Page 59 of Demonic Division

“It’s okay,” he murmurs. “I’m sure Dagny forgives you now. Don’t you, bunny?”

I nod, a weak smile tugging at the corner of my mouth as I reach up to caress Lir’s cheek. He leans into my touch, his eyes fluttering closed as a pleased hum vibrates in his chest. I’m so caught up in his expression of awe that I don’t notice Roark crawling to my side—not until he places a calloused hand on my thigh and squeezes to gain my attention.

Slowly, I drag my gaze to Roark’s shimmering violet eyes, and the bond shudders violently, demanding I touch him. Pulling my hand from Lir’s cheek, I reach out for the purple-haired demon, my fingertips glowing with that strange silver light from earlier.

He leans into me, his eyelids fluttering closed as pleasant sparks fly between us. With a low growl, Lir lowers me onto the bed of furs, his hands trailing over my skin as if it’s for the very first time. When he’s had enough, he crawls to the space at my right, nestling deep into my left side while Cyprien takes the other. Roark curls up at my head, positioning his body so I’m able to rest against hischest like a pillow. His thick forearm drapes lazily across my chest, and a deep sigh passes my swollen lips as his calloused palm grips my breast.

Cyprien’s and Lir’s hands trail over my abdomen and hips, then down to the space between my thighs. Their fingers work expertly along me, dancing across my skin and leaving heated sparks everywhere they touch.

“You feel so good, little one,” Cyprien whispers, placing his lips to my ribs as a deep groan echoes in his chest. “So soft. So perfect.”

“So delicious,” Lir echoes, his teeth raking against my skin. I try to cry out, but the sound is caught somewhere down my throat, lost to the thick fog overtaking my mind.

Six pairs of hands rove over my body, showering me with devotion and praise. I’m so warm, so high, I can’t picture anything better than this. Better than them.

Giving in to the bond feels so good—too good—and while that truth should shake me to my core, I can only think about how wonderful it feels to be in their arms after denying it for what feels like forever.

It doesn’t take long before those hands lull me to sleep. After everything that’s happened the past few days, it’s a miracle my body lasted this long. So when the call of slumber echoes in my mind, I don’t try to fight it. I fall headfirst into the void.

And for the first time since I arrived in this strange land, I’m not afraid.

34

Dagny

Though I fall asleep peacefully,my dreams are anything but. As soon as I close my eyes, I’m thrust into a terrifying nightmare of blood and death and sorrow. Of a war I had never seen or experienced but one I know in my heart all the same. The visions are hard to make out at first, blurred at the edges and blinking in and out of focus. But eventually, I’m able to make out the scene in front of me, and my stomach flips with horror.

Great winged bodies line the tundra for as far as the eye can see, their skin lifeless and gray and coated with horrible gashes oozing blue-black blood. It stains the ground, covering the ice in a sea of blood, of terror and death. And at the center of it all is a demon, his great white wings pumping the air as he screams a battle cry to the heavens.

Glowing fissures spread across his skin, beaming with the same brilliance as the sun, the same intensity as the light shining in his golden eyes. Long white hair flows from his scalp down past his shoulders and back, the thick waves partially obscuring the twin spiraling golden horns protruding from his forehead.

Abaddon.

I’m not sure how I know it's him—only that itis.The thing in my chest thrums violently at the knowledge, demanding I go to him, touch him.Bond with him.

I blink, and the vision fractures, changing into something much darker and distorted. Now, Abaddon is no longer in the sky but lying on the ground, writhing in pain. His magnificent wings are strapped to his body, held in place by a thin golden wire coiling around his body like a serpent. It splits him into six even pieces, then tightens, digging deep into his flesh and drawing an anguished howl from his blood-drenched lips. My chest aches at the sight, and my own scream joins his in the nether as red-hot pain flares through my veins, boiling me from the inside.

It burns and burns and burns, yet I can’t take my eyes off the powerful demon being split by that strange golden wire. I can’t comprehend what’s happening—only that it’s wrong and I’d do anything in my power to stop it.

I bolt upright, my heart pounding and sweat beading across my brow. I blink rapidly, focusing on taking even breaths through my nose as the walls of Cyprien’s burrow come back into focus.

It’s not real. Not real. None of it was real.

I say this over and over, though it does nothing to ease the rapid beating of my heart nor the aching pit of dread in my gut. I close my eyes as panic tightens its fist around my windpipe, flips my stomach, and threatens to expel what little food I’ve managed to consume.

Something is wrong.

I’m about to get up and rush to the window—for what, I’m not sure—when Cyprien’s hand reaches up, wrapping tightly around my throat.

“What’s wrong, little one?” he asks, yellow eyes glinting playfully in the dark. “You ready for more?”

His hand trails teasingly down my arm, but when I don’t respond, the smirk is wiped from his face. He snaps upright, following my line of sight as a deep frown creases his brow. “What is it, bunny?”

“Nothing,” I whisper, shaking my head even as that pit of dread grows. “Just a bad dream…”

Cyprien scours my face, his frown never wavering. “Do you want to talk about it?”

An image of that bloodied battlefield flashes in my mind, and I immediately shake my head. His frown deepens, but he doesn't push the issue. Instead, he curls his arm around my stomach and hauls me back down to the furs, his grip tightening around my middle as he peppers kisses along my shoulders and spine.

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