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“You’re wrong,” I said as I stalked into the elevator, slamming my hand down hard enough on the down button that the other blinked rapidly. Thankfully, it still worked, the numbers above the doors ticking up one by one as it rose to the top floor.
The moment it opened, I stepped inside and hit the button to close the door along with one. I needed to get out of this shithole and fast.
Between the second and first floor the elevator stuttered and creaked, freezing altogether. The lights dimmed, flickering in and out. A growl erupted from me, and I had to clench my fists as tight as I could to stop myself from breaking this shit and sending me careening to the basement.
“There you are.” I glanced over to see Ivar standing there. For a demon commander he looked oddly unimpressive crammed in a tiny elevator.
He was slightly hunched over since he was taller than the current space. His fire was burning brightly, and his eyes were narrowed on me. I didn’t even have to guess what he was here for.
I’d seen him popping in and out of Harlow’s view. If not for seeing him in the halls before she arrived, I wouldn’t have known his rank.
He was the leader of the demons here, the one who made the deal with Vane on Hel’s behalf.
“What do you want?” I asked with no sense of respect. He might be a commander for Helheim, but I wasn’t one of his people. I was half from that world and half from this, and not by any fault of my own. “I have places to be.”
“Stay away from her,” he crooned, making the hair on the back of my neck stand up. I didn’t need to know who, he’d obviously formed some sort of twisted connection to Harlow before she even got here.
How was the real question, but I knew I’d get no answers from him.
The elevator dropped in temperature as his form grew, shadows and blue fire filling the space around us. I yawned dramatically and laughed out loud as the action had them growing even thicker.
“Aw, did I strike a nerve?” I questioned. “I won’t be doing anything you ask of me, you’re no superior of mine. Last time I checked, you have no authority over me. She’s my scent match and you have no say in the matter.”
He held out a hand and a malicious smile tipped up his lips. I could feel the pressure of his power closing around my throat, but it didn’t hurt. It did little more than make my breathing a bit labored. I let a smirk form as I stared up at him with amusement.
“It doesn’t work on me, demon. Again, I’m not yours to command,” I said with enough arrogance that he snarled at me. “Now let this elevator go before I tell Harlow what you truly are.”
“You wouldn’t dare,” he thundered. “She is mine. If you touch her, I will have you scourged from this world!”
If I hadn’t ever spoken to Hel, I might genuinely be afraid of what he’d do. But she had assured me I belonged here, and she wouldn’t waste her time if there wasn’t a reason.
“You don’t have the authority, and Hel isn’t likely to listen to your little rants,” I corrected yet again. “Demons, even commanders, aren’t allowed to kill humans here. I may be a half breed but I’m still partly human. A deal is a deal, after all.”
He leaned in so his face was inches from mine, the black and white standing out starkly in the faded bronze elevator.
“You dare speak for my lady?” he asked.
He was ready to go to bat for her, yet his ‘lady’ was the one who wouldn’t allow the other demons to harm me. Something she clearly hadn’t shared with him.
He was the first to try and harm me, but she warned me that he’d come for me eventually. Hel gave no answer as to why, but I guess now I had that answer.
Harlow.
She was different than the others here. The stupid girl didn’t realize it yet, thought it was all some big hallucination. Yet she was bringing Dark Haven to life.
The gargoyles were stirring outside, their power growing every day she spent here.
The demons were desperate as they fed now. As if preparing for something.
But what made her different? Why her?
After the conversation in the storage closet, I was positive she knew nothing about demons or Helheim. If that changed, I’d be there to figure it out.
I’d easily learned her schedule, her safe zones, and even stalked as she went to therapy. I’d never let her know but I watched every move she made.
I told myself I was doing it because she was the factor that was changing Dark Haven.
But in reality, I’d felt the sexual tension between us in that closet, knew that she was my mate. Hell, anytime she got near me I was breathing her in like I couldn't get enough of that scent of falling snow and berries. Fresh, peaceful, everything I was not.
