Page 100 of Conflicted

He was right about all of that, but there was one crucial thing he was wrong about and that was his belief that I could somehow be happy in a world he didn’t exist in. I sort of understood his logic, but the more I thought about it, the angrier I got.

I mean, just who did Nox think he was? He didn’t get to just decide shit for both of us, especially without discussing it with me first. He might have thought I deserved better than a demon, but that wasn’t his decision to make. It wasmine. And if he thought he was going to sacrifice himself because of some noble bullshit idea, then he was in for a shock.

Nox wasn’t leaving this world without me at his side, and I was going to make damn sure about that.

I waited until we were over the dense canopy of trees to do it. I’d flown us to the most remote corner of the Amazon rainforest, planning on hiding in its depths for as long as it took us to formulate a viable plan.

I had the first step already. I was going to mark him. It was a gift bestowed on angels and, as they were descended from us, demons. We were able to mark our future mates, allowing all supes to know they belonged to a powerful being. More than that, if someone was marked, they’d inherit some of their mate’s healing and strength, even before a bond was in place.

I didn’t feel a shred of guilt about doing this without Nox’s permission. Not after the bullshit he’d pulled over the past twenty-four hours. Besides, it’d help him heal faster and would give him an edge in battle that might just help us survive this thing.

It wasn’t a full mating bond, but it would be enough to offer him some protection. And, if he was executed, my immortality would be lost at the same time.

My power rushed from me as I pressed my lips to his cold ones, forever marking him as mine.

23

Nox

I’d been killed many times before, always knowing I’d wake up.

This was the first time I’d woken up when I hadn’t been expecting to.

I blinked at the bright sunlight filtering through the green canopy high above. Immediately, I knew I wasn’t on Brighton beach. There certainly weren’t rubber trees there like the ones towering above me right now. The temperature was dramatically higher too; I could feel sweat rolling down my face. I couldn’t hear the sea anymore either. There was chirping, hooting, and the rush of a nearby waterfall.

I held still as I tried to figure out what was going on. Was this the afterlife? We’d been taught there was nothing waiting for supes after execution. That our souls evaporated into dust, forming the fabric of the cosmos.

Was that all a lie?

Just then I heard a curse in a very familiar voice. A voice I knew as well as my own.

“Stupid fucking demon. What on earth was he thinking?Oh, we can’t be together so I’ll just sacrifice myselfinstead.Absolute moron, honestly. I might be in love with the fucker, but there’s no denying he’s an idiot.”

I groaned internally as my brain used context to piece together what had happened. Micah had killed me, but not executed me. Instead he’d clearly taken us somewhere far away in an attempt to do the impossible.

Hide from Heaven.

Fuck. He called me an idiot, yet he’d put himself at risk. He’d gone and done the one thing I’d been trying to protect him from.

I sat up slowly, my mind clearing more with each second that passed. Micah was moving his arms in great arcs, setting up a myriad of wards around the clearing we were in. And, apparently, talking to himself.

About me.

“He tells me he’s in love with me, then expects me toexecutehim? I don’t fucking think so. Let’s see how he likes having decisions made for him without being consulted first.”

I got to my feet, brushing off the dirt clinging to my trousers. When I saw the blood splattering them, I gave it up as a bad job. My shirt was gone, likely too drenched for Micah to be able to save it.

“I can tell you it feels kinda shitty.”

Micah whirled on the balls of his feet. “You’re awake.”

“Apparently.” I raised a brow at him, folding my arms over my chest. “I was pretty fucking clear on what I needed you to do, little angel.”

Micah’s hands twitched at his sides. “And I’m going to be pretty fucking clear now, Nox. The only way we’ll leave this world is together. Now, unless you want that to be today, you’re going to help me ward the shit out of this area. I started laying false wards a hundredmiles out, so that’ll mask our location for a while, but?—”

“Wait,” I said slowly, stuck on the first part of what he’d said. “What do you mean,together?”

His chin lifted defiantly. “Exactly what I said, Nox. If they kill you, they kill me too.”

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