her face.
It was all I could do to keep my heart rate in check. “Dead weight. She’ll only slow us down.”
“I could lighten the load a bit.” He leaned in close and brushed his nose along her neck, his eyes so dark they were nearly black now. I felt my own shift into blackness as my demon instincts took over. “Maybe I’ll just take a little off the top.”
A glint of fang, and I was on him, barreling into him with enough force to knock him halfway across the room. I’d caught him by surprise, and now I used up the very last millisecond of my advantage by slamming a fist into his face.
The force of the blow dislocated his jaw, splitting the skin over my knuckles wide open. I waited for him to retaliate, but Darius merely smiled, licking my blood from his lips as his jaw snapped back into place.
“You’re right,” he said smoothly, malice soaking his voice as we rose from the ground. He’d lost some of his slur, and now he towered over me, menacing and cold. “You taste like shite.”
“Told you.”
The two of us circled each other like wild cats fighting over a wildebeest. He was clearly toying with me, and I was still holding back. I didn’t want to hurt him any more than I had to, though I suspected he had no such hangups aboutmysafety.
“So there’s no reason for me to let you live,” he said. “Unless you can think of one?”
“We’rebrothers, asshole. Let’s start with that.”
Darius laughed, hollow and chilling. “A vampire and a demon? Mom and Dad must be so proud.”
“Genetics has nothing to do with it.”
He zipped behind me, a blur in the darkness. When he spoke again, his breath was icy at the back of my neck.
“Try again,” he whispered.
I dropped into a crouch and kicked backward, hitting air.
“Is that the best you can do?” he asked, already in front of me again. Taunting. Tormenting.
“Stand still and find out.” I charged, but he went blurry on me again. Every time I blinked, he vanished, then reappeared behind me. Next to me. Across the room. Again. And again. And again.
Demonic strength could do a lot of damage, but vampires were still stronger. Faster. I was outmatched, and he was enjoying the game, batting me around like a cat with a caught mouse.
Then came the cruel grin.
A chill raced down my spine.
“Whatever you’re thinking,” I said, holding out a hand as if that alone could stop him, “don’t—”
The plea died on my lips.
