Page 189 of Lost in the Dark

A chittering squeak draws my attention upward as I laugh as Wilox streaks with a blur of wings through the air. He circles us once before dropping down to my shoulder. His small body feel solid and warm and snuggles into my neck and I giggle happily as he crawls up into my hair with a whispered sigh of contentment.

“We are home,”he sighs, and though I am startled at hearing his voice for the first time, I agree completely.

This is home, and far better than any underworld paradise. And it as beautiful as Gralius said.

As incredible as it is, however, no sight is as magnificent as the demon beside me and with him I’m ready to come home in every way. I gently nudge Wilox with a finger until my familiar detangles himself to flutter with an amused huff to a nearby tree. Despite his protest, he doesn’t try to hide his happiness as he fans his wings with excitement from the branch where he now perches.

The feeling is catching and I am nearly giddy when Gralius turns toward me, his dark wings shimmering with their hidden hues as he grasps both of my hands, drawing me toward him with a wicked smile. I grin up at him as I allow him to pull me in. His wings fold around me so that his hands are free to brush the sides of my face in a loving caress, and he tips my head back so that I am looking into the soft light of his eyes.

“Once more,” he rasps, “I will give you my oath, and the ground of my ancestors and gods that they may all witness. Naomi, I swear this on Styx, my shade is sealed to you and at your command.”

My heart swells at the renewed power that races along our bond, but now that I have completely regained my clarity, I am achingly aware of its incompleteness. My need to fulfill it draw forth the words to spill freely from my mouth. There’s no stopping them this time. I need to say them as much as I need the male holding me.

“Gralius, I swear this on Styx, my shade is sealed to you and at your command.”

There, with the gentle breeze tugging at us playfully and surrounded by a landscape of blooms and rolling lavender hills amid shimmering forests in this demonic realm of twilight, his mouth descends to meet mine as we seal our oath, and our future to come, with a kiss.

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