Page 285 of Of Sins and Sacrifice

She’s breathing harshly. Half her face is bloody from being in the direct path of the blast.

“You will pay for this,” she cries out. She propels herself in the air, her entire body contorting and becoming a gray mass of demonic matter.

My smile slowly grows wider.

“Not today, demon. Not today,” I say gleefully. The eternal ice has not only reached her main body, but by shifting into her true demonic form, she’s allowing the ice to penetrate to the depths of her physical embodiment.

Mid-air, her shriek resounds for all to hear. It starts from within. Slivers of ice breach the surface of her body, freezing everything in their path.

It lasts a few seconds. Her body freezes before it explodes into tiny particles that lose themselves in the wind.

I exhale deeply as I plant my feet onto the ground. I sway from side to side from exhaustion. My armor vanishes, leaving me naked. Strong arms wrap around my midriff, pulling me to his side as he covers my nakedness with his coat.

“You did good, tiny darling. So, so good,” he whispers in my ear.

He smells of smoke and leather. He smells of home.

I only need to inhale his scent to know I am safe.

“Sleep now,” he murmurs.

Despite my exhaustion, I wouldn’t have said I was close to passing out. But his words trigger something within me. My body goes slack against his, and my eyes flutter closed.

Without meaning to, I’m lost to the world.

FORTY-ONE

The rattlingof tires against a hard ground startles me awake.

“Mine!” I shout as I open my eyes.

“Here, Minnie darling. I’m right here.”

I glance to my side. He’s in the driver’s seat of a car, confidently steering the wheel down a raggedy path. I blink, then look down at myself.

I’m wearing a long cotton gown that’s surprisingly soft to the touch. Over the dress, his jacket rests over my shoulders, providing extra heat even though he knows I don’t need it—he is the one who can get cold, not me.

“Where are we?” I ask groggily.

“Close to the border with France. In fact, we should be there in less than ten minutes.”

“Close to the border?” I furrow my brows. “How long have I been out?”

“Some three days,” he answers casually.

I gawk at him.

“Three days? Did you just say three days?” I take a deep breath as I try to make sense of the situation. But as I open my mouth to speak again, it’s to panic once more. “What do youmean it’s been three days? How is it possible I was out that long?”

“You must have exhausted your energy and needed time to replenish it?—”

“No. I’ve been low on energy before and it’s true that I usually need sleep and food to replenish it, but I’ve never been asleep for three days straight. That is outrageous.”

“You did defeat a high-level demon. Cut yourself some slack. You needed the rest.”

I grumble under my breath, annoyed that he’s right. The fight with that demon took a toll on me, but even so, I clearly remember being tired but not exhausted. I still had plenty of energy to function at normal levels. That I just passed out… It’s odd.

Alas, now I am invigorated and my energy is brimming.

---