Page 27 of The Demon’s Delight (The Demon Princes #3)

Chapter 26

Hailon

F or the next two days we zigzagged across the Emankor Valley, going from town to town. Some were quaint little villages where we only lingered long enough to ask after transportation and buy some food or drink, others were towns much like Manvil had been.

It was nice to have hot meals we didn’t have to cook ourselves and real beds, but the closer we got to Ravenglen, the more anxious I was about finishing our journey. We left the comforts of the lush farming region for more camping, knowing we were merely a couple more days from finally reaching our destination.

Horses were still too scarce for us to borrow or buy, and neither humans nor beasts seemed particularly fond of us.

Seir practiced as much as possible with his wings as we walked and was able to get up to several minutes of flight regularly. He even managed to sift twice, though neither attempt landed him more than several paces away, and he said it still felt wrong. My leg was nearly completely healed up, and the bruises I’d accumulated at the house in Olinbourg had faded.

There was something kind of beautiful about returning home like a whole new person, despite how I’d left.

We hadn’t spoken again about mate bonds, but it was always there, lingering under whatever it was we were actually talking about. I found myself staring at Seir, calculating how we could make such a thing work. After all, we didn’t even live on the same plane. Could I go with him to Hell? Would he be able to stay on Earth part time? Would everything change when I banished him and the summoner contract was fulfilled? The questions piled up inside my mind, distracting me from the ones I’d started to be afraid of asking; the ones about Aunt Sal. Had she found anyone to care for her in my absence? Was she still alive? I couldn’t bring myself to consider the notion that she wasn’t, thought I knew it was very much a possibility. Unfortunately, Coltor’s stone kin network had not brought us any news, so I was left to stew in my worries.

Even with my new boots, by the time the sun was setting at the end of the day, my feet were sore, and I was exhausted.

We’d gotten lucky and found a nice, wooded area to camp in, one with heavy rock formations that helped us make a decent shelter. There wasn’t, however, any water to be found.

The process of setting up and taking down camp had gotten to be such an exercise in familiar teamwork that we were settled in with a fire and food before I had time to even feel tired.

After eating the hearty soup Seir had cooked for us, I stared into the flames, one thought repeating through my mind, one that had been bothering me for days. It was something I should have taken care of in the Valley, but there hadn’t been a chance to seek out a shop. And in truth, I’d thought the persistent thoughts would pass. I turned to him. “Would you trim my hair?”

“Your hair?” he asked, head tilted to the side. “My blades are certainly sharp enough, but how would you like me to cut it? And why?”

“The uneven spots, the missing chunks… it reminds me of them. Of that house. I’d like to be done with those thoughts. I’d like for all of them to rot without being mourned or remembered. It’s what they deserve.”

“Oh, Moonflower.” His eyes went soft, and he tucked himself behind me. Seir’s arms wrapped around mine, squeezing my ribs tight. He rested his chin on the top of my head, his heartbeat strong against my back. He even wrapped his legs around my body, his broad thighs over mine as he bear-hugged me. I melted into the embrace, fighting the urge to cry as my body absorbed his affection.

Seir draped one of our towels over my shoulders, then settled back down behind me, standing on his knees.

“Do you trust me?”

I relaxed, a slow smile tugging at my mouth. “You know I do.”

“Just checking. It’s been a while since I did one of these, but I promise it’ll be my best work.” I closed my eyes, the tingle in my scalp a soothing sensation as he combed and tugged and scraped with the edge of his blade. “There’s even more white today,” he mused quietly. “It’s such a pretty color.”

Worry filtered through me. I was fairly young to be going spontaneously gray. I worried that perhaps the exertion from healing him had done something unexpected to me.

Bits of hair fell on my blanket and the ground as he worked, circling around me with a serious look on his face as he measured, cut, measured again.

I was nearly asleep and the fire was getting so low it was hard to see by the time he finally sat back on his heels with a satisfied look on his face.

“Feel,” he said. “I think you’ll like it.” He smiled. “I do.”

