Page 93 of Bellamy

“Oh look. Sleeping Beauty’s awake.”

I opened my eyes to see a blonde woman holding a stick of incense. The source of the smell. “Clara?”

“The one and only.” She placed the stick on an incense holder that was in the shape of a dragon. “Stop moving and let me take a look at you.”

“Where am I?” I surveyed the room, my mind groggy. Plants hung from the ceiling in the corner, and there were crystals. Alotof crystals. Clouds filled the sky beyond the arched windows; no sun.

“My house.” She checked the bandage around my upper torso. “You’re lucky to be alive, demon. I don’t say this lightly, but you gave me some trouble. I almost couldn’t save you.”

“Your house?” I blinked in surprise. “Ravenwood Mansion?”

“Yep.”

In the distance, waves crashed against the bluff. I had been here before. On the outside anyway. The mansion itself had been heavily warded against all supernatural beings. It was where the ring with Asa’s soul had been kept. Clara came from a family of witches who’d guarded the ring for generations.

“What about the warding?” I asked, my voice croaky.

“I tweaked it.” Clara gathered soiled cloths into a wooden bowl and stood from the chair that had been pushed close to the bed. “My boys needed a place to stay.”

Her boys?

I shifted, propping myself up a little. “And me?”

Clara’s green eyes narrowed. “I used some of your blood to alter the anti-demon warding. You’re the only demon allowed to step foot in this house.” She walked toward the door but stopped before reaching it. “Just so you know… if you hurt Bell again, I’ll cast a spell that makes your dick rot from the inside out.”

Yikes.

“Thanks for all your help, beautiful,” Bellamy said from the open doorway. “But please don’t make his dick rot off. I’m kinda attached to it.”

“Anything for you, boo.” Clara patted his shoulder before retreating down the hall.

Jealousy pricked at my chest. Boo? What was up with the damn pet names? Had they fucked before? The little I knew of the witch, she’d started hanging around them after the ring incident last year and had become a close friend since then.

Was she also Bellamy’s little plaything when Lust needed a quick fix?

Calm down.I blamed the fated mate bond. It was still as strong and possessive as ever.

Bellamy closed the door behind him and stepped farther into the room. The sight of him made my heart go crazy. He wore a long-sleeved blue shirt that was pushed to his elbows, and his jeans hugged his hips to perfection.

“Stop that,” he said.

I wanted to smile but didn’t. “That power of yours is still annoying.”

The familiar banter made me both happy and sad. Mostly sad.

“Tell me what happened to you.” Bellamy didn’t come closer to the bed. He rested against the wall, arms crossing—an action that emphasized his toned biceps.

“I went after Asa.”

“What?” he hissed. “Are you fucking insane?”

“Apparently.” Pain radiated through my chest, but it had nothing to do with my stab wound. “I wanted to set things right. It’s my fault the mansion was attacked. My fault Asa now has Light Bringer. I remembered what Castor said about me popping down into the underworld and killing Asa. Though… it wasn’t nearly as simple as that. Obviously.”

“You thought you could blink down there and off him?”

Blink. Gods, he was too cute.

“It was worth a shot. I lost you. And by loving you, I lost any hope of returning to my old life. So I thought I might as well try to do something good for a change, even if it all went to shit. What else did I have to lose?”