Page 30 of Bound By Darkness

“Are you trying to get yourself killed?” he presses, still glaring at me, still every ounce as furious as he was when he caught me.

“No!” I yell back, so loudly the owl leaves his perch from the tree above. I glance up at Dragan again and swallow hard. I haven’t ever seen him this… enraged. Well, maybe that’s nottrue. Cambion has certainly pissed Dragan off more times than I can count.

“Then what the fuck are you doing?”

“I’m leaving!” I throw the words at him as I continue struggling to free myself, but he just holds me there like my fighting means absolutely nothing to him. Which, I’m sure, it does. “And it’s my choice!”

“You have no choice,” he informs me, his jaw tight, his eyes narrowed. “You’re our prisoner until we say otherwise.”

“I’m not your prisoner,” I growl, surprised by my own anger. But then my reaction begins to make sense. I’ve been way too patient for way too long. I’ve let these… these assholes boss me around and tell me what to do. I’ve allowed them to speak down to me. Well, no longer. Now, I’m going to stand up for myself, regardless of whatever the hell I am. Succubus or not, I deserve my freedom and I deserve the right to make my own choices. I’ve done nothing to harm anyone.

“You’re coming back with me,” Dragan commands, dropping my arms. He starts walking the other direction, but I staunchly hold my ground and shake my head.

“I’m not going back there,” I tell him. And I mean it. The idea of facing Cambion again makes me shrink inside.

“You’ll die out here.” Dragan turns to face me and crosses his huge arms against his equally huge chest. He’s the absolute epitome of power and strength, and with his furrowed brow and the frown on his face, he’s also incredibly intimidating.

“We aren’t in the Shadow Realm,” I start, panting, as I search for a plausible argument. “We’re in the Mortal Plane, which means I’ve got the best chance of surviving on my own.” My voice is breaking, though I’m determined to hold my ground.

“Until Variant or Anona finds you, and then you’ll be living on borrowed time,” Dragan point out as he takes the few steps that separate us. He towers over me and his wings suddenlysprout out from his back, arching around my body as if to capture me within them. He’s never done this before, and it makes me nervous.Hemakes me nervous.

“What does it matter to you, anyway?” I glare up at him, my voice as shaky as my hands. I’m terrified, but I’m not sure why. Dragan won’t hurt me and yet, I’m scared of him all the same. “You don’t trust me and Cambion hates me and Baron...”

“I don’t want you dead,” he interrupts, the words cold, his expression cold.

I feel my heart drop. He doesn’t care about me. He doesn’t still have feelings for me. He just doesn’t want my death on his conscience. “If I’m a demon, like you seem to believe I am, shouldn’t that be enough to defend myself?” I demand, throwing my hands on my hips and backing away slightly as I try to produce any courage I still possess.

He winces as though I’ve hit him. “You don’t seem to know the first thing about what being a demon means, and you’ve proven you can’t take care of yourself.” He spits the words back at me and takes another step closer, until maybe a few inches of air separate us. His wings close in on me from behind, bathing me in the darkness of the cave of his body. My heart is pounding.

“I can take care of myself,” I say in a weak voice.

“I’m sick of arguing. Either you come back without a fight or I force you. It’s up to you.”

“I’m not going back, and you can’t force me. I’m a free person and I have a right to make my own choices.”

“Your choices are going to get you killed.”

“What do you fucking care?” I insist, surprised by the vitriol in my voice and my choice of language. I take a step away from him and push his wings apart as I duck beneath them. Dragan appears surprised, at least momentarily.

“I don’t want you to die out here,” he says again, this time in a softer tone.

“And I can’t stomach the idea of seeing Cambion again. He hates me.”

“Cambion’s an asshole and he hates everyone,” argues Dragan. “He hates me more than he hates you.”

“I doubt that very much. Look, it’s obvious I’m just a burden to all of you, and I don’t want to feel that way anymore, so I’m going to try being on my own.”

I hold my chin up in stubborn defiance, but Dragan continues to glare at me, his angry expression even more pronounced. “You’re coming back with me, whether you like it or not.”

I don’t say anything in response and the two of us just stand there, fuming at each other. A twig breaks from his left side and he turns to face it at the same time that I start running in the opposite direction.

I don’t know what I’m thinking, because Dragan is easily faster and stronger than I am. Maybe that’s why I’m not surprised when I hear his pounding footsteps behind me and, moments later, feel his arms circle my waist. He stops me short and pulls me up against the length of him. I feel his breath on my neck as he holds me in place.

“I’m sick of playing fucking games,” he growls into my ear, between gritted teeth.

“Then let me go,” I say, but my voice comes out as barely even a whisper. I can hardly breathe, let alone talk. I’m winded and my head feels like it’s miles from my feet.

“Enough of this!” he rails and releases his hands from around my waist before spinning me around so I’m forced to face him. It’s at that exact moment that I pull my arm back and slap him as hard as I can right, across the face.

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