My fingertips explored my new style, finding that the back had been shortened even with the big missing chunk, so my whole neck was exposed, and the ends were even with the middle of my ear. The rest tapered forward at an angle, so there were long points at my face.

“It feels nice, thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” He gathered up what he could of the hair and tossed the remnants into the fire. “Would it be rude of me to request payment for services rendered?”

“Probably not. Depends on what you’re asking for.” I found myself blushing, going along with this playful demon’s game.

“Nothing too taxing. Just… a kiss.”

He’d gotten very close, his hand resting on my cheek like he had a habit of doing, his breath feathering across my face. Despite all my reservations about jumping into something like a mate bond, I trusted him. I was not afraid of him or his intentions. So, I pulled my bravery up around me like a comfortable blanket and let myself have something I wanted for a change.

“Take what you’re owed then,” I goaded. His tongue teased across the points of his teeth before he lowered his face, lips pressed almost chastely against mine. “That is not a kiss. Where is the demon I met the night of the festival?” I teased, taking both control and his face in my hands, covering his mouth with mine.

Seir grunted in surprise, lurching forward against me, hands protectively curving around my ribs. I licked at the seam of his lips, earning myself another growl as he opened for me, all too eager to devour me once I’d shown my intent.

He lowered us down so I was on my back beneath him, all his hard angles pressed up against me. Heat coursed through my veins as he pulled his lips away from mine and slid them across my jaw, then down my neck. I could feel his need pressed against my stomach, and gasped when he nipped at my collarbone with those sharp teeth.

“Hailon…” His eyes were molten gold, dripping with desire as he pulled back far enough to gaze down at me. They roved over my face, my throat, fingertips tracing across my skin and leaving a fiery sensation in their wake. “I need you to know that it makes no difference whether or not you’ve decided you’re mine. Of course, I’d prefer it that way, but even if I’m not… I’m yours. I have been since you summoned me into that terrible little room in Olinbourg.

“Banishing me back to Hell won’t undo whatever bond cracked wide open inside me the second I looked into those incredible eyes of yours. I spoke the truth when I told all those men I belonged to you. I did. I do. I always will.” His eyes were soft, pleading as they took in every detail of my face. He placed light kisses at the edges of my mouth, the tip of my nose, my forehead.

Emotions backed up in my throat, threatening to choke me.

He’d shown me more kindness, more trust in a couple of weeks wandering the realm than anyone else in my life had ever done. Seir had always given me full agency over myself, believed what I stated were my limits, and protected me. Without question, he had offered his help and had never asked for anything in return.

“Seir, I?—”

“Don’t. I didn’t say that because I was trying to prod you into a declaration of your own. I just needed you to know.” He kissed me again, thoroughly and completely, rendering me speechless and somehow also removing most of the executive function from my body. I was nothing but a boneless mess incapable of coherent speech.

He gave me a grin that would haunt my dreams when he pulled away. Then, he placed his hand over his heart. He let it rest there a moment, then brought his fingertips to his lips, then mine. The green in his eyes was intense among the glowing gold, and I understood the gesture to be some kind of oath the way he delivered it. Despite the soft tilt of his lips, the movements were intentional. Reverent. My heart ached it was pounding so hard, the sweet gesture nearly too much for me to manage.

I closed my eyes, reveling in the cacophony of pleasurable sensations crushing down on me, the feeling of his body against mine, the taste of him on my lips. I was hovering right on the edge of committing to the biggest decision I’d ever make. And I was definitely leaning in.

Then something shifted, and everything felt too light, too cold. The weight and sensation of him touching me was… gone.

I opened my eyes, and abject panic settled in. My chest felt like someone had filled it with the coals from the fire, and I instantly started sobbing. Everything hurt as I rushed to sit up.

“What’s happening?” I asked, but nobody was there to answer. “Seir?!” I looked all around the camp, in the darkness along the trees, even up in the sky. But it wasn’t a trick.

I was alone.

Seir was gone.