Page 52 of The Demon’s Collar (The Bard’s Demon #1)

Ero: When Turnabout Is Fair Play

I t took Aelith weeks to reform, but it only took Brü two days to find signs of life. A jar of water that was—I guess her— glowed for him. He promised she would be alright upon seeing that, and I accepted it.

I had no such premonition about B?k.

In fact, B?k returned to the camp in total silence much sooner than Aelith. I was among the last to find out. He’d already been back for two days when Hammond mentioned him. At my emotional response, Hammond showed his unique brand of confusion at the fact that I hadn’t known.

B?k never came to me.

So I never went to him .

We were petulant children in a standoff. Forces in a power struggle that’d been derailed.

I spent my days talking with my brother—when he had time—and reading his war journals when he didn’t.

There was so much to learn. Our “cats,” for example, were—as he’d mentioned—not entirely cats.

Much like our magic, the beasts were soul-paired.

Lyric really was mine. And not just because I’d claimed him.

I nuzzled him now, at least somewhat confident doing so was safe.

Apparently, he’d been there since the moment I’d received the broken peace staff at the temple, completing my passage into demigoddery—demigoddessness?

Whatever. The little guy just hadn’t gotten his feet under him in time to catch me.

After a lifetime of searching for answers, those weeks felt like my due.

And then one morning, I stepped out of my little hut and watched Brü pick up a very fragile, very pale Aelith to crush against his chest. He spun her, and even though her laugh was a mere echo of what it had been, she was there. Alive.

Whether it was that sight that made me shiver or the icy breeze that followed, I looked away from them briefly—just long enough to see B?k’s back disappear into a shadow.

I’d be lying if I said he hadn’t been on my mind.

That I didn’t fall asleep every night replaying his dark words, his forbidden touches, in a torturous loop.

Pretending I still wore his collar, and imagining what he would tell me to do.

Not that any of that was very effective bedtime story material.

I rarely managed to fall asleep before dawn.

I traced the brand on my thigh. A lump formed in my throat. For someone who’d insisted so vehemently that I belonged to him, he’d sure given me up quickly. Witnessing Brü and Aelith’s bliss—which, I reminded myself, wasn’t even what I wanted—made his chilly abandonment chafe all the more.

Fearing that I could only bring the reunion down, I silently retreated to give the lovers their moment.

Don’t worry. I didn’t sulk for long.

Three nights later, I left Aelith’s room and walked through the moonlit camp with a bounce in my step.

Because B?k wasn’t going to get the last word.

The demon who’d found me, collared me, claimed me, betrayed me, saved me, and then had the audacity to pretend I’d never existed—had another thing coming if he thought this was over.

He wouldn’t get a chance to explain himself, either. I was done begging for answers. He’d had time.

I heard his heavy breathing through the door. Not quite a snore. Just a deep, unshakable sleep. If ever there was one thing I could count on—it was B?k’s heavy sleep.

I reached into my satchel and took out the things I would need.

Even though his door whined on its hinges, B?k didn’t stir. I poured the powder I’d acquired from Tavish onto the floor just inside the room. My tendrils stirred it into the air. For a moment, it glittered unassumingly.

Abandoned knitting projects and carved figurines strewn about the room spoke of B?k’s most recent journey back to sanity. I tried not to think about who or what else he might have turned to for help.

I approached the bed and frowned down at him, experiencing one singular moment of hesitation.

What if everything that’d happened between us really had just been B?k’s deep investment in fulfilling his contract with my brother?

What if he never actually wanted me and he’d removed me from the contract only to maintain peace with Brü and the others?

What if what I was about to do was the crazy thing?

Then, I spotted the collar. It stuck out from beneath his pillow, hanging loosely in one huge hand.

I traced the brand on my thigh again.

No, I wouldn’t let doubt stand in the way. He wanted me—and I would make sure he choked on that desire.

I pulled my Fated-issue nameplate from my pocket. It glistened with imbued magic. Not much. Just enough to freeze the holy water coating my name.

In one quick motion, I mounted B?k, sitting on his bare burning abs with my knees on either side of him. His eyes popped open. But he couldn’t move, because my tendrils lit the powder in the air—and the air solidified.

