Demon Sworn: A Reverse Harem Paranormal Romance (The Witch's Rebels Book 3)

by Sarah Piper

  I appreciated that more than he knew.

  I took his hands in mine, looking up into his golden eyes.

  “When you get back,” I said, “Tell Emilio—”

  He cut off my words with a fierce, possessive kiss that left me breathless. When he finally broke away, he said, “You tell him yourself when you get back. We’ll have a big celebration, complete with brownies and wine. And then I’m taking you to New York, just like we said. So you’d better get back home safe, Miss Desario, or you’re really going to screw up my plans.”

  He touched his forehead to mine, stroking my cheek with his knuckles. Tears blurred my vision.

  “To think I used to be afraid of you,” I said, smiling at the memory.

  “So you’ve told me. Multiple times.” Darius grinned. “And now?”

  I pulled back and met his eyes again, my heart thumping. For so long, I was convinced that loving someone meant giving up some precious part of yourself, something you’d never be able to get back.

  I’d wasted so much time being afraid of it, even as it was wrapping me in its embrace. I’d been scared to tell Ronan how I felt about him. Scared to let myself fall for anyone else. Scared that loving more than one man at the same time meant I was confused or fooling myself or just plain weird.

  But all those fears were for nothing.

  Love made you stronger. It made you believe in things that shouldn’t have been possible. And even here, in the most desperate, hopeless place, it made you feel alive in a way that nothing else could.

  “I love you, Darius,” I said. The words came out in a rush, leaving me as hot and breathless as his kiss, filling me with warmth.

  I was no longer afraid of those three little words. Saying them had set me free, and as soon as we were all back on the same plane again, I was going to say them again, to each and every one of my rebels. To Haley and Reva. To all of the people who’d let me into their hearts, even when I was doing my best to lock them out of mine.

  “Gray,” he whispered, the soft caress of his breath warm and perfect against my lips. “It seems I’ve fallen in—”

  “Gray! Move!” Ronan’s panicked shout shattered the moment, and before I could take my next breath, Darius had me on the ground, shielding me with his body as the creature trampled over us, bolting right past.

  It was the size and shape of a wolf, with patchy, matted fur and a partial skull that caved in on one side. Its stride was strong and powerful, but uneven. It left a trail of blood behind.

  Dread pooled in my gut.

  It couldn’t be him…

  From the corner of my eye, I saw Ronan lunge for it, but the thing evaded him easily.

  “Why isn’t it attacking?” Darius asked, pulling me to my feet and stepping in front of me protectively. “What the hell is it?”

  “Shit! It’s heading for the pool,” Ronan said, sprinting after it.

  “Ronan, wait!” I charged after him, Darius by my side.

  The beast wasn’t just heading for the pool. He was heading for my rune gate.

  “It’s Jonathan,” I breathed, all of the wind rushing out of my lungs. “Get him, Ronan! Don’t let him through!”

  Ronan launched himself at Jonathan’s twisted form, Darius bolting after them with superhuman speed. They hit the beast at the same time, bringing him down.

  I ran to catch up.

  “Stay back, Gray.”

  “It’s Jonathan,” I said again. “He’s turned himself into a shifter.”

  “And a vampire,” Darius said, struggling to keep his hold. “He’s got vamp fangs.”

  “I thought I killed him,” I said, still in shock.

  “If he’s got vamp in him, we have to burn him or behead him.”

  Snapping out of my stupor, I went for the dagger at my thigh, but Jonathan refused to be pinned down. He shot out of their grasp, snarling and snapping, dodging at every turn.

  “I can’t fucking catch him!” Ronan shouted. “Grab him, Beaumont!”

  Darius was no more than a blur in my peripheral vision, but so was Jonathan.

  The last thing I saw was his twisted, mutilated body launching over the stones, disappearing into the pool below.

  I charged after him, ready to jump in and fight. Ready to chase him down in my own realm and take his head, once and for all.

  But before I could even talk myself out of that idea, a great darkness blotted out the sun, and Ronan was shouting at me once again.

