Page 20 of Hellish Witch (Playing with Demons #3)

Chapter 19

D arkness clung to me like a jealous ex.

Something warm wrapped around me, and a rhythmic whooshing sound filtered in. Motion gripped me, like I was being yanked downwards.

I cracked my eyes open with horrendous effort. A lush canopy hung in the distance.

Getting closer.

Movement in my periphery stole my hazy focus. Ink-dipped feathers fluttered with powerful wing-beats.

“Killian,” I breathed.

The arms holding me adjusted their grip, cradling my head closer against a firm chest. I tipped my face up to meet Killian’s frantic gaze.

“Sweetness,” he whispered, voice hoarse.

Enough brain function returned to have me jolting in his arms as reality hit.

We burst through the greenery, which spit us out high above.

I sucked in a scream.

Killian hovered us for a moment, and I tore my eyes from him to marvel at the sea of dark green spreading for miles in all directions. Far in the distance, mountains pierced the landscape, sharp peaks capped in snow that protected this region from the constant infighting of the larger kingdoms beyond.

I had barely a second to take it in before Killian angled his wings. Gravity called, and we swooped towards the canopy before the demon’s wings flared, catching the breeze to level us out above the leaves reaching for us.

Nerves tried to choke me, despite the sluggish weight to my body.

I didn’t have wings. In fact, I barely had any demonic traits.

I’d never flown before, despite the number of times I’d fantasised about Killian wrapping me in his arms and making me see stars.

His strong arms held me now as we soared. The only sound was the rushing of the wind in my ears, whipping my hair into a tornado of blood-red curls.

It was definitely smacking Killian in the face, but the demon didn’t say a thing as he flew me away.

My body shook as I thought about what had happened.

What I’d done .

“Kill.” My voice cracked with the anguish. “Drop me. Drop me right fucking now. Before I hurt you even more.”

Killian stared down at me, jaw clenched, with a wildness in his demonic eyes I’d rarely seen. He blinked rapidly, seeming unstable.

Well, more so than usual.

“Never,” he snarled. “I’d take any pain, just to be near you.”

My throat closed off with panic at his words. I couldn’t think straight. Was I hurting him, even now?

But that horrifying darkness seemed satiated. Almost like it had taken its fill and slumbered happily while I was left with the fallout.

“Alpha and Cookie? And those captives…” I had to swallow thickly, my mouth dry from the wicking wind. “Did I…?”

I couldn’t finish that sentence.

“No,” he rasped. “They’re fine. But I hadn’t hurt some of the slaver scum enough for your magic to finish them off though.”

Relief flooded me, but it was short-lived.

“What…happened?” I asked slowly, voice barely audible over the breeze.

“Your magic… It was…unstable,” he began.

Understatement.

His jaw clenched for a moment, lashed by my red strands, but he didn’t seem to notice. He finally gritted out words: “That damn cat hit you.”

My last memory before waking up in his arms was the giant furball launching herself at me. But I wasn’t annoyed.

I was relieved.

“Thank fires,” I murmured.

Killian’s scowl deepened, carving furrows between his brows.

Those hybrids were safe from me, and free. Hopefully Alpha would head back to Zoella now too, and that crazy hellcat would stop stalking me.

Everyone was fine and far away from me.

Except the stubborn enforcer, clutching a monster to his chest.

He folded his wings around me, their soothing feel immediately overshadowed by the lurch in my middle as we plummeted.

“Kill!” I squealed, clinging to him as tight as my trembling arms could.

I caught his wicked grin from the corner of my eye. The falling sensation left my organs up in the clouds, and all I could do was squirm.

Even though that was a really bad idea.

Killian’s rich chuckle smoothed over me. “Relax, Princess, I’ll never let you go.”

You knew your obsession was bad when innocent words like that were enough to snap you out of a panic spiral while literally falling from the sky.

His wings shot out, revealing the rich colours of the forest as he turned our death tumble into a smooth glide. I took a deep, shaky breath and twisted a little to get a better look.

We soared over the pink river, winding towards a rustic inn perched on the riverbank. The redwood structure blended with the tree trunks beyond and was complete with a water wheel for old-school power and a stone chimney coughing smoke.

I’d been to the inn a few times, but Rex, in his classic overprotective brother mode, had banned me from it when I was younger. Apparently, it was a bad place for good girls.

My lips twitched at the memory.

I was a hated combination of demon and mage, with the curses of both. A hybrid raised in a cruel succubus kingdom.

I’d never been a “good girl.”

Killian angled his wings, taking us down to the tavern with a few light wing-beats. I marvelled at the idea of flying. Sure, my stomach wasn’t a huge fan of being scrambled, but it would have taken me a whole day of hiking to get here.

