Page 65 of Court of Heathens

“No,” he snaps, stepping closer despite my wrath. “Because you will convince yourself of things that are not true. You do not get to stand there and tell me I do not care. I have been by your side for your entire life, protecting you, sharing in your highs and lows, and holding you when you cried. I have been right there. I did not have to be. The deal brought me to you, yes, but I could have fulfilled it from a distance and never even been near you. I wanted to be in your life. I wanted your smiles for me alone. I wanted your darkness and your nights. I wanted to walk with you and share your life.”

“And yet you lied to me. I do not even know your name,” I snap, my heart pounding at his words.

Snarling, he gets in my face. “I have told you my real name every single night since I have been at your side, hoping you would hear it. You are the only person in this world who knows my true name.” He drops to his knees. “Think back, think hard, you know it. I gave it to you just like I gave you power over me. Use it. Use me. I am yours, and I have always been.”

“Because of the deal,” I retort, feeling hurt.

“Because I love you,” he corrects, his eyes wide with truth. “Because you made me love you—a creature that should not love or grow attached. My entire life is you, Freya. I was born as a demon, but you made me yours. You are my universe. Where you go, I go—not because of anything as easy as a deal, but because you are my fate. You are my everything. You are the heart I didn’t even know I had. Do not dare tell me it’s because of a deal. Look at everything I have done by your side, Freya, and if you can still look me in my eyes and tell me that I don’t care, then I will leave like you ask.”

My heart races. He will leave now if I ask him to. I will lose him, and something about that . . . hurts. No, it rips me to pieces. Despite how this began between us, this demon has become my home, my safety, and my happiness. He keeps me from falling into darkness with his mischievous attitude. He protects me, and he’s there every night, just like he said.

Phrixius once said demons are capable of love. Did he know? Was I blind to it?

As I stare into his eyes, I realise yes, I was because I was terrified of the truth and what that means, but I’m done being scared. I am done worrying about what others will think and what that says about me as a person.

I am a necromancer.

I love a demon.

My whole life is crumbling, but as I stare into his hopeful eyes, I start to wonder if I could live like that.

Maybe that makes me a heathen.

“Adder,” I croak, voicing the word in my head, the one that has chased me into dreams for as long as I can remember. “Your name is Adder.”

He jerks, seeming to shiver as I speak it. “Yes,” he hisses, his forked tongue darting out to wet his lips. “And I am yours.”

Looking into his eyes, I give into the darkness. I pull him to his feet and crush him against me, my lips seeking his.

Deal or no deal, I am his, and he is mine.

Tomorrow might not come, I might be killed, but tonight I am alive and I am his.

His Freya.

His little witch.

CHAPTER 35

His little witch.

The thought floats into my mind as she licks my lips. I do not speak it out loud, but satisfaction fills me. I know what that means. The last barrier between my witch and me has fallen, and she has let me into her mind as well as her heart. All of her now belongs to me.

Gripping her tighter, I turn us and back her into the tree. She gasps into my mouth as my tail wraps around her wrists and pins them above her. I hoist her higher, and her legs wrap around my waist as I pull away, tracing her mouth with my forked tongue.

“Let me prove it to you, my little witch. Let me show you that I am yours and will always be. Let me show you that I love you.”

“Adder,” she murmurs.

My cock jerks as flames dance down my spine. “Say it again,” I growl desperately. “Say my name again.”

Her lips curl into a taunting smile. “Make me, demon.”

Grinning, I tighten my tail on her wrists. “Never has there been a sweeter dare. You should know better than to taunt the devil, little witch, especially when you’re his.”

“Or he’s mine.” She grins, leaning back against the tree.

She’s not wrong, I am hers, and I want her to howl my name for everyone to know. Keeping her pinned, I move closer and slide my forked tongue along her lips as she gasps and opens her mouth for me.

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