Page 76 of The Demon's Discovery
Vassago barked demands at everyone around me, fangs out and eyes blazing as he gripped me roughly up against his body. “Make it stop! I’ve got you, Dragonfly. How can I help you? Please. Anything. Do something!”
Rylan stepped forward and made some furious gestures with his hands, but to no effect. Calla was right behind, her green magic wrapping around me but nothing truly improved the pain until the magic had run its full course.
When it finally let go, I sagged, drawing in breaths so deep I got lightheaded. Belmont knocked, nodding his beak in agitationbefore taking flight again and leaving the infirmary through the open door, the owl not far behind. My eyelids became nearly impossible to lift then, my body exhausted. “I need to rest,” I whispered.
Vassago’s frown was intense as he bent his knees slightly and swept me up in his arms bridal style, crossing the infirmary without a backward glance. “We’re done here.”
“Wait!” Lovette exclaimed, clearly worried.
“I’m tired,” I said, but even my voice was worn out, and didn’t travel far enough to reach her.
“She needs to rest,” Vassago said, not even turning his head as he strode with me in his arms out of the infirmary and down the dirt path through the conclave. I was out cold within seconds as I swayed in Vassago’s arms.
When I stirred,I found myself lying up against him in the cozy hut, pillows propping him up against the wooden headboard as he read a book. My head was positioned with my ear directly over his heart, the steady thumping beat the perfect lullaby as his fingers pulled through my hair.
“That was a rough one, Dragonfly,” he said, voice rumbling through his chest. He kissed my forehead, concern in his golden eyes as I blinked and stretched. “I was beginning to worry.”
“How long was I asleep?”
“A few hours.”
“How many is a few?”
He shifted so he could sit all the way up, leaning to set the book he’d been reading on the floor next to the bed. “Four.”
I gasped. I never slept that long except at night. My naps were usually an hour or so, and the idea that I’d slept awayhalf the day horrified me. “I’m sorry, I—” Vassago’s arm banded around me, forcing me to stop mid turn as I went to slide off the bed.
“Greta.” His voice was all power, galvanizing me to the spot. “You are the only thing that matters. Right now, tomorrow, ever. If you’re tired, you rest. You don’t apologize. There’s nothing to be sorry about, and if someone makes you feel like there is, they can take it up with me. Do you understand?”
I blushed head to toe, the concept of being first, cared for,loved, welcome if totally foreign. “Yes.”
“Good.” He pulled me back against him, lavishing me with his full attention as he examined my face inch by inch before dipping in with a gentle kiss that was just as comforting as it was enticing. “Are you feeling better? Any pains?”
“I’m fine,” I assured him, testing my limbs in demonstration. “When you bit me… who did you see?”
He sighed, sadness in his eyes. “I have much to tell you Dragonfly. But first, are you hungry? Grace can’t seem to help herself even here—she dropped off several things to tide you over since you missed lunch.”
I nodded, though my empty stomach had knotted up. We grazed on the variety of finger foods she’d left on the small table, Vassago’s eyes tracking my every move as he began to speak.
“The first time I encountered Lilith’s book, I was still commanding legions in hell.”
I stopped chewing and looked up from my plate. Vassago seemed unusually introspective, and that carried a gravity that demanded my attention. He paced in front of the hearth, long hair curtaining the sides of his face when he peered down.
He continued, “Lilith herself had it then, and it was quite a bit simpler, smaller. Unfortunately, it went missing not long after that. The second time I came across it was here on earth, in a little church in a tiny village in the realm of Vincara. Howthe priest there managed to get his hands on it I’ll never know, because he kept that secret to his grave, but he was all too happy to entrust it to me after learning what I was and who the book had originated from.” He smiled. “It will never not amaze me how humans disregard the pieces of their origin stories that they don’t care for.”
I would love to have further explanation on that, but it could wait. “What happened to the priest?”
His eyes flashed my way, the nostalgic memories he’d begun to lose himself in vanishing. “He led his small but dedicated congregation for many years. But the book… it’s always managed to wander away from me.” His fist tightened. “The man I saw in your memories is a talented trickster. The last time I found myself with the book in my possession, he stole it from me. But he did so only after putting a powerful curse on me that I didn’t even notice until it was too late. A curse I still carry. I’d long believed him to be some kind of demon or even an angel, but as he bound you with fae magic…”
“He’s neither of those things.”
“No, I don’t believe so. And honestly, that explains quite a few mysteries, while leaving several new ones, not the least of which is how he knows you and what happened to your parents. And why I think I saw him in town the day we went to the markets. And how all these things are connected.” The room was heavy with silence as his gaze went distant, his jaw clenched. “I told you I’d kill him, and I meant it. He’s evaded me for the last time.”
I should have argued with him, made some plea for mercy. But I had none to give. This fae had stolen much of what my life should and could have been from me, binding me with a powerful magic for reasons only he knew. Once he gave us answers, I’d have no qualms with Vassago ending his existence.I knew that said something about me, but I couldn’t muster anything inside myself to care.
“I saw my mother.”
He straightened, grasping one of my hands between his. “You did?”
