Page 36 of Demonic Division (The Sundering Duet #1)

36

Dagny

I rail against the bars of my cell, numb to the feel of my flesh splitting against the iron, of the warm blood dripping down my arm to a small puddle on the floor. A great explosion shakes the walls of the dungeon, sending me careening off balance as the very ground seems to tilt on its side. The first blast happened as soon as Cyprien locked me in this cursed cell, and they’ve been coming in increasingly short intervals ever since. Thin fissures spread across the stone slabs of the ceiling, and with every one, pieces of rubble and dust shower the floor.

As soon as the vibrations cease, I right myself and continue pounding on the bars, screaming the name of the red-eyed demon over and over, my voice filling with desperation.

“M! Please…” I yell into the ether as I fall to my knees, choking on the panic squeezing my throat. Another explosion shakes the room, sending a large piece of stone crashing to the floor of the dungeon with a mighty bang. This, apparently, is just enough to stir the demon from his slumber .

A glowing red eye blinks through the shadows, just as another crash echoes in the distance. Immediately, he’s at the bars of his cell, eye narrowed in worry as it searches my face for injury.

“ Wildfire, ” he breathes, his tone full of wonder. “I thought I would never see you again.”

The walls vibrate with another explosion, and I grip the bars for balance. “We can talk about that later. Something’s happening, M. Someone is attacking the castle! I think Kaebl said it was Slaine—the same Slaine you mentioned before!” As if to prove my statement, another piece of stone breaks off from the ceiling, slamming into the spot just shy of my bars.

Instead of shock, a lazy smile creeps over M's face, and his eyes trail sensually down my frame. “Hmm… so it seems.”

“There’s nothing funny about this!” I snap, grabbing onto the bars as the floor tilts. “We’re going to fucking die down here.”

M blinks slowly, his smug, carefree expression is transfixed on my face. “Perhaps.”

“Don’t you care? Can’t you do something?” My chest rises and falls rapidly, the sounds of the explosions drowned out by the shrill ringing in my ears. “ Please… I don’t want to die down here, M.”

Instead of answering, he rakes his claws down the length of the iron bars, filling the air with a horrible screeching noise. “I imagine being buried beneath ten thousand tons of rubble is not a pleasant way to go.”

A choked laugh is squeezed from my throat, but there’s no joy in it. “I imagine not. ”

His smile widens, canines lengthening and piercing his lower lip. “As it so happens, there may be one way in which you can avoid your fate…”

Before he can continue, Nya’s high-pitched mewl echoes along the walls. The little black cat seems to materialize from the shadows themselves, formless and see-through, a transparent swirl of dancing smoke, then all at once solid. She pads across the stone floor, effortlessly dodging falling rubble and debris.

I’m frozen in place, stuck in the single moment in time as Nya slips through the bars of my cell, the runes on her chest and forearms glowing bright enough to match the hue of her eyes. She brushes against my calf, a deep purr vibrating in her chest, echoing into the air.

A bolt of electricity shocks my heart, breathing life to that thread tying me to M. His heated gaze pierces me from across the room, warming my skin and sending shudders down my spine. “Bond with me, Wildfire. Set me free, as only you can.”

My lips part, my breath caught somewhere down my throat. “Would that really work?” I whisper.

He nods. “Once we bond, I will have enough power to get us both out of here. Enough to save Kaebl, Cyprien, all of them. Even if they don’t want me to.” He pushes his face against the bars, his voice lowering to a sinful whisper. “I could finally touch you…”

My mouth dries, and as much as I try, I can’t pull my eyes away. Can’t find a reason to disagree. After all, wasn’t I the one who brought up bonding with him not too long ago? The same desire I have for Cyprien, Roark, and Lir is the same one burning for M. The only difference is, the fire with M is somehow more intense. More dangerous.

If you can fear, you can also be brave .

“What do I have to do?” I whisper, my voice barely audible.

A low chuckle falls from M’s lips. “Nothing. All you have to do is give in. ”

“To what?”

His eyes glow molten as he shifts them toward Nya. I follow his line of sight, surprised to find Nya sitting between my feet, a paw reaching up to me. Pulled by that cord in my chest, I reach down, hooking my finger around the tiny paw. Nya mewls, wide red eyes blinking harmlessly.

