Page 8

REMY

“I need you to come back to me.”

I lick blood from my lips.

Passion fruit.

How exquisite.

My eyes re-focus. Brain-fog and agony part for the first time in…

Decades?

Centuries?

“Welcome back,” the Guide says with an adorably sarcastic snort. “Take your claws out of my wrist.”

“Ah.” I retract my nails, amazed at how easily they respond. The burn in my throat is quenched. Miraculous . In a few beats of my Guide’s hypnotic heart, I sift through the half-remembered past. “Darling. You needn’t wear my curtains. I’ll find you a scarf.”

“You—” She chokes.

Her cheeks flame.

Beautiful .

Mine.

I’ll fuck her over my desk while I savor her throat.

As soon as I clear the room.

I kick the thing at her feet. “What’s this doing in my office?”

Trezzoran snarls.

“Stop,” she commands.

Her eyes burn like cold sapphires as my shadows explore their new playground. Her soul-silks caress their lengths. Their cloud-soft touch soothes, more satisfying than fresh blood.

I shudder.

What a welcoming body.

“I can feel your magic reaching,” she says through her teeth. “Kill it now.”

“This little thing?” I retract the shadows climbing to strangle Trezzoran. He cools the hellfire burning the floor beneath my soles.

Our eyes lock with understanding. Truce?

The devil huffs. Temporary.

Obviously. I roll my eyes.

See me on the field tonight.

Kill you on the field tonight. I smile for my Guide as if the mental exchange never happened. “It’s too noisy here. Let me take you to my—to our quarters.”

“How long have you been like this?” She squints into my eyes.

How pleasant . “Like what?”

“Fucking insane.”

I’ve never matched a Guide more than ten percent. The thirst-quenching coolness of our perfect soul-fit is just as delicious as her flavor.

And her fingers in my hair.

I’ve found a treasure.

She’s just in time to serve my final meal. “Luckily, you’ve come to fix me.”

“No.” She releases my scalp and grinds her wrist to her forehead in exasperation. “Give me your badge.”

The cooling stroke of her soul makes it hard to care about anything else.

I hum, enjoying her and this last slice of clarity. “Which badge?”

“The Farguard commander’s badge. I’m relieving you of duty.”