by Ivy Asher
Instead of rolling his eyes or shrugging off my confession with a blasé attitude, he surprises me by scooting closer and then reaching past the bars to grab my hand. I go still at the movement, my breath caught in my chest as I watch him looking down at my hand as he twists it palm up.
With one hand cradling it, his other hand begins to trace the lines of my palm. His fingertip barely grazes over my skin like a whisper, and it somehow feels like one of the most intimate touches I’ve ever had.
“You asked me what kind of demon I am,” he says, his voice staying in that subdued tone of his, like we’re in a crowded room and he wants our conversation to be only for us. “What I am...it’s defined me for my entire life, and it defined everyone in my bloodline for all of their lives, too.”
I watch his face as he watches my palm, his finger never stopping as he continues to follow the lines on the inside of my hand, tracing up each finger, and then between them, not even caring that my hand is dirty, that I have grime coated into my skin that the trickle of water I have in the sink can’t get rid of. Instead, he’s holding it, looking at it like it’s something precious.
I don’t know what exactly changed from the talk we had about mates and maybes until now. But something has. I can feel it.
“I know what you mean when you say you want the chance to live as your real self.” Golden eyes flick up to me for a brief second. “I want that too—not just as what I am, but as who I am. And I want that for you, Sable. You deserve that.”
Tears brim in my eyes, but I blink and watch our hands so he can’t see the effect he’s having on me. For so long, I’ve been starved of this. Of simple affection. Of a comforting touch. Of connection.
Even with my ex, I never had this. With Matt, I was always pretending, always faking it. Playing a part and behaving the way I thought I needed to in order to fit into a world that wasn’t meant for me. And even though I know what Toreon is doing—distracting me from my worry over Medley—I’m grateful. Not just because he’s trying to calm me down, but because he’s opening up, something I have a feeling he never does with anyone besides Vudu.
“You’re right about me, you know,” he says, his thumb coming up to graze over the vein in my wrist. “I did give up. I actively try not to care or hope. I’ve been with Morax for so long. I’ve been forced to use power. I’ve watched the last of my kind die at his hand. I never thought I was getting out of here. It was too much to think otherwise.”
“But that changed because Vudu is here now?”
He tilts his head. “That’s partially the reason. If anyone can get me out, it will be that stubborn bastard,” he says with a quirk of his lips.
“And what’s the other part?”
He twists my palm so that he can start tracing patterns over the back of my hand. “If I say you, are you going to give me shit about it?” he teases.
I choke out a surprised laugh, even as a blush blooms over my cheeks. A secret thrill runs through me at his admission. “I don’t know, are you going to be all cheesy about it?” I joke.
He gives a small, close-lipped smile. “I’m a demon. Demons aren’t cheesy,” he says, trying to keep a straight face.
“You totally want me to be your mate,” I say with a grin that I can’t stop from spreading.
To my immense amusement, he blanches slightly, like he’s suddenly embarrassed. I smile. “I mean, you kind of showed your hand with your tantrum and threats to force Morax to choke on his entrails because of a kiss.”
His expression turns serious. “Don’t do that. Don’t downplay what he’s taking from you, from me, in doing what he did.”
“I’m not downplaying it,” I retort. “It was awful, but it could have been worse, and I’m not going to make a bigger thing of a kiss than it was.”
I try not to think of how Morax tasted or how his tongue felt. I try to scrub it from my mind, but I fail. I just don’t want to show Toreon how shaken up I am. I don’t want to cause him any more distress.
“I think a kiss is a big thing,” he tells me, his voice low and quiet. “I think when offered and accepted, it can be one of the most life-altering experiences souls can have. That first spark of connection, the possibilities that are created in that moment, the paths that can be taken because of it.” His golden eyes flit back and forth between mine as he speaks, and now all I can think about are his profound words and what it would be like to experience the kind of kiss he’s talking about.
“I thought you weren’t going to get all cheesy,” I joke, suddenly needing to lighten the heaviness of the moment. I want something from him. But not here in this place. Not when there’s so much horror and pain mortared into every stone that makes up the walls that cage us in.
He snorts and finally lets go of my hand, though instead of dropping it completely, he sets it down so that it rests on his knee. “I knew it. You’re already giving me shit,” he says with a smirk that doesn’t quite reach his eyes.
“Isn’t that what maybe-mates do? Give each other shit?” I reply, my fingers itching to move over his knee, to trace his skin the way he traced mine. If we were anywhere but here, I would. I would push the boundary with no self-consciousness or hesitation, simply because I could. I would abandon all fear of falling or rejection because that’s what it means to truly live, but I won’t taint what could be with this place. So I’m content to just rest my hand on him.
“I wouldn’t know. I never thought I’d actually find a maybe-mate, let alone a mate.”
“That makes two of us,” I reply, my rebellious index finger tapping slowly over the bend of his knee.
Toreon lets out a frustrated sigh. “Every time I hear about your life in the Mortal Realm, it makes me want to punch someone. I hate that you lived like that. And now you’re here in a special kind of hell no one should have to endure.”
