Page 34 of The Demon Prince's Accidental Mate
“That’s about enough from you,” the man growled in my ear. “Make another move, and I’ll slit your throat. Understood?”
“Y-yes,” I stammered, doing my best to stand very, very still, the cool metal already digging into my skin slightly.
“Good. Now, move out the door and to the right,” he commanded.
I did as ordered, following his instructions until I was facing the front door. Then he had me wait. In my mind, I could sense Belial nearby. He was angry and frustrated. There was a jumble of other emotions as well, rapidly changing. Frowning, I tried to figure out what was going on. A minor burst of pain made its way through, followed by a surge of irritation.
He was fighting. The emotions I was receiving were his as he fought … something. Multiple somethings? I was getting better at reading him, but it was all happening so fast. The knife blade resting against my carotid wasn’t helping me focus either.
I tried to let him know I was in trouble. But he was too busy for me to know if it worked. Mentally, I promised that if we got out of the situation, I would get him to teach me how to use this link better. Until we could break it and I could go free, it would be best if I could communicate better with it.
Assuming I can go free. That Belial can get me out of here.
There was a loud thump from outside, followed by silence. Belial’s mind calmed somewhat. He was done with whoever was outside and was coming for me.
“Back off!” the intruder yelled at the door. “Leave now, or I’ll cut her damn throat, Belial. Don’t test me on this!”
There was a ferocious growl from the other side of the door.
“I mean it!”
The knife tightened against my throat until it pierced the skin. I whimpered as a trickle of warm blood ran down my neck. Fighting hard, I made myself stay perfectly still. Trembling would only open the wound further.
“Let her go,” Belial said. “Let her go, and I’ll let you leave in one piece.”
My attacker snorted, the movement jostling the knife. I closed my eyes against the slight dig of the blade that came with it. Every minuscule movement was a threat to my life at that point.
“You leave. Now. You can’t get to me before I take her head from her body, and you know it as well as I do. So, leave.”
Belial grunted angrily. There was a pause, and then he started to clomp away down the hallway. My eyes opened wide in fear. Was he really leaving me alone? Abandoning me?
But then, through our linked minds came a wave of emotion conveying one thing.
Trust me.
I breathed deeply. He had a plan. That was what it meant. What it had to mean. Belial had a plan, and he wouldn’t just let them have me. I just had to wait for that moment.
The intruder sniffed eventually and then pushed me forward. “Move it. Out the door, let’s go.”
I did exactly as I was told, hoping Belial knew what he was doing. We exited my dingy apartment into the hallway. But instead of heading toward the rickety elevator, we turned left and went for the stairs. Faded stucco walls and stained carpet guided the way.
“Not that way,” he growled as I turned for the stairs going down.
Instead, we went up to the roof. My fear returned slightly. Why would we go that way? Belial must have assumed we’d go for an exit. That was where he’d be waiting. Up on the roof, there was nowhere to go. But my captor didn’t seem like he was concerned. He had a plan.
The door to the roof was padlocked, but all it took was a wrench of the man’s hands for the chain to fall free. Then I pushed open the door, and we went outside.
I shivered. Even though it was mid-summer, my shorts and t-shirt pajamas were not the warmest. Barefoot, I walked over the gravel, hoping against hope that there wasn’t any glass or anything.
“That’s far enough.”
Coming to a stop, I looked around, wondering what the plan was. My captor did something behind his back, then tossed an object into the middle of the roof. There was a flicker, and then a purple oval appeared out of nowhere.
“Move it,” he ordered, pushing me toward it. I tried to peer through the oval, but I couldn’t see anything.
I slowed my pace automatically. A tightening of the knife started me moving. At the same time, a tall bald man clad in gray robes emerged through the oval. So, it was a portal of some sort.
“Good work,” he said in harsh tones, his narrow, axe-like face twisting in displeasure. “Where are the others?”
