Page 52 of A Match Made in Hell
My stomach tightens. I stop dancing. I sway, lost and lonely, on the floor, bodies bumping into me and making me trip. Tears prick my eyes. The dancing isn’t enough, being touched isn’t enough, I want . . .
I want, I want, I want.
You want another drink, Willow. What harm could it do?
It could do plenty.One more drinkis how I ended up on that cliff top. How I ended uphere, with demon voices in my head I need to ignore at all costs.
Despite all that, my gaze drifts to the throne.
It’s empty.
My eyes widen. I whirl round, furious he’d leave without saying goodbye, withoutgiving me another drink; thirst claws at my throat, and where has he gone, I need him, I need him to help me, because without the distraction of dancing all I can think is I’m alone, and I’m thirsty, and he’s the only one who can fix this.
Several turns around the dance floor and I finally find him, standing with a group of girls on the edge of the room. They’re young, and beautiful, and don’t have the usual panic in their eyes at being near him. His head is bent low to allow one of them to whisper in his ear. What is she saying? Why is he –
‘There you are!’ Harper clamps her hand around my arm. ‘I was worried.’
‘Sorry,’ I mumble. I can’t bring myself to look at her. Sath’s laughing. He’s laughing in a way he’s never laughed with me, not that I can remember, and I don’t know why I care, why it matters; he’s my ticket out of here, I’m going to get him his concession and he can laugh with whomever he wants.
I’m going home to Noah and forehead kisses and the ring that’s waiting for me.
That doesn’t make me feel any better. I don’t want Sath laughing like that with them; I want him to laugh like that with me. I’m the one he shares secrets with, the one who’s been in his quarters, who he has game nights with, I’m theonlyone.
Unless I’m not.
The thought hits me like a freight train. A cold chill sweeps down my neck at the idea I’m not special at all.Taking care of business, that’s what he says when I ask where he goes the nights I don’t see him. What if he’s with one of them? What if he’s withallof them? Maybe he has hundreds of us trying to fulfil his tasks; maybe I’m not special after all, because why would Ibe, I’m just a girl who died after doing something idiotic, who ignored her boyfriend’s perfectly sensible advice because she couldn’t cope with what happened to –
Copper fills my mouth. I’ve bitten my tongue, but I barely feel the sting of pain.
‘Willow,’ Harper tries again. ‘Are you okay? Do you want me to take you to your room?’
Yes. No. My head pounds. I try to pull her into the throng of dancers, but she slips from my grasp like an unspooling rope, leaving me unmoored and drifting in a sea of demons. Claws scrape my dress. Fangs graze my neck. My heartbeat thrums to the beat of drums. I don’t like it here any more, but I don’t know how to escape. Something tugs at me. Hard. I want it to stop.
My mouth is dry. I can’t scream.
I’m pulled, back and forth, side to side, like a boat caught in a storm, and they’re going to tear me apart, and there’s nothing I can do to stop it; maybe that would be better than staying here, doing Sath’s tasks, feeling important when I’m not important at all, the bastard –
‘Enough.’
The floor rumbles beneath my feet at the sound of that voice.
Immediately, I’m released. Demons scatter; the pressure on my body dissipates. Without anyone holding me, I topple, but then hands catch me and spin me round, pulling me against something firm. I breathe in the scent of rain and peppermint, and I hate the relief that smell instils.
I glower at Sath. I refuse to be grateful he’s come to my rescue, because it’s his fault I needed rescuing in the first place. ‘Protecting your investment?’
He raises a brow. ‘Do you not want me to?’
‘I’m not sure you need me.’ I scowl as we begin to sway on the spot. ‘I saw you just now. How many others have signed up for your tasks?’
‘You sound jealous.’ Sath smirks. ‘Well, that bodes well for envy.’
My scowl deepens. ‘Answer the question.’
‘Some recent arrivals who have yet to see my capabilities stopped to talk to me,’ he replies. ‘Sometimes I can’t help but indulge in the fantasy I’m not something to be feared. They’ll learn otherwise soon enough. As for the tasks . . .’ His head dips lower. ‘You’re the only one, Willow.’
I shudder, wanting to believe him but not knowing if I can. If he’s that desperate for someone to succeed, he’d want the best odds possible. I should have thought of it sooner. But Iamthe only person he’s danced with tonight. That must mean something. Much to my dismay, the music’s slowed, and it’s less distracting this way. I’m all too aware of how close we are, of the way his hand presses lightly but deliberately against my hip. I don’t remember putting my hands around his shoulders, and yet there they are. Everyone around us is too distracted to notice the Devil’s in the middle of the dance floor, and it feels as though we’ve been sealed inside a bubble no amount of laughing girls can pop.
I’m warm, and I’m not sure why.