  “Down! Get down!”

  I dropped to the ground and covered my head just as a huge, winged beast swooped past me, clipping my shoulder with its monstrous hoof.

  Ignoring the shock of pain, I unsheathed the dagger and rolled onto my back, holding the knife close to my chest.

  The beast was airborne again, circling, joined now by two others.

  “Memory eaters,” I gasped.

  The creatures were awesome in the truest sense of the word—winged horses with sleek midnight-black bodies and silver manes and tails, and great gossamer wings that glittered in the sun. I watched them circle overhead, then dive, but I was no longer afraid.

  I wanted to see them up close. To look into their eyes and seek out the depths of their magnificent beauty. To let them take away the last of my earthly burdens.

  The blade trembled in my hands.

  “Gray! Move!” Darius ran past me, scooping me up and shoving me out of the way just as one of the great beasts landed on the ground beside us. It sighed and whinnied, then shook its massive head, silver mane catching the light. A thousand galaxies glittered in its eyes.

  I dropped my blade. Fell to my knees.

  “Don’t look into its eyes!” Darius shouted, but it was too late. The creature was so beautiful. So peaceful. Why would I look anywhere else?

  Slowly, I felt something tingling in my mind, like warm water seeping into my skull.

  Don’t carry these burdens, sweet girl…

  The warmth vanished in a blink, and I looked up to see Darius tearing out the beast’s throat. Blood gushed from the wound, and a moment later, the memory eater collapsed to the ground.

  Behind him, Ronan had leaped onto the back of the second beast. In a burst of raw demon strength, he grabbed the beast’s head and twisted, snapping its neck. The thing crashed to the ground with so much force, the earth trembled.

  “Gray!” Darius was at my side, shaking me out of the momentary trance. He picked up my blade and handed it to me. “Are you hurt?”

  I looked into his eyes and shook my head, trying not to look at the blood covering his mouth and chest.

  “What’s my name?” he asked.

  “Are you serious?”

  “I need you to say it.”

  “My memories are intact, Darius,” I said.

  “Good. Now take cover and stay out of sight.” He was gone in a blink, charging after the third beast. The moment the creature’s hooves touched the ground, Darius was on him again, tearing out his throat.

  Another shadow darkened the sun, and when I looked up into the sky, I saw half-a-dozen more memory eaters circling.

  “Guys!” I shouted. “We’ve got a problem!”

  The three of us regrouped in the valley, keeping our backs together, our eyes on the sky.

  “We can’t take them all at once,” Darius said. “Not by force.”

  “What about influence?” Ronan asked him. “Maybe you can convince them to move on.”

  “I’ve tried. They’re too big. I doubt they even felt my presence. If I could amplify—”

  “Guys! You’re brilliant.” The idea came to me in a rush, half-formed and completely crazy, but worth a shot. I handed Darius Sophie’s dagger. “I need your blood. Please don’t ask questions.”

  He held my gaze for a second, but then nodded, slicing his wrist and pressing it to my mouth.

  I began to suck, feeling the warm liquid fill my mouth, then sink into me as it had in the cabin. Magic stirred to life inside me.

  I pulled awa
y from him, closing my eyes and calling the magic forth, trusting our fate to the blood bond Darius and I shared. Trusting that I could channel his power. That I could amplify it.

  This would work. It had to work.

  I raised my hands, blue orbs igniting, then turning into flames that blasted out into the sky just as the creatures descended. I hit them with the full brunt of the magic, lighting them up in a fiery, bright blue beam that trapped them mid-air, suspending them above us.

  My blood is his and his is mine

  Grant me his power, just for a time

  Lend me his strength, his control over minds

  Channeled through me, these creatures we’ll bind

  I said the words, then reached out for their minds, searching for a way in.

  You don’t want this, I thought. You’ve already fed. It’s time to move on.

  The winged horses hovered before me, flapping their great wings.

  I felt them resisting, trying to slip into my mind again. Warm, gentle, tendrils crept inside, curling around my memories, tugging gently.