But then her lips peel back, revealing a lengthening set of razor-sharp canines. Before I have time to react, Nya lunges forward, sinking her teeth deep into the flesh of my hand. I rear back with a cry as a blinding heat builds behind my eyes, matching the fire searing the center of my chest, encasing my heart in a violent flaming cage. When the pain begins to fade, I glance down, unsurprised to find a glowing rune the same color as M's eyes sitting square in the center of my chest. Marking me as his.

“ So remarkable…”

The growling voice draws my attention back to M, and I blink rapidly against the haze coating my vision, not exactly sure what I’m witnessing. M's entire body shakes with the weight of his transformation. His skin shudders, stretching and bulging unnaturally over his growing bone and muscle. The glowing runes coating his skin pulse with a blinding red light, casting eerie shadows along the panes of his face, highlighting the curves of two powerful wings materializing behind his shoulders.

With a deep groan, M stretches his wings out, brushing the walls of his cell with the sheer span of them. His head tips back in ecstasy as another explosion shakes the ceiling, the sound clashing with the manic laugh roaring into the air. He lowers his head, features sharpening to unnatural angles as he homes in on my form. I’m frozen to the spot by the ravenous hunger shining in his eyes, unable to do anything but watch as he rears back, sending a powerful blow to the door of his cell. The iron rods bend to his will, ripped from the stone frame and falling to the ground with a mighty crash.

M's wings flare out behind him as he steps out, his movements eerily fluid as he stalks toward my cell. Clawed hands wrap around the bars of my cage, using enough force to leave knuckle-shaped divots in the iron.

“ I’ve been waiting so long .” His voice exits in a primal growl, his tone matching the wild glint in his eye. “ So, so long… ”

I blink, and M has ripped the bars from the walls. He tosses them to the floor, keeping his gaze on me, rooting me to the spot. Slowly, he steps into my cell, heat rolling off his skin and outlining his silhouette in smoke.

“M… what are you doing?” I whisper, bracing against the wall as another explosion shakes the floor. “We have to get out of here!”

“Do we?” he murmurs, his eyes glossing over as he steps farther into my cell. For each step he takes, I move one back until, eventually, I’m pinned against the back wall of the room.

He presses a palm to either side of my head, caging me in as he lowers his face to my neck. Breathing in deep through his nose, he lets it out in a groan, pressing his body flush against mine. Something long and hard thrusts between my thighs, and my body responds with a rush of heat to my core .

“M…” I push weakly against his chest, trying to remember why I’m fighting this. “What’s happening?”

“Only what needs to,” he murmurs, his breath sending shivers across my skin. “Let me show you.”

His hands snap down to my hips, daggerlike claws piercing my skin as he holds me in place. All at once, his face is right there, his lips crashing against mine, consuming me in a vortex of heat and fire and need and want. The air is sucked from my lungs, replaced with a powerful burn that brings tears to my eyes.

His bruising kiss is possessive and gentle all at once, and it kindles the embers flaring to life in my core. The rest of the world falls away as I lose myself to the embrace—to the feel of M's touch—to the powerful bond drawing our souls together.

My lips are numb by the time M pulls away, pressing his forehead to mine as our panting breaths mingle together. I gaze up at him through hooded lids, forgetting where I am and what I’m doing. I doubt I would be able to recall my name if someone asked—the only answer I know is M.

The walls quake with another strike, but I’m too far away to hear it. M's lips tip downward into a frown, blinking rapidly as some of the light returns to his eyes. His expression hardens, clenching his jaw as the floor continues to shudder.

He releases my hips, snaking one arm around my back while the other rests casually at his side. There’s something off about the easy smile on his face—something sinister—but I’m too far gone to realize.

“I’m so sorry for this, little one.”

I blink, not understanding. “What are you talking about? ”

He doesn't answer, just raises his free hand to my forehead, pressing his thumb between my brows.

“M?”

“Forgive me, Wildfire.”

A rush of heat explodes behind my eyes, causing my vision to fracture. A scream rips from my throat as my muscles spasm, and if it were not for M's grip, I would slump to the floor from the convulsions. I try my best to fight the dark spots lining my eyes, but eventually, they consume me, leaving me in the dark. The last thing I remember is a single glowing red eye, filled with an emotion I couldn’t begin to describe. It terrifies and excites me all at once, but I don’t have the time to wonder why.

I fall into the void.