Page 33 of Demon Demands

“Fine,” I sassed. “Your face doesn’t feel that good, anyway. Total. Let. Down.” I clapped my hands together with each word, loving the echoes.

“Okay,” Hyde sang. “This is getting weird. Blow that shithole up so we can get the fuck out of here.”

Dolyn and Hyde turned their attention to Sloane. My mate shrugged her shoulders, waving her hand for them to go ahead.

I zoned in on Dolyn, losing myself in his confident movements. He pulled a small grinning grenade from his chest pocket, the Velcro on the flap sounding from all around me. Wrapping his hand over the grenade’s mouth, he jerked the pin out with his teeth, and the grenade squealed in excitement.

“Back up,” Dolyn warned us as he threw his demonic — and alive — grenade through the open door.

There were a few seconds of complete silence, but I heard the grenade’s manic laughter as it bounced down the stairs.

Then boom.

The explosion was too loud, rumbling through the ground beneath my feet and causing wicked vibrations to climb up my legs.

The flames were so pretty, blues and greens and purples licking the sky like a lost lover. I wanted to touch it, to feel more than the caressing heat on my face.

I took a step forward, but Sloane stopped me with a firm hand on my chest. Stroking my fingers over her exposed skin, I stared at the burning shack, watching the wooden walls warp like the edges of a candle before dripping down.

I glanced around at all my friends, rubbing my fingers from Sloane’s wrist to her elbow and back down in mesmerizing circles. “Do you guys see the building melting? Why is her skin so soft?”

York smirked at me, the teal, brown, and green of his eyes playing tricks on my mind. The teal of the sea crested against the brown shore line, the green waving at me as if it was swaying leaves. “No, mate. No one sees that except for you.”

I blinked a few times, trying to get the swirling in his eyes to stop moving for just a moment so that I could focus. I pulled my hand away from Sloane, studying the lines on my palms as they lifted from my skin.

“Holy shit. I’m tripping balls right now.”

10

Sloane

Tuesday Afternoon

We’d been riding for all of eight minutes. The silence was comforting but worrisome. It left me too much time to think about what was going on.

We were on our way to Hell. I would be sealing my bond with Stone. Another mate acquired too soon… I just wanted to get to know them more, date them, ease into those bonds that would last for eternity. Eventually fall in love with each of them.

Vaughn huffed, drawing my attention. I watched as he huffed again and tried to eat the fog from his chilly breath.

“How long has it been? It feels like hours,” he complained.

Stone sighed. “We’ve been riding for about ten minutes.”

Leaning back, my fae rested his hands behind him as he gazed at the afternoon sky. “The clouds are so fluffy, I bet they taste like rotten cotton candy. When will we get there?”

Franklin cut his eyes at Vaughn. “In hours,” he replied, sounding the words out slowly.

“Where’s there?” Vaughn questioned in a dreamy tone.

“The palace.” It was the third time I’d told him since he’d figured out that he was tripping.

“Of what?” he responded, much more sass than I’d ever heard from him. Until today.

I didn’t know if I should laugh or be concerned about Vaughn. He was acting out of character, but I understood why. I had drunk the green beer before, several times in fact. It was why I had vehemently warned them about it.

That trip would peak for hours, and when he thought he was sober, it would sneak back up on him.

Days.