In the last second before we were frozen in place, I shoved my nameplate against his chest. Right over his heart.

He tried to shout, but the powdery vacuum swallowed the sound. I couldn’t move. He couldn’t move. We couldn’t even breathe. The plate hissed against his skin.

Angry black singe marks appeared on the walls and sheets all around us, but the fire couldn’t catch without oxygen to consume. My tendrils vibrated with triumph.

Lyric bounded into the room. I don’t know how, because doing so defied every conceivable law of motion. But the solid air didn’t faze him. He trounced right over to B?k’s satchel and disappeared inside, probably after a bite of jerky.

B?k tried to turn his head to see what I was looking at. He couldn’t. Satisfaction rippled through me.

And then…the powder burned out .

My tendrils encircled B?k’s wrists and ankles to keep him from lashing out. I put my hand to his throat, letting the nameplate fall aside.

“Don’t fight,” I warned.

Would my tendrils kill him if he did? I wasn’t sure.

I also wasn’t sure if the brand would survive his whole death, dissolving, and rebirth process.

Aelith suspected it would. He had other scars that persisted—and their common tie was holy water.

But I didn’t want to test the theory yet.

I doubted I would get a second chance at this.

Although B?k’s eyes blazed, he held perfectly still.

I leaned closer to whisper against his ear.

“I don’t know what you want anymore—and I don’t care,” I said. “You belong to me. ”

I gave him one beat to digest that truth before I crashed my lips against his.

The rest could wait.

The peace staff. Austvix’s troubling prophecies. The Huntress. My other siblings. The Temple Mother’s words that lingered in the back of my mind. Haz .

Tonight, I was going to claim my demon.

B?k’s tongue pushed into my mouth hungrily, proving that I wasn’t alone in missing this. He rolled us over. His weight pressed me into the bed, and my inner beast purred. He fisted my hair and pinned my hips with his. I closed my eyes, drinking it in.

When he pulled back, his shadows clasped over my mouth in a tight gag. Delicious fear sliced through me. He nipped at my throat, almost certainly leaving marks, and his cock—eager and hard—pressed against my thigh.

I didn’t want to wait, so I didn’t. I pushed with my hands and magic, shoving him to exactly where I wanted him. His delight soaked the room in midnight chill.

I pulled him into me. I set the pace. I squeezed my pussy around his cock, broadcasting mine with each rock of my hips. There was plenty to say—but we didn’t need to yet.

We finished together. We collapsed together. And we lay there, panting in the afterglow together.

Somehow, none of the words I’d been burning to say for weeks felt important right then. His shadows settled around me, holding my body firmly against his, saying everything that needed to be said. My tendrils explored him lazily in return.

As dawn approached, B?k’s breathing evened out again.

Mine did not. I’d hoped tying up this one loose end would make some of my internal cacophony quiet down, but there was still so much to think about. The war, my family, my friends—all flitted through my mind in an anxious kaleidoscope, keeping sleep just out of reach.

At some point, I settled on the Huntress’s taunting smile from the battlefield. Sleepily, without even meaning to, I thought at my father. Do you even care about any of this?

His answer came immediately.

Of course I care.

I froze.

He’d heard me. He’d answered .

The promise of sleep evaporated. I gripped B?k, holding onto his steady heat.

Haz’s presence hung in the room. I hadn’t felt him before, but I did now.

What should I say to him? Would he answer my questions if I asked them?

Was this the time to petition him for a small assist with the whole peace part of his domain?

It couldn’t hurt to try.

Will you help me end this war? I thought .

Yes, Eroithiel. But everything has a cost.

Pink dawn light illuminated the room. The shadows began to recede. B?k rolled in his sleep, casting his arm over me.

I’d like to say I had no desire to know or prove my worth to Haz. To a god and father who’d been intentionally distant, who’d left me to flail about the world on my own when the tiniest bit of guidance could have changed everything. But I would be lying. Need pooled deep in my belly.

What do you want from me? I thought.

Anticipation whirred in my chest. What if he told me to hunt the Huntress? What if he told me to sever ties with B?k or with my friends? What if he told me to sacrifice myself?

Haz allowed my nerves to spiral for several long moments. When his voice came again, the words pierced my heart like twin arrows.

Kill Austvix.