Page 31

“I want to see the others,” I demanded, standing at the edge of my prison. I pressed my palm against the barrier, glowering at Gage.

Gage didn’t even glance up from the tablet in his hands. “No.”

I slammed my fist against the barrier and growled. “You can’t keep us separated forever. They will eventually come looking for me.”

His finger swiped across the screen before his eyes flicked up to me over his mask. “If they know what is good for you, they won’t. Besides, Adam is keeping them busy hunting down rebels. They aren’t even thinking about you.”

“You’re a liar.” I bared my teeth at him, not believing him for one second. They wouldn’t forget about me. Every time I’d been separated from them, they’d searched for me. Even Adam and Gage couldn’t stay away, no matter how much they wanted to deny it.

Gage stood and stalked toward me, stopping just on the other side of the barrier. “Then why aren’t they here?”

I shook my head, my fingers curling into fists. “You’re keeping them away somehow.” I paused and then a wicked smile curled my lips. “Besides, a certain demon is going to get bored eventually and then you won’t be able to keep us apart.”

Rolling his eyes, Gage peered back down at his tablet. “Only you could turn a demon into a trained dog.”

“Oh, someone sounds jealous.” I preened up at him. “Don’t worry, Gage, I have room for all of you.” I trailed a hand down my front, my pride swelling as his eyes followed my hand’s path. “Did Adam tell you what we were doing when he came by Rebecca’s house?”

I gripped the skirt of my dress and slowly lifted it in a teasing taunt. “Luke couldn’t stop praising how well I took all of them. I might like to be in charge, but I know how to kneel...” I blinked up at him beneath my long lashes. “For the right man.”

Gage cleared his throat and scoffed. Though he turned his face away, he couldn’t hide the hunger that darkened his eyes.

I dropped my skirt and turned my back on him. “You could at least bring me something to do. A book, television, something.” I collapsed dramatically on my bed. “There’s a reason I almost went mad while in my tower. One’s own company can drive you crazy.”

“You are hardly alone.” Gage snorted, setting his tablet down before stepping through the barrier. “And I’m not giving you anything you could use to break my barrier again. You’re lucky you’re still getting food after that stunt with the fruit.”

A hand above my head, I let my eyes trail over him as my other hand made a path down my body. My gaze passed everything from his thick calves to his powerful thighs, lingering on the sinch of his belt before hungrily devouring the long hard planes of his chest.

It was like this man was sculpted out of muscle. Each piece of him was carved into a deadly weapon. I couldn’t wait to have that strength against me, inside of me, begging me to let him taste me.

“Stop looking at me like that.”

I blinked coyly at him.

Gage crossed those delectable arms over his chest. “You’re fucking me with your eyes. It won’t work.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” My fingers traced over my breast, causing my nipple to pucker against the material. “You won’t give me anything to entertain myself. You won’t talk to me or let me talk to anyone else. What am I supposed to do with my time?”

Gage’s eyes stayed on mine, but the tension in his jaw tightened. “If you want out, you can make a blood promise to not attack the other mages.”

I made a rude noise in the back of my throat. “I could make you promises until the end of time, and that still wouldn’t keep them safe from me or me safe from them. I put myself in their sights and, no matter how much you and Adam try to hide me away and protect me, they’re going to find a way to get me.”

My hand continued its path down my stomach and settled between my thighs. I didn’t move it or draw my dress up my thighs. I simply left my hand there, taunting him with what he could have if he’d just give in.

“That won’t happen.”

The certainty in Gage’s voice made me want to laugh. How trusting he was of their government. How naive he was to think they wouldn’t come for me.

“You forget, Gage.” I closed my eyes, teasing the inside of my thigh but going no higher. “I’ve been through this before. No king, princess, or council member will let my actions go unpunished. So either I come for them or they will come for me. No matter how pretty their promises are to you and Adam.”

Gage huffed, and his footsteps drifted away from me.

I sighed and let my hand fall to my side. This was getting pointless. I hadn’t been lying to Gage. I wasn’t some power-hungry idiot who didn’t know the consequences of my actions.

Someone would die. Whether it was the council members or me, there would be blood shed before this was all over.

I must have drifted to sleep at some point because I woke to the sound of laughter.

Groaning, I rolled onto my side and peeked out beneath my lashes.

Zane stood on the other side of the barrier line, his lips curled as he sucked on the end of a cigarette. A red burning gaze swept over me and my new home.

“Well, well, well, the little birdy has been all caged up with nowhere to go.” His voice was a rolling taunt as he walked along my cell.

My body uncurled from the bed, languidly drawing myself up into a sitting position. My fingers dragged through my hair, letting the sheets of pale blonde hair cascade over my fingertips. “This little birdy wouldn’t have gotten caught had someone been where they were supposed to be.”