His outrage on my behalf warms my heart. “It’s okay. Maybe it’s like you said to Vudu, that everything was meant to happen this way. I was meant to be captured by Morax so that I could be here, in the dungeon, to meet my sister...and you.”
His teeth flash in the dim lighting as his golden eyes glint with mirth. “Now who’s being cheesy?” he replies, nudging me slightly through the bars.
I don’t even try to deny it. We both know cheesy looks good on me.
18
I’m not sure how much time passes as Toreon and I talk. Minutes? An hour? There’s no way of telling how long Medley has been gone, but he keeps a steady stream of conversation going, never giving me the chance to slip back into my quiet worry. He tells me things like how he grew up in Ūnus, isolated from all other demons other than his family and Vudu’s.
We talk about simple, fun things too, like our favorite foods and our most embarrassing moments. Mine: lasagna, and accidentally mooning the asylum’s visitor room when the drawstring to my pants ripped. His: some weird Hellish soup, and the time he got so drunk off demon spirits Vudu had to carry him home. Like a baby.
I laughed so hard at that story that tears sprang to my eyes, and my stomach ached. But Toreon did the impossible. He distracted me. He made me forget where I was and what we’re up against. Just for a little while.
But when the heavy door to the dungeon clangs open, our little bubble pops as we spring apart, and reality comes crashing down around us.
Morax strides in alone. “You’ll be happy to know that you’ll be reunited with your sisters soon,” he says, coming to stop right in front of my cage.
With a quick press of his palm, he magically makes a doorway and motions me out. I don’t waste time scrambling up and doing what he wants, regardless of the fact that he’s not ordered me too. With Medley and Delta out there, I won’t risk angering him. There’s too much at stake.
My quick move to please him lights amusement in his white, slitted eyes. “Already so well-trained,” he says mockingly.
I bite back a retort, and then he unexpectedly places a hand on my back between my wings and shoves me forward hard
. I don’t have time to brace myself, so my face gets slammed against the metal bars of Toreon’s cage.
One second, my green-skinned demon is sitting down, watching warily, but the moment my cheekbone connects with the metal, he’s up and on his feet.
I cry out as a burst of pain flares in my mind, my face immediately throbbing. “Don’t fucking touch her!” Toreon growls, both hands shooting out between the bars to catch me before I fall.
I sag against his arms, blinking and carefully working my jaw to see if it’s broken. Aside from aching like hell, it’s okay, but the telling wetness I feel on my cheek speaks of a different story there.
“The mating pull already so strong,” Morax muses, rage in his eyes, even though it seems like another part of him enjoys Toreon’s protective display.
“We’ll do what you want. You don’t need to brutalize her!” he growls, his whole demeanor looking suddenly vicious.
“Of course she’ll do whatever I want,” Morax says while I struggle not to cry from the pain pulsing in my face. I don’t want to break down in front of this prick. “Everyone does what I want,” he reminds us cockily, as if we’d forgotten.
Toreon’s gold eyes move from looking at Morax to looking at me, his jaw muscle jumping as he grinds his teeth at the sight of me. I can feel blood dripping down my cheek, and my eye is swelling. “It’s okay, you’ll heal quickly,” he murmurs, trying to bolster me.
I’m grateful, not just for his anger on my behalf or for him catching me, but for the reminder that I’m strong, that I can handle this.
“You should be thanking me, Toreon,” he says conversationally as he moves to the bars and lets a flare of power emit from his palm. As soon as the doorway appears, Morax shoves me inside Toreon’s cage. Toreon’s arms come around me, securing me against his hard body before I even stumble.
His chains dig into me, but the rest of him is warm somehow and comforting. We both turn to look at Morax as he reseals us both in, and then his hand slips into his pocket and tosses something in the cage. My eyes follow the three black metal cuffs that land on the stone floor, skidding to a stop at our feet.
“Three cuffs for three sisters,” Morax says, and I tense as we look over at him. Toreon’s arms stay securely around me, pulling me even closer as if he wants to bury me beneath his chest to keep me safe.
“You want portals,” Toreon guesses, his tone hollow and his eyes enraged.
Morax smirks and nods. “Indeed. You will link them to me,” he says, tapping a thin, glowing ring that he’s wearing on his pinky finger as his voice emanates compulsion. I feel Toreon’s spine stiffen under the order. “When I press this ring to shift, the three wearers of those cuffs must be portaled to me.”
“That’s it then? You’ve kept me all this time just to drain and destroy me over three portals?” Toreon says with anger.
Morax’s lips tip up. “Of course not. What a waste that would be. You didn’t have a mate before, but now, apparently you do. Looks as though we’ll both reap the benefits of that, won’t we?” he jeers, and the hairs on the back of my neck rise. “You can remove your chains to create the cuffs, and then you will put them back on,” the Ophidian goes on, more power slipping out of his lips as he forces Toreon to bend to his will. “You have until Medley returns.”
He moves his creepy eyes over to me. “And you. You will give him your blood or your cunt or whatever else it is that he needs to see that the job gets done and he isn’t drained to the point of death. Be a good little mate and ensure that he still has plenty of power to create a full portal later.”
