Page 16 of Consorting With The Enemy

His language, which had always been colorful, didn’t surprise me. The intensity of his voice and the hurt in his eyes did. “See, babe. Something’s wrong. Tell me what to do. How do we fix this?” A wild thought suddenly occurred to me. “Wait…is this your true demon form? If it is, that’s fucking fine, Ari. Just tell me so I don’t have to worry.”

“No, it isn’t my demon form, Az. The magnificent look I have every day is my demon form. Sure, when the shit gets real, I have wingsss, clawsss, and fangsss, but that’s the only difference in my appearance.” He took a deep breath. “Nah, this is from my fight with Andromalius yesterday.”

He sounded so fucking defeated. “What do you mean? You toyed with him and then ripped him to shreds. What does that have to do with this?”

“His damn serpent kept biting me,” he explained wearily. “I didn’t think anything about it because other than ssstinging, the bitesss didn’t appear to be making a significant impact on me.” He shrugged. “I assumed it was because of my royal lineage.”

“So, you have…like some sort of serpent poisoning? How do we purge it from your system?” Terror roared through my body. “The poison won’t destroy you, will it?” He didn’t look like he was about to die, just very…different.

“Not exactly,” he mumbled.

“What the fuck does ‘not exactly’ mean, Ari? When I ask if something is going to destroy you, I damn well need a better answer than ‘not exactly.’” I was angry and scared but made sure my touch against his cheek and arm was soft. “Tell me how to fix you.”

He took another deep breath. “Azazel, I’m going to need you to make me a promise, okay?” He said quietly. “This is going to take all your strength, but I need it from you.”

“Anything,” I vowed. “Say the words and it will happen.”

“I need you to destroy me. Quickly.” His hand reached up to caress my cheek, the movements sluggish. “I don’t know how much longer I have before the transformation becomes too…well, too much. Get your sword and remove my head. Now.”

That was so not going to happen. “Anything except that, Ari,” I snapped. “You damn well know I’m not going to harm you in any way. If I’m not mistaken, we’ve both vowed our undying love to each other only a few hours ago.”

“I’m turning into a ssserpent, Az—not a cute, nice serpent that assistsss with rodent problems, either. The familiar for a demon. Once transformed, I’d sssearch out a demon I felt worthy of, and become his pet. I’d kill, maybe even dessstroy those that you love. You have to do this for me.”

“Impossible, Ari. There has to be another way to stop this.” My heart told me my words made sense, but the truth was I didn’t have a fucking clue what to do to try and save the man I loved.

“Ssstop it, Az. It’s time for your game-face. I’m way too pretty to turn into a ssserpent. Help me with thissss,” he pleaded. “I helped with your nephew.”

Jerking away from him, I began pacing the empty floors of the penthouse. There had to be something that could be done. I couldn’t lose him. I wouldn’t, not after just admitting to myself and him that my heart ached for his. The gods couldn’t be that devious. There had to be something…

“Ssstop wasting time, Az. I don’t have long,” he pleaded. “Don’t let this happen to me.”

My sword lay on the counter in the kitchen. Fuck, I’d just fixed him coffee in there only minutes ago…minutes ago when I thought my world was complete. Would I want Ari to allow this to happen to me? Like him, I would beg for a pardon, even knowing it would mean eternal destruction.

With a heavy heart and broken spirit, I moved toward the sword. I would finish myself after ending Ari’s misery. Living in a world without Ari in it was no longer an option for me. If there was ever a reason for one to fall on their own sword, this would be it. After I killed him, I’d kill myself.

Just as my hand touched the enchanted iron, a huge gush of wind blew through the penthouse. Alarmed that something might take him away, to force him into something he’d begged me to stop, I whipped the sword around, ready to protect him. Instead of other demons, though, I came face to face with Nic, Beau, and Gabriel Gaudet. Julian, Valen, Marchand, and the young vampire I didn’t know but had seen on numerous occasions at Ravenwood were right behind them.

Ignoring me altogether, Nic strode toward the bed, a determined look on his face. Did the witch plan to destroy my lover? “Stop.” I roared. “He’s mine.”

Nic turned to glare in my direction. “We all knowwhohe belongs to, Azazel. You’ve made that perfectly clear, even when your own head was too far up your own ass to realize it yourself.” He reached down and touched Ari’s cheek. “What’s happened to him? We sensed he was in danger. What are his symptoms?”

I strode toward Nic, intending to try and toss him out the nearest window, but Marchand blocked my path. “Slow your roll, Uncle Az. Trust me on this, Nic and Gabriel aren’t going to do anything to hurt our demon. Nic’s strong. Let him try to help.”

“Nic’s an ass,” I snarled and tried to push around him. “He’ll destroy Ariel first and ask questions later.”

Marchand kept his death grip on my arm. “You’re correct, uncle. Nic can be an ass. He’s proven it time and time again. He’s been badly betrayed in the past by people he thought loved him, so he’s had good reason to act that way. However, he protects his family with every ounce of magic, power, and love inside of him. Let him try to help Ari.”

Frowning, I countered, “Family? Ari isn’t his family. I’m not his family. You’re in love with his brother and he barely tolerates you. Why in the fuck do you think he would do anything to help Ari?”

Before Marchand could respond, Nic yelled for Julian and Gabriel. Naturally, I knocked both of them out of the way to get by my lover’s side. “What the hell, Nic? What fuckery is this?”

Nic barely spared me a glance but mumbled, “I’ll explain later, Az. Just step aside and let us work.” He motioned for Julian to stand next to him. Holding his arm out, he said, “Open my wrist so I can give him some of my blood.” He held his wrist up to Julian. “Get ready to do the same, Gabriel. The transformation is progressing quickly. He’s going to need everything we have.” Turning to Marchand, he said, “Call Remy. We may need him.”

I wanted to demand that Nic explain what was going on, why he was even contemplating feeding Ari his blood, but my words were silenced as I watched Julian rip a gaping wound in Nic’s wrist. Without hesitation, the witch placed the bleeding tear against Ari’s lips. When Ari tried to turn away from the blood offering, Valen stepped in and held my lover in place, forcing him to accept what the witch tried to force on him. I still wanted to argue, to defend Ari with all my strength, but Marchand’s eyes pleaded with me to hold myself in check.

I watched, in a mixture of shock, horror, and fascination, as Nic forced Ari to drink his blood, offering words of encouragement with each small sip he managed to get down Ariel’s throat. This was a side of Nic I’d had never seen before—a gentle, caring side that confused the fucking hell out of me.

“That’s enough, Nic,” Julian whispered. “Let Gabriel try now. I’ll seal your wound. He may need more later so save your strength.”

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