The demon stopped his prowl, his fingers pinching the stick in his mouth. “That was not my fault. If that damned cleric had let me loose, I could have broken through their wards easily.”

“Oh?” I purred, leaning back on my hand. “You took your precious time getting here.”

He lifted a foot to move and then stopped, eying the line on the ground.

“You won’t get stuck in here.” I sighed, waving a hand languidly in the air. “Only me.”

The demon let out a vicious growl. “They think to keep you safe when anyone could stroll in and hurt you.”

I let my lips curl into a grin that promised violence. “Let them try.”

He sniffed the air and then returned my grin with one of his own, his mixed with desire. “Did my little sinner kill someone?”

My head tipped to the side, a playing grin on my lips. “Perhaps.” Then my lower lip pushed out into a pout. “But I’m so bored. They won’t give me anything to do or even play with me.”

The demon tossed his cigarette away and stepped through the barrier. His feet stalked toward me, those red eyes zeroing in on my form. “My little sinner wants to play? How can I resist such a tempting offer?”

I stayed where I was until he hovered over me, his hips pressed between my thighs. My hands drifted up above my head, leaving myself in a vulnerable position just for him. “Did you know...?” I trailed off, his nose burying in the fabric between my breasts. “Our little cleric has given full permission for me to do whatever I want with his body?”

Red eyes burned into mine, his lips curling maliciously. “Oh, did he now?”

I grinned down at him, humor crinkling the sides of my eyes. “It seems someone thinks I’ve tamed you.”

His hips surged against me, the hard length of Zane’s cock hit my sensitive clit. I gasped a silent scream. “Tamed me, have you?”

Licking my lips, I wrapped my feet around his calves, dragging him closer to me. “Taming is such a sad word. Like you’ve lost all your bite,” I fluttered my lashes at him, “when we both know that’s the part I love best.”

“Oh, little sinner, you have no idea the plans I have for this body.” His hands trailed down my sides, grabbing handfuls of my breasts until I arched and cried out at the mixture of pleasure and pain zipping through my core.

I let him explore and touch and bruise, taking everything the demon wanted to give me. Each touch a promise of violence and pleasure wrapped into one. When his fingers prodded my entrance, I twisted myself away with a shake of my head.

“Nuhuh, no fucking until you get me out of here.”

The demon’s eyes burned into me as he tried to pry my legs apart. “I should have known you weren’t going to make it easy for me.”

I laughed, grasping his face with my hands. “Where’s the fun in that?”

A hand wrapped around my throat, lifting me up and off the bed so his mouth pressed to mine in a bruising kiss. His tongue shoved into my mouth, not giving me a chance to respond back and he fucked my mouth with his tongue. He kissed me until my lungs burned with the lack of oxygen and still I let him continue.

Only when my vision started to darken did I grip his chin with my hand, my hand heating until he hissed and jerked away from me with a laugh.

“Careful, you’ll hurt the cleric.”

“He’ll be alright,” I quipped, nipping at his lower lip. “Now, get me out of here and then we can play.”

“Zane, what are you doing here?” Gage’s voice echoes through the warehouse.

I tensed beneath the demon, holding me before looking him in the eyes. “We need his blood to break the barrier.”

A deadly glint zipped through his eyes before the space between my thighs was cold.

The demon shot across the room, heading straight for Gage. I pushed off the bed and scrambled to my feet, realizing too late that I hadn’t been specific enough.

“What the fuck, Zane?” Gage snarled, dodging the demon’s attacks. His arm comes up in a block only for the demon to drop down low, a knife appearing in his hands from somewhere unknown.

“No cleric here, killer,” the demon crooned, slashing the knife at Gage’s mid-section.

My breath caught in my throat until I see that the demon had missed.

“Don’t kill him,” I ordered, rushing to the edge of my cell.

The demon chortled and licked his lips. “You said you needed blood, I’m going to get you blood.”

I growled to myself frustrated at being caged and unable to help Gage after I sicc’d a demon on him. “Blood, yes. Death, no.”

Gage’s eyes widened at my words before his eyes narrowed. “See? This is why we didn’t tell the others where you were. You would just use them against us.”

I pressed my hands against the barrier, willing it to go away though I know it is useless. “He won’t kill you. Just break the barrier and then he’ll stop.”

“No. Fucking. Way.” Gage snapped out between dodging and blocking each of the demon’s attacks. “Call him off, now.”

Their fighting took them around the room, and it only took a few moments to realize that they were headed my way.

If Gage refused to drop the barrier, I needed his blood to force it down. However, I wasn’t a hundred percent sure the demon would stop at just a single slice.

This was getting complicated.

The demon howled in delight, red dripping off his knife. He’s scored a long slice along Gage’s forearm. Still the demon didn’t stop.

“That’s enough,” I commanded, slamming my fist against the barrier. “Bring it to me.”

The demon hissed and ignored my call.