Killian just jumped into the sky, flapped his pretty wings a few times, and dived right back down to where we needed to be.

Lucky bastard.

Killian landed in front of the battered structure with barely a thud in the grass. Like carrying me around was nothing.

I levelled him with a stern look even as a wave of dizziness tried to sweep me under. “You can put me down now.”

An odd sort of weakness seemed to hunt through my limbs, like I was drunk on too much power, but it had tipped straight into the hangover phase.

“Can I? After what just happened, I’m not sure you can stand.” He eyed me with that concerned look I’d always hated.

Like he saw me as a wayward child in need of protecting.

“Kill,” I warned.

He sighed and released my legs, gently lowering me to the ground. I hated how much my knees wobbled, forcing me to grip his muscular arm for support as I tried to lock them in place.

A gasp burst free as I got a real look at the incubus.

Blood, bruising, and split skin covered every inch of his exposed chest and arms. No doubt the damage extended to his back and lower body too.

Once again, Killian was a fucking state.

“Fires-dammit, Kill. When were you going to tell me you were hurt? That I’d hurt you?” I hissed.

The unspoken “again” stabbed right through my heart.

Killian shrugged, and his huge wings, now back to their usual pearly white beneath the splattered red and black, followed the rise and fall of his broad shoulders. “It didn’t seem important.”

My eye twitched. “Didn’t seem…?” I blew out a breath, fighting for control and the will not to pass out. I held up a hand. “You know what? Doesn’t matter. Come here.”

I tried to grab him and stopped short. No pale glow wreathed my fingertips, my hand as inert as my healing powers.

The stubborn demon leaned out of reach anyway, eyes flashing. “No.”

Of course he wouldn’t want my magic anywhere near him. That was twice now I’d maimed him with the dark beast lurking inside me.

I swallowed thickly, dull hand dropping back to my side. “Sorry.”

He shook his horns. “It’s not what you think. Let’s get inside. You need to rest, not to drain yourself further.”

I let him lead me to the inn, feeling the crushing weight of disappointment with every open wound I mapped across Killian’s toned back. Even his wings had little tears in them, reddening the white feathers.

I’d done that.

I’d killed most of those orcs too. Not that I harboured much guilt over them, given they’d abused a magical creature and caged living beings to sell.

Killian pushed inside the enormous double doors of the inn. Chatter spilled out to greet us.

Groups of demons clustered around worn tables, laden with clay platters of steaming food and countless drinks. A few fruity-looking cocktails in sophisticated martini glasses dotted amongst the tankards of frothy ale and honeyed mead, the mismatch in tune with the patrons inside.

Hell was a stunning mix of new and old. Of traditional demon customs, interspersed with modern human technology and culture.

An orc, like the ones I’d just slaughtered, even wore a Nirvana band tee from the human realm, bringing a smile to my lips even as exhaustion dragged me down.

A few other hybrids lingered inside, their mismatches of features and downtrodden auras an obvious tell.

I hoped they were on their way to our kingdom, where freedom and safety waited for them under Rex’s rule.

Unless they dated me, apparently.

A hush descended over the tavern as the patrons caught sight of who darkened their doorway. Killian ignored the tension, striding right up to the worn bar along the far side. Most demons scowled at us, but given the gore coating us both, and Killian’s impressive brawn, nobody said a thing.

Killian leaned his muscled forearms on the wooden countertop and addressed the blood demon behind it with one of his signature grins, loaded with dark charm. “Your best room please, Darya.”

That he knew her name set my fangs on edge.

She beamed, showing off her shiny onyx fangs, longer and sharper than mine. The demon coyly batted her spiky horned lashes and placed the glass jug she was cleaning behind the counter. “Anything for you, Kill.”

I couldn’t help the squirm of something ugly that ran through me as I joined Killian.

Did he find her attractive? Was he planning to feed on her while we were here? Had he slept with her already?

I gave her a brief once-over, trying to be subtle. Long sable hair ran to her thighs in an impractical but luscious waterfall of stunning locks. Bright eyes glowed gold, slashed through with vertical pupils and framed by spiny weaponry. Long horns spiralled into a curl around each of her tapered ears, capped with hammered gold to emphasise their points. Dusky pink skin gave her a warm blush of colour, mixing beautifully with her golden accents.

I didn’t want to be a jealous bitch, but I was half-tempted to see which way my magic wanted to swing with her, and she’d only smiled at him.

I forced a brittle stretch to my lips.

Stab your claws through her eyes for daring to look at what’s yours. Throw them at the other females in warning!

“Two rooms, actually,” I bit out, keeping my manic grin fixed in place to cling to denial. I definitely wasn’t hearing bloodthirsty voices in my head.

She returned a small dip of her pointed chin.

Killian cut her a hard look. “One.”