Page 97 of Dating the Dealing Demon

Fighting through the spelled wards to the house one slow step at a time, I claw through mist and darkness. Fog sweeps around the house, echoing the horrible vision from the Cthulhu, and I thank the gods Val isn’t here.

The shadows would consume her in seconds, stealing my mate from me forever because there’s nothing left behind to bring back once a shadow monster feeds.

A shade sweeps by me, tearing a gash in my wing. Yet the serious level up I’ve gotten from mating magic gives me the strength to keep going.

The portalsmustbe closed.

I fire Brimstone flames into the darkness, hoping to hit the enemy or at least force them into the light.

The war cries from the Infernal Army grow louder. Roars join the clang of metal and flap of wings.

Another shadow monster lands in front of me, towering above me with claws longer than my tail. It slices through my armor, piercing my thigh, and I swipe at it, but the damn thing dissolves before I can make contact.

I push past the pain. Nothing can stop me from blocking their way into this world.

A flicker of magic comes from the wide steps to the house, and I blink. Finally, Gilly is coming to join her fucked-up party. I swallow the lump of dread. Feeling something for the sister I loved for so long has no place here, but gods, it’s so hard to forget years of looking out for her. What if I can convince her to call off her monsters? To give up this insanity?

She shimmers into existence in her demon form. A glance from her sinister smile to the woman kneeling at her feet has me freezing.

Val.

No. I left my mate where she would be safe, where she couldn’t be touched by the terrible things my world has brought her.

With a blade pressed to Val’s throat, Gilly threads her fingers into my mate’s hair, yanking her face up and into the pale moonlight. Tears streak Val’s cheeks, and the agony of whatever was strong enough to break my mate and make her cry—it twists me into knots.

Nic steps beside me. “Fuck, where is Montejanus?”

My heart squeezes into a grenade, primed to explode. Nic’s right. The soul guardian wouldn’t leave my mate. Not unless something horrible has happened.

“Misplace your human, brother?” Gilly calls. The flash of a silver blade at Val’s throat is the only thing stopping me from taking my crazy sister to the ground.

I don’t dare move. “Let her go, Gilly.”

“When she has my magic thrumming through her veins? I don’t think so.”

Val scowls, her expression morphing into one of fury as much as grief. “You psycho b?—”

“Silence, human.” Gilly pushes the blade deeper, drawing blood, and it takes every bit of control I’ve mastered for centuries to stay still. “I only brought you here instead of killingyou quickly so my brother can watch me carve those stolen powers out of you.”

Another shadow monster slashes invisible claws across my chest, and I cringe against the burn. “Call off your pets.”

“Not a chance,” Gilly says. “They’ll win me any throne I want, starting with yours.” She turns her attention to the blade at my mate’s neck. I won’t make it to them in time. Not even if I teleport.

“How’d you get past the wards?” Nic asks, the distraction smart. Smarter than anything I’ve done so far.

“Didn’t you know our mother had a skeleton key to all our homes?” Gilly taunts. “Sort of a magical open invitation. How do you think she slipped past the wards and into your suite to warn Val off the first time?” She looks to me. “But Mother wouldn’t listen. I had to stab her to get the key. Worth it.”

“Mother,” Nic whispers, worry bleeding through her tone.

“Go,” I tell her.

She teleports out.

Gilly drags the blade over Val’s skin. “Now, where should I start cutting up your mate? Her heart or her face?”

I can’t fight her with Val’s life on the line.

The howls and screeches behind me fade. The pain where the shadow monsters have ripped into my skin doesn’t matter anymore.

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