Page 110 of A Summoned Husband

“Yes. Isn’t it wonderful? Maledictia worked so hard to acquire Asmodeus’ key but she was too short-sighted. You cannot strong-arm the key away from a demon, but you can take the body of someone who already holds the key. Clever, isn’t it? And now, after all this time of being your demon’s prisoner, not only will my sister be free but she will finally get what he denied her.”

“Wait. Listen. I don’t know what went on between you and him but I’m not going to let your sister have my body.” The fuck? This had to be some kind of sick joke.

“It’s not up to you.”

“Umm, I think it is.” Though if this was anything like trying to fight a witch I worried she might be right.

She laughed.

“Can’t you just like… find a different body?”

“No. You’re the one with his key. The very key she wants.”

My hand lifted to press against my chest. The tip of my finger traced the key and I paused as my heart beat against it. The pacing was off. The beat had an echo. A strong thrum chased behind it.

Weird.

I sucked in a sharp breath, letting it inflate my cheeks. Okay, so not only was I married off to a demon but now I was going to be the vessel for a witch. Great. Just great. And I was stuck in this weird magic thing with no chance of getting out. My eyes started to burn as I realized just how up the creek I was.

“Why me?” It came out whinier than I wanted.

She looked me over and then lifted a shoulder. “Don’t trouble yourself into thinking you’re special. The spell worked as intended and you were just the unlucky one who bought the book.”

My mouth gaped. “So… this could have been anyone.”

“Any mortal.” Her fingers flexed around her ball of magic.

Well, that was humbling. I was just starting to think that maybe our bond was more than what the book did to bind us. There was something there, something in my chest that just felt — hell, I didn’t know. Now she said it could have been anyone off the street who stumbled into whatever store Olivia had and bought the book who could be his wife. This was why I didn’t buy into the whole soulmates BS.

Whatever.

It didn’t matter if I wasn’t meant to be with my demon, we were together now, regardless of how reluctant I had been about it at first.

So why was my chest aching and my throat tight?

I gave my head a little shake as I exhaled. This wasn’t a big deal. If he was with my girls then they were going to figure out a way to get to me before this witch did anything to my body.

Hopefully.

Plus, if she succeeded that wouldn’t just be the end, right? There would be a way to go back. To kick the squatter out and get my body back.

Unless once she was in, I was out?

Where would I go?

My teeth worried my bottom lip as anxiety got the best of me and I thought out every way this could go south for me real fast. No. I needed to be proactive. As awesome as it was to just say his name and have him come, I couldn’t. Something was in my mouth, cutting off the words. Magic this witch put there to make sure she had enough time to accomplish her villainous plan. My demon wouldn’t come because I couldn’t call him. My safety net was gone. If I was going to get out of this, it would have to be all by myself.

Come on, Eden! You were a whole ass woman before he showed up. Get yourself out of this, boo.

I looked around, searching for any hint of escape.

Round room. Spooky ass floors. Magic. Endless space ceiling. Okay… it really wasn’t looking good. A doorway.

My heart leapt. It had to lead somewhere. Out of this room, that’s for damn sure. All I had to do was get out. Then once I was out, I could come up with a better plan. Look for something to give me a leg up against the witch.

What the fuck had my life even become?

Alright, time to antagonize the witch. I couldn’t get out of this globe thing on my own. She would have to do it. I only had to get out.