Page 18 of Demonic Division

“I understand you’re a selfish creature who only looks out for himself.”

His eyes flash gold, and his power over me fades to nothing. He takes a step back, mouth set in a grim line.Everything I do is for you. For all of us.

I bring a hand up, massaging my jaw. “Right. Keep telling yourself that, Kaebl.”

Kaebl turns on his heel, stalking back toward the staircase.I think it’s best if you leave now.

“Took the words right from my mouth,” I growl, turning and stomping toward the door. I stop with my palm around the handle, turning my head to call over my shoulder.

“By the way, you should know that M has taken a liking to her.”

I don’t have to look to see the way Kaebl’s shoulders stiffen.

9

Dagny

I laymy head back against the stone, trying and failing to adjust my position so my ass isn’t pressing so uncomfortably against the floor. I blow out a breath, forcing my eyes closed as the heady scent of rot and copper threatens to make me hurl.

I know that smell all too well. Blood.Death.

My arms curl around my middle, and I clench my jaw to silence the chatter of my teeth. I hate how easily Cyprien lured me into a false sense of security. He had me trusting him—wantinghim—only to dash all my hopes by leaving me in this dungeon.

Not to mention the maniac he left me alone with.

My eyes pop as another round of whistling breaks the silence, bouncing off the stone walls and rattling the inside of my skull. It’s a dreary tune at best—downright depressing at worst—yet it calls to some secret part of me. Something long lost or perhaps just familiar but uncomfortable all the same.

“Hey, demon guy…can I ask you a favor?” I bring a hand tomy forehead, willing the throbbing in my temples to ease.

The whistling stops, only to be replaced with a dark chuckle. “It’s M. And for you, princess?Anything.”

I purse my lips at the new nickname. “I think I likedbunnybetter.”

“I’m sure you did.” His low voice carries the hunger only a man locked away for years without the touch of a woman could hold. It terrifies me. It…excitesme.

“Back to the favor.” I clear my throat, shoving my tangled hair from my forehead as his rumbling chuckle fills the space again. “Could you maybe… whistle a happier song?”

His laughter ceases as that glowing red eye reappears again, far softer than our last encounter. Far warmer. “You want something happier?”

I nod at first, startled by the sudden change in demeanor, before realizing he can’t see me through the shadows. I manage to push out a “yes” through the pressing darkness, choking on the cord tugging violently in my chest.

There’s a shuffling noise, and to my surprise, I notice the stranger moving toward the bars of his cage into the light.

My breath catches in my chest as I take in his features. Just like Kaebl, his face looks like it was carved by the gods themselves—only, where Kaebl was whole, this man is not.

He’s covered with scars—the worst of which is the one that runs from the tip of his right brow down to the apple of his cheek. Where a normal eye should be is a pitch-black orb, seeming to see nothing and everything all at once as the pinpoint pupil spins wildly around the socket.

But his good eye… It’s beautiful—like molten glass—and I can’t help the ball of rage that forms in my gut, thinking of the person who took the other. He finds my gaze from across the dimly lit corridor, and my bones warm at the heated look in his eye.

“Wildfire… I think that’s a much more fitting name,” he whispers. “In fact, I think it’s the only one that will do.”

My cheeks heat, and though I try to look away, I can’t. I’m captivated by the flames in his glowing eye. “Why is that?” My voice comes out raw, but I can’t find it in me to care. All I need is his answer, his voice filling my head, filling my veins.

He tilts his head, and his messy red hair falls away from his neck, revealing a fresh, bleeding wound. I want to reach out, to help him, but his voice stops me once again. “Why? Isn’t it obvious?” A sinful smirk tugs at his chapped lips. “For the match you lit in this cold dead heart of mine. A pyre burning so bright, neither the sun nor stars could ever hope to imitate.” His expression changes at the mention of the stars, softening his gaze while tightening his lips until his smile has reformed into a nearly invisible frown. “One I don’t think will ever be quelled.”

All at once, his smirk is back, so sudden I question if it ever left in the first place. His nostrils flare as he looks me up and down shamelessly. “It’s been too long since I’ve been in the presence of such a sweet-smelling soul.”

My throat bobs as I take a step back. “You can smell my soul?”

---