  You don’t need this, sweet girl. Let us unburden you…

  I hesitated, and two of the creatures broke free from my fiery hold, torpedoing toward us.

  Ronan and Darius met them head on, wrestling them to the ground, attacking with vicious fury.

  Again, I felt them slipping into my mind, prying.

  Just relax. Let go. We shall ease your passage…

  “No!” I shouted, slamming a mental wall into place and focusing the very last of my energy on one final pulse of magic.

  Leave us, I thought, sending it up through my hands, out into the sky. Into them. You are not needed here. You are needed elsewhere. You must go. You must leave us.

  I repeated the thoughts, again and again and again, my energy rapidly draining.

  I collapsed to my knees with weakness, but still, I didn’t give up, didn’t relent.

  Finally, I felt the last of their resistance break. The four remaining beasts flapped their wings, reared back in the sky, and flew away.

  The magic dissipated, leaving me spent and exhausted. I wanted nothing more than to curl up in the grass and sleep for a thousand years.

  But I needed to find the guys. To get home.

  I got to my feet and jogged back toward the pool, where two hulking black forms lay dead in a cloud of dust. Ronan and Darius stood behind them, trying to catch their breath.

  I sat on the stone perimeter encircling the pool and closed my eyes, waiting for my own breath to return, for my heartbeat to slow.

  When the dust settled and I could finally breathe again, I got to my feet and turned toward the pool, peering inside.

  At nothing.

  No water. No starlight. No rune gate. The majestic Pool of Unknowing was no more than a pit filled with dust and emptiness.

  The gateway—my last chance, my only road home—was gone.

  I looked to Darius, the shock washing over me in waves.

  “It’s gone,” I said, my voice breaking.

  Darius blinked.

  “The rune gate,” I explained. “The pool. The way home.”

  He said nothing, still blinking at me in confusion.

  I stepped closer, peering up into his eyes. “Darius?”

  His brow furrowed as he looked around, taking in the scene. When he met my eyes again, his gaze was completely blank.

  Moments ago at the hell portal, he’d looked at me like I was the only thing that ever mattered. He’d almost said he was falling in love with me.

  Now he looked at me like he’d never seen me before in his life.

  “Pardon me,” he said, stiff and formal. “But I seem to have lost my way. Would you mind telling me where I am?”

  “Darius?” I said again, my mind refusing to believe it, even as my heart slowly cracked in two.

  “Darius?” He looked over his shoulder, then back to me, shaking his head in confusion. He opened his mouth, then closed it, his lips twisting in disgust. “Is this… is this blood?”

  Both pieces of my broken heart slammed against my ribs, the full realization punching a hole right through my chest.

  Darius could speak, but he had no memories. He didn’t know me. Didn’t know his name. Didn’t even know he was a vampire.

  “Oh, fuck,” Ronan said as he approached the pool, shaking the dust from his clothes. “The rune gate—”

  “Ronan.” I grabbed his arm, tugging him away from the pool. “Darius is… He’s… The memory eaters…” A sob escaped my mouth, cutting off my words.

  Ronan reached for me, his face crumpling in confusion and concern, but before I could get the rest of the words out, a terrible shriek pierced the air, driving us both to our knees.

  The sky turned black, and I could tell from the sheer horror on Ronan’s face what that meant.

  The memory eaters had returned.

  With a herd.

  We shot to our feet.

  “Get Darius!” I shouted. “He doesn’t understand!”

  Ronan grabbed Darius’s hand. “Let’s go. Run! Now!”

  The three of us bolted for the forest, stopping just before the hell gate. I turned to look over my shoulder. The herd was bearing down on us, ten beasts across and at least that many deep. They were going to destroy us.

  “Gray,” Ronan whispered, and I turned back toward him, his hazel eyes glassy with emotion. For a moment, time seemed to stop, and the entire realm fell silent and still. “I’m so sorry.”

  I offered him a faint smile, my own tears falling freely. For Ronan. For Darius. For all of us.

  “I know,” I whispered.

