Page 17 of Dark Souls Academy: The Sacrifice

“Do they all participate?” I needed to know what kind of guy Lust was.

The fucker rolled his eyes. “Of course. You don’t tell Lucifer no.” He paused before continuing. “But a couple of the sins always argue about it. They treat the women good. The idiots.”

“Who?” He didn’t say anything. I repeated myself, and he let out a mix between a chuckle and sob noise. His chin lifted, though. It might be all I got out of him today, but I’d still push him, just in case. “I’m done talking. Make the burning stop, or I’m done.” The fact he thought he had a choice pissed me off. But he was finally talking, so I could be lenient. I didn’t want him dead, yet.

So, with a sigh, I called on my water element, asked it to chill itself and drench the prisoner. The moment the water touched him, he cried again. The burning might have stopped, but his body was still mutilated. A piece of his flesh landed onto me from the splash.

Before I could do anything, Lilah’s name popped up on my communicator, but I ignored her. “You did well. Let’s?—”

I froze as magic filled the air that wasn’t mine. My stomach tightened, making me double over in excruciating pain. A pull demanded my presence. A scream tore from my lips as my name was shouted in my head. This had never happened, but I instinctively knew what was happening… Every demon did.

“The fucker,” I grunted out while my body disappeared from the room. Anger thrashed around inside of me.

What the fuck!

CHAPTER EIGHT

KAIN

“How the fuck is she keeping her presence hidden from us? We are fated fucking mates, I should be able to sense her no matter what,” I said as I hit Bones’ punching bag. Our new room was huge thanks to Alaric’s father. The alpha wolf might be annoying when he popped in unannounced, but he had his uses.

I didn’t have to go back to my old apartment to get anything; the Alpha had supplied us with new beds, clothes, and workout equipment. The room, which used to be Lilah’s, was now the size of a small auditorium. Everything was black, just the way we liked it. I had never felt more at home. I just missed my damned mate.

“She’s more powerful than any of us, now. Her magic is the one that connects us all,” Trigger said. I growled at Trigger’s gleeful tone.

The ass-wipe was so goo goo gee gaw for Ivy that everything she did made him have hearts in his eyes. Even this fight just made him harder for her. The fool.

I, on the other hand, wanted to steal Dex’s ropes off his waist and tie her to my bed until she understood everything, I did was to keep her safe. My father would strike soon. He was nevergoing to stop coming after her. We all spent our time killing his spies, but he wouldn’t sit on the sidelines for long. If Trigger wasn’t great with potions Lucifer would have already gotten into her head through her dreams.

I glared but responded to Trigger. “I know that shit, but she’s not invincible. She can’t fight this battle on her own. I will not lose her?—”

“But you will if you don’t meet her halfway. She is the lead demon now. You can’t just order her around. If you keep trying, she’ll never be with us,” Dex said with his head down in shame. “I want to keep her safe, but I was wrong to think locking her up was the right thing. She’ll be in this fight with us or without us. Especially since her uncle said her parents might still be alive.”

I nodded as I hugged the punching bag with deep breaths. My demon had trouble with the change in status. We had always been the strongest. We’d probably be more powerful than Lucifer, if our magic wasn’t locked down.

My shadow creatures erupted from me, racing around the room in chaotic circles. Octopus-like beings, Hellhounds, demon bugs, and massive beasts used the space as their playground. Yet, nothing was displaced or destroyed.

Dex let out a little squeak at seeing the horde just appear. My brothers were used to it by now. Since my demon lost the number one spot, it needed to release the built-up tension. I was now in a constant state of needing to prove myself. The feeling made me act like a dick, and I knew it. My demon wouldn’t settle, though. Ivy didn’t seem to care about her own life, and it made him push even harder.

“I know,” was all I could say. I knew I’d messed up again last night. The hurt in her eyes had nearly broken me. But I didn’t know how to fix it. My demon had a stranglehold on me, calming him down was impossible. “I can’t fucking help it. What am I supposed to do?”

I’d shared my feelings with them, but they didn’t have solutions either. Their irritation with me was palpable, but they understood I was trying—failing miserably, but still trying.

My favorite shadow wrapped his tentacles around my leg for support. I smiled down at him and patted his head. Smokey, in his puppy form, rolled on the ground next to me whining. He missed Ivy, but she knew I could keep an eye on her through him, so she hadn’t let Smokey near her either. The poor guy missed her as much as I did. I knelt to give him more attention. The creature only tolerated a few more caresses before he moved away.

At the same time, Bones coughed as he exited the bathroom. The calming magical shower worked on him, but his lungs weren’t happy about it. Anything to keep us calm with our missing mate was a good thing in my book, though.

“I’ve got a plan,” said Bones when his throat felt better. Steam from the bathroom still seemed to follow him around.

I perked up like a dog at hearing the word plan. It had been my job to make those, but I was desperate. Accepting help didn’t mean I was weak… right? What if I was too weak for my mate to even want me? Was that why she really stayed away?

Bones spoke, pushing those insecurities into the box in the back of my mind where I kept all the crappy shit at. “So, listen to the full plan before you freak out. Especially you, Dex.”

That made the Incubus sit up. He rolled his red eyes and scratched his black horns. “We kidnap our mate and force her to listen to us.”

Dex and even Alaric stood up, growling. Alaric had recently let his vampire side numb his emotions, so it was surprising that he cared. But I should have known better—Ivy was the only thing that grounded him. That and his books. Him and Dex have been staying with us since Ivy hadn’t been home, and I actually enjoyed their presence. I may not feel Ivy in the bond becauseshe blocked us, but I could feel them which calmed me. Funny how I used to envy and hate them for having Ivy, now they felt like brothers to me and my demon.

“What the fuck, dude? Do I have to chop off your dick? We just had this di?—”

---