Page 56 of Hell Gate

Cheeks prickling, I scramble to my feet. “Not that I have to explain myself to you, but I had a nightmare. He helped calm me down.”

He doesn’t answer, his cunning gaze moving over Alder’s shirt hanging off my body in a sensual slide. His eyes flare, then he scoffs. “Calming you from a nightmare. That’s why you stink of him.” Expression hardening, he folds his arms, the abstract black swirls on his exposed forearms shifting in agitated movements beneath his rolled up sleeves. “Shower. I’m not getting in the car with you smelling like that again. You have five minutes.”

Rolling my eyes, I shove past the broody bastard.

* * *

The rideto the witch is strained and silent. I’m miffed Valerian forced me out the door before I got to see Matthias, stating that we’d be late if he allowed me to get distracted again. It’s the first time we’re truly alone together. Since we first crossed paths, Vale’s been careful to avoid being alone with me other than the one time he tracked me down at the library.

His demanding words stick in my mind, refusing to leave me alone. There’s no way he was jealous to find Alder naked and holding me in bed, but the more his crisp accented words repeat in my head, the more I’m struggling to refute the jealousy in his tone.

The animosity between us has waned, yet it’s not truly gone. It’s no longer rooted in anger and contempt, but neither of us give up an inch when it comes to fighting with each other. Mainly because he knows exactly how to get under my skin and make me fly off the handle whenever he pushes my buttons and prods at my weaknesses. I don’t despise him anymore, but when he challenges me I have a tendency to fight back before thinking. It’s not like that with Alder and Matthias; with Vale, I think he finds enjoyment in trading barbs with me.

Looking at his scowling brows, the sharp slope of his nose, the shape of his frowning lips, I can’t deny he’s handsome. Devastatingly so. The side of me that allows him to get to me, that goads him because I enjoy testing him, does it on purpose because I think I crave his attention. The thought of those haunting blue eyes looking at anyone but me pierces my heart.

My attention slides to Valerian’s pocket. I think he still has my other pair of underwear. I couldn’t find them anywhere, not in my bag or left out in the room when I snatched up the pair Alder all but ripped off me last night. Vale’s wearing the same dark pants and black button down he wore yesterday, the sleeves rolled up, tempting me with his tattooed forearms on display.

Warmth creeps up my neck as I picture my underwear draped on the gearshift between us. I wonder how debauched I looked spread on Matthias’ lap, bared for Valerian and Alder. Peeking over my shoulder, I scan the leather for any inkling of what happened, for proof that I had all three of them contributing in some way to my orgasms.

If things had been different and Valerian had my body spread and at the mercy of his whims, would our passion feel different?

Yes. I sense the truth of it without a doubt.

When I fight with Vale, the fire he ignites in me is hotter, the burn more intense. I know it would consume us both if we gave the tension between us free rein.

As the journey continues, I judge the distance to our destination by Valerian’s shoulders growing tenser and the sharpness of his smoky scent pressing in on me from all sides. The wheel begins to smoke beneath his rigid grip, fingertips glowing with smoldering embers of his power leaking out. He never lacks this much control over himself. It sets me on edge that he’s worried enough for it to show, his brooding no longer able to hide his emotions.

“What will happen if the witch succeeds and breaks this seal binding me in this human body?” I bite my lip as soon as the words are out, stomach cramping at letting him witness my vulnerability. It’s worth the risk because the nerves are about to eat me alive. “Will I still be me?”

He takes a long beat to answer, eyes narrowing on the winding road leading up the rolling hills. “I can’t say for sure. You’re the first changeling I’ve encountered.”

The lack of reassurance that this version of me—Lily Sloane, a stubborn girl learning there’s a fighter within her wanting to be let out and take on the world—won’t be destroyed to make way for the demon I truly am doesn’t bode well. Is anything about me real? A bitter thought surfaces. My love of isekai manga might even be born of some part of me longing for another world I’m meant to return to. Anything I’ve ever liked in life could be attributed to the person trapped by the magic seal.

I could be temporary. Fleeting and easily forgotten. Replaceable.

Acid churns in my stomach and I shift uncomfortably. I should be used to it by now. I’ve been rejected, returned, and replaced my whole life. A hot sting slides down my throat. I don’t want to go. Don’t want to leave Matthias or the others. Don’t want to be forgotten and left behind.

Vale studies me, his dark blue gaze penetrating. “No matter what, keep your guard up. Don’t divulge information unless I give you permission.”

I cross my arms. “It’s my body. My power trapped inside me. Why are you suddenly the boss of it?”

He gives me a hard look. “Because it’s my duty to protect you and I won’t fail it. Demons and witches have a shaky relationship in the mortal realm at best. We are natural enemies. They summon us through rituals and trap us within their sigils to siphon our power.”

My mouth drops open. “Then why is the witch agreeing to help?”

Before responding, he turns into a mulch driveway under an ivy-covered arch of woven sticks and vines. The air here feels different. Even inside the car, it seeps through the steel and glass, twisting around me.

“Hallowed ground.” His mouth flattens. “She’s blessed her land to ward off those that mean her harm. It’s testing you.”

Stones capped with dried moss line the driveway and damp dead leaves blanket everything. A small creek runs alongside us and circles around a cottage. When we stop, he gets out, scanning the area with a calculating sweep.

“I thought demons couldn’t step foot on hallowed ground?” I stretch my stiff legs and adjust my distressed shorts from rolling up.

“Another myth humans adapted to convince themselves they were safe from the predatory fae who hunt them. One the priests borrowed from the very witches they burned at the stake, if I’m not mistaken.” He steers me by his grip on the back of my neck, halting before we enter the covered porch. “If I give you an order, follow it. Understand?”

My nape tingles where he squeezes firmly, leaving me slightly lightheaded as my stomach dips. “Fine.”

He pounds a fist on the door. “Witch!”

---