  Time started up again. The memory eaters howled their terrifying war cry, the force of their wings blowing back my hair, rustling the trees beyond.

  With one hand clamped on Darius’s arm, Ronan grabbed me around the waist, hauling me against his chest.

  “Don’t let go!” he shouted.

  And then we jumped into the blazing light.

  Straight into hell.

  Thank you so much for reading Demon Sworn! I hope you’re looking forward to the rest of The Witch’s Rebels series, starting with the next book, Blood Cursed.

  If you loved reading this story as much as I loved writing it, please help a girl out and leave a review on Amazon! Even a quick sentence or two about your favorite part can help other readers discover the book, and that makes me super happy!

  If you really, really loved it, come hang out at our Facebook group, Sarah Piper’s Sassy Witches. I’d love to see you there.

  Finally, if you’d like to stay up to date on all the witchy book news, plus get insider access to exclusive content and advanced review opportunities, sign up for the VIP Readers Club.

  XOXO

  Sarah

  Origins of The Witch’s Rebels

  Thank you so much for checking out Shadow Kissed!

  I was primarily inspired to write this series by three things: my fascination with Tarot, my love of all things witchy, and my desire to see more kickass women telling stories for and about other kickass women.

  I’ve always enjoyed books, movies, and TV shows about witches, monsters, and magic, but I never found exactly the right mix. I wanted a darker, grittier Charmed, an older Buffy, and most of all—as much as I love the brothers Winchester (who doesn’t?)—I really wanted a Supernatural with badass bitches at the helm, hunting monsters, battling their inner demons, and of course, sexytimes. Lots and lots of sexytimes.

  (Side note: there’s not enough romance on Supernatural. Why is that? Give me five minutes in that writers’ studio…)

  Anyway, back to The Witch’s Rebels. We were talking about badass bitches getting the sexytimes they deserve.

  Right.

  So I started plotting my own story and fleshing out the character who would eventually become our girl Gray, thinking I had it all figured out. But as I dove deeper into the writing, and I really got to know Gray, Darius, Ronan, Asher, Emilio, and Liam,
I discovered a problem. A big one.

  With so many strong, sexy guys in the mix, I couldn’t decide which one would be the hero to win Gray’s heart. I loved them all as much as she did!

  I agonized over this.

  It felt like the worst kind of love triangle. Er, love rhombus? Love—wait. What’s the word for five of them? Pentagon! Yes, a love pentagon.

  Pure torture!

  But then I had my lightbulb moment. In the face of so much tragedy and danger, Gray fights hard to open herself up to love, to trust people, to earn those hard-won friendships. Her capacity for giving and receiving love expands infinitely throughout the story, so why the hell shouldn’t she be able to share that with more than one man?

  There was no reason to force her to choose.

  So, she doesn’t. And her story will continue!

  You, dear reader, don’t have to choose either—that’s part of the fun of reverse harem stories like this. But if you happen to have a soft spot for a particular guy, I’d love to hear about it!

  Drop me a line anytime at sarah@sarahpiperbooks.com and tell me who’s winning your heart so far! I’ll tell you mine if you tell me yours! *wink wink*

  About Sarah Piper

  Hi! I'm the author of The Witch's Rebels series and other sexy, swoony urban fantasy and paranormal romance novels-in-progress. I live with my adorable husband in New York City, but I'm secretly (okay, not-so-secretly) longing for a little cottage in the woods. Or maybe by the sea. Or in the mountains? Pretty much anywhere we can escape from all this craziness!

  In the meantime, I spend my days sleeping like a vampire and my nights making inappropriate jokes and innuendos, writing witchy stories, playing with my ever-expanding collection of Tarot cards, reading way too many books, binge-watching Supernatural (Team Dean, in case you're wondering), and obsessing over the best way to brew a cup of tea.

  You can find me online at SarahPiperBooks.com and hanging out in my Facebook readers group, Sarah Piper's Sassy Witches! If you're sassy, or if you need a little more sass in your life, or if you need more Dean Winchester gifs in your life (who doesn't?), join us!