Fuck.

I couldn’t do anything from inside the barrier. My magic wouldn’t even reach him from here. It would just bounce back into the cell. My eyes darted around and terror ripped through me, I was helpless.

I couldn’t stop the demon. I couldn’t save Gage. Guilt and horror warred inside of me, unable to forgive myself for sending the demon after him in the first place.

And if he killed Gage?

The absolute devastation it would cause Zane to know that his friend died by his own hands was enough to make my inside churn. I’d done this. Every step I’d taken had been for my revenge. Every decision I’d made for the sake of getting justice for my mother. For the humans.

If Gage died because of my recklessness, I would never be able to live with myself.

“Gage!” I shouted, their fighting only feet away from me now. “Get inside the barrier.”

“A little busy here,” Gage gritted out between clenched teeth. Several cuts decorated his arms and sliced through the material of his shirt.

“Please,” I begged, slapping my hands against the almost invisible wall. “Get inside the barrier.”

“It won’t stop him.”

“I know.”

“Stop distracting my prey, sinner.” The demon snarled and snapped his teeth at Gage. “It’s no fun if the killer isn’t at his full strength.”

Gage dodged another blow but, instead of continuing to go on the defensive, he landed a hard blow against Zane’s beautiful face.

The demon’s head whipped to the side, distracted enough that Gage could slip by him, darting to the other side of the barrier.

He sucked in breaths, swiping his face with his hand. He winced, glancing down at the cuts on his arm.

“Oh, God.” I stepped over to him, wishing for once that I had healing magic and not only the ability to destroy.

“Come, killer. That’s not how you play fair, hiding behind our woman.” Zane’s body moved with the poise of a panther, shifting more than walking toward us. “I’ve been waiting for this moment to see if you’re really as good as they say you are.”

The demon kept his distance, circling around us as he taunted Gage. Bloodlust curled around in his eyes, and I knew there was no talking him out of what he planned. I started this, and I would have to be the one to stop him.

“Gage,” I murmured, low enough only he could hear. “Stay behind me.”

“What?” He gaped at me, his jaw tightening. “No. If I can’t beat one pain-in-the-ass demon, I’m not worthy to be called a Sentinel.” He pulled two knives of his own from a magical pocket and palmed them. “Let’s finish this.”

“No, Gage.” I grabbed his arm. “You’ll hurt Zane.”

Gage’s head tilted slightly. “You should have thought about that before you set your fucking hound on me. I won’t kill him, but this won’t end unless one of us is bleeding.”

I dug my fingers into his arm. “You are bleeding.”

Blinking down where my hand touched him, Gage shook his head. “There’s going to be a lot more blood than this.” He shoved me behind him and faced the demon in Zane’s body head on. “You want a fight? You’ve got one. Bring it on, hell spawn.”

“Oh, I’m going to enjoy this,” the demon crooned before he shot across the barrier line, his knife poised and ready to plunge into Gage, going for the kill.

I couldn’t let this happen. It was my fault the demon went after Gage. It was my fault I was stuck in this stupid cage to begin with. While I didn’t agree with Gage all the time, I couldn’t let the demon kill him. Nor could I let Gage hurt Zane. He could mess up and do something unrepairable.

No, this was my fault. I had to fix it.

The second I made a decision, I threw myself forward. Someone called my name off in the distance. But it was too late.

The knife sank into my chest, just missing my heart.

Unending pain scorching through my body from where the knife stuck out of me like a pin cushion. My feet stumbled under me, and I fell against a hard familiar chest.

“Oh, shit, Eva.” Zane’s voice was no longer hard with the demon’s voice. “What have I done? what have I done?”

Zane kept chanting the same refrain as Gage peered down at me, his face stricken with horror and fear. “Eva, why did you...? What did you...?”

I reached a hand out to him, my vision darkening. “I couldn’t let him... kill you.” My lungs seized and I coughed. Pain sliced with each breath, blood dripping down my lips with each ragged exhale.

“Eva!”

The ground rumbled underneath my body, making me groan. If I died here, I wouldn’t have accomplished my goal. Once again, I would have failed to avenge my mother.

Except I couldn’t find it in me to care. Zane and Gage were alive. The others were somewhere, coming, blurry figures standing over me.

“Are you happy now?” a voice, I think Luke, yelled. “Instead of fighting each other, we should be fighting the council.”

My hand weakly waved out, trying to find Luke. “It’s not their fault.”

“Eva,” Luke’s broken voice made my heart ache or it was the knife in my chest. “I’m going to heal you okay, just stay still.” His voice lifted, commanding in a way I hadn’t heard outside of the bedroom. “Gage, hold her. Zane, I need you to pull the knife out when I tell you.”

The voices grew quiet around me, my vision darkening further. All I could think was that to die surrounded by the men I loved wasn’t such a bad way to go.