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My vision was finally focusing. We were in a hallway, one side all large windows that looked out on the forest, the other wall lined with paintings. I got up, slowly, as my equilibrium returned. I dragged Juniper closer to me as I did, wrapping my arms around her. The cold tightness in my chest was fading just to have her close.
Damn, I had it bad. The bastards would have to kill me if they wanted to take her away again. I was lucky Juniper hated having vulnerable conversations, because I didn’t know how the hell I’d explain this in words.
No...that was wrong. I knew what words to say, I knew what I was feeling. But fuck, I wasn’t going to admit it.
“Are you hurt?” Her voice was muffled against my chest.
“Just a few cracks in the bones,” I said, giving her a careless grin. “No big deal.”
I let her go, but she stayed close. I could see the witch clearly now, although she was partially hidden behind Callum. She seemed timid, looking at me like she feared I would lunge at her at any second. The smell of her magic filled the room, and the air pulsed with every beat of her heart. It was a feral magic, chaotic, bursting at the seams.
“Then we have an understanding,” she said, her voice soft as she rested her head against Callum’s side. “Don’t we, Juniper?”
“I kill the Libiri, you kill the God,” she said, and my eyes nearly bugged out of my head. “And we stay the hell out of each other’s way.”
“A God-killer, eh?” I said, looking at Callum, who appeared painfully bored with our presence. “Were you in the wars?”
He smirked. “I was. I’ve killed my share of Gods.”
“But with an army at your back,” I said. “Still so confident when it’s just you and the witchling?”
Everly looked up at him, her eyes wide, and she laid her hand against his chest. It was a warning: a reminder. It was like the violence seeped out of him with one touch. He looked at her with those black eyes and laid a kiss on her forehead, and I very nearly laughed out loud.
No one in Hell would ever,everbelieve I’d just witnessed an Archdemon chastely kiss a mortal. It was ludicrous.
“I don’t need an army, hellion,” he said simply. He nudged his head up against Everly, whispering softly, “Make them leave.”
She nodded. “I’m sure you’re both eager to go. Good luck to you…both of you. If we meet again, may it be in a better world.”
31
The walk out of the woods was far faster than the journey in. The path seemed wider, the trees were no longer overbearingly thick. It was like the forest had opened, like the trees had released the breath they were holding and decided to let us pass by.
My backpack and weapons had been returned to me before we left. As we walked, Zane stayed close to me, his arm brushing mine, still looking around the forest like he expected to encounter another attack.
I’d never been the little girl who dreamed of being swept off her feet by fairytale royalty. I’d never dreamed of a family or a partner, after seeing what a mess my own family was. I’d considered myself better off alone, even before Victoria betrayed me and really drove the point home. I didn’t need anyone else. I didn’t want anyone else. I didn’t need romance. I didn’t need devotion.
I didn’t need love. It was a silly thing to think about anyway, especially now, when my future was damned. I was a murderer, planning to murder again. I’d sold my soul. My mind was broken in more ways than I could count, in ways I didn’t think could ever be fixed. Dreaming of a future, of a partnership, of...of peace, of calm — it was useless. There was no point.
Especially to find those things crossing my mind when I looked at a demon — I was a fool.
But God, when I’d seen him appear in the hallway, dragged along by that Archdemon freak, all I’d wanted was to be next to him again. I didn’t need a rescuer, I didn’t need a guardian; he wasn’t that.
He was my comfort. Comfort in the face of the world’s madness. He was the one being who’d seen me weak, who’d seen me break down, who’d seen me vulnerable, and had never tried to exploit that.
He was ademon. Exploitation was exactly what he was supposed to do, wasn’t it?
We were silent until we got back to the car. I was reaching for the door handle when Zane laid his hand against the door.
“Are you alright?” His voice was low, his gaze intense on my face. My mind was already in a million different places.
“I’m fine,” I said quickly. “Just...fine. That didn’t go down how I thought it would, but...Everly told me some shit about Kent that may help us.”
He was nodding. “Good. That’s good.”
“Yeah, it’ll at least help us prepare for our next —”
“I don’t give a fuck what the witch said. I meant it’s good you’re alright. It’s good you’re not hurt. It’s —” He paused, and winced as if in pain. “It’s good they didn’t hurt you. Because I don’t know what the fuck I would’ve done.”