I’m caught off guard by the order. I should have been ready, but I was so shocked by what was happening that I didn’t have my mind protected. His compulsion crashes against my darkness, his words braiding vile knots into my mind. I waver, my head feeling heavy and my body suddenly boneless like I’m made of Jell-O. If it weren’t for the fact that Toreon was still holding me, I would’ve collapsed in my efforts to fight against the mental assault.
I stay perfectly still, terrified that if I let on that I’m having such an internal struggle, Morax will realize what I’m doing. Sweat drips down the back of my neck from the strain, and my teeth clench so tightly that my jaw feels like it wants to crack.
“Tick tock,” Morax’s mocking voice floats over us. “Get to work, Toreon. And Sable, make sure you do everything to keep him from dying. You do not want to see what I will do to you and your sisters if you fail me.”
His echoing steps retreat, and I’m able to hold it together until the door slams shut. As soon as we’re alone, a shuddering breath escapes me, my whole body shaking. But I’m not the only one.
“Fuck…” Toreon says, neck tendons straining. “I can’t…I want to keep holding you and make sure you’re okay, but…”
“It’s okay,” I say raggedly as I feel his body jerk, his need to fulfill Morax’s control overwhelming.
Toreon drops his hold on me, but I manage to stay upright, yanking my darkness and wrapping it tightly around my consciousness. Steadier now, I take another deep breath, my eyes focusing on Toreon where he’s crouching down next to the metal cuffs on the floor.
I lower myself next to him, his face a mask of fury. “I’m so sorry, Sable,” he says, sounding like he hates himself.
“Hey.” I reach out, placing my hand on his bare shoulder. The connection immediately sends butterflies through my stomach. “It’s okay. Just do what you have to do. I’m right here to help you.”
Toreon shakes his head, even though he already has one cuff in his hand, readying to do whatever magic Morax requires. “No, Sable. Don’t drain yourself. You can fight the compulsion.”
I sigh through my nose, but I know it’s moot to try to argue with him right now. “Relax, okay?” I tell him, my hand skimming gently over his tense muscles. “Don’t worry about me. Just do the cuffs. Trying to fight it will just drain you faster.”
“Fuck!” he curses scathingly. “I’m going to kill him. I need to kill him,” he declares between clenched teeth, but it sounds more like a plea. I watch angry tears welling in his eyes, and the sight of his pain makes me ache. I can only hope that one day we’ll get to dole out suffering and hurt to the Ophidian for all that he’s done.
“I know,” I soothe. “We’re going to beat him. We just need to play our parts and do what we need to do until my sisters come back. Then we’ll all rip him apart and revel in his screams.”
He nods haltingly at my whispered words, and some of the tension seems to leave him. He reaches up and pulls a link of chains from his shoulder. He lifts it over his head and drops it to the ground, pulling at another and another strand. I reach over and help to free him from the oppressive black metal.
“What are these?” I ask. The chains zing with power that feels like an electric shock when my palm is in contact with it for too long. Does it do that to Toreon the whole time he wears them?
“They keep me from doing what I was made to do,” he answers simply, lifting the last set of links from his skin. “But I was under compulsion not to try to remove them.”
My brow furrows. “But the tool that Vudu gave you…”
Toreon shrugs. “He doesn’t know I can’t use it. But he’s trying to help, and I didn’t want to take that from him.”
I shake my head at him, but I get it, and him wanting Vudu to keep some hope makes me like him even more.
As soon as the chains are gone, I see that he’s bruised in some places from the heavy metal pressing against his skin all the time, and I immediately want to bleed all over every bruise until they’re healed. But I stop myself. I don’t know what making these cuffs will entail, and I should hold off until I do.
“We are going to beat him,” he says, and I nearly choke on my surprise.
“Holy crap, look at you, you found your positive panties,” I tease, dropping my hand so that I can playfully nudge him with my elbow.
The corner of one side of his mouth tips up. “Yeah, I gue
ss you bring it out in me.”
“Your panties?” I teasingly question, and he releases a breathy chuckle.
I’m trying to lighten the moment, but inside, the butterflies in my stomach go haywire, and I don’t even blame them for the erratic fluttering. The teasing glint in his eyes and the half smile are a kryptonite I didn’t know I was susceptible to. But there are certainly worse ways to go than drowning in the depths of someone’s interest, and I’m surprisingly ready to dive right in.
Toreon takes a deep breath, readying himself to comply with what he’s been ordered to do, while I sit back on my heels and try not to be too eager to get a peek of his power. It’s time to try and figure out what he is and just what he can do.
19
Toreon sets all three cuffs in his lap, the black metal shiny against his ragged pants.
“I’m sorry,” I say with a shake of my head before he gets started. I can see from every tight muscle and resigned move that this is going to be brutal for him.
Bright gold eyes look up at me, and a finger draws up to run tenderly over my swollen and aching face. “Don’t waste your sorrys on someone else’s mistakes. The ones who wronged us don’t deserve our remorse.”
His words make me want to cry and lean into his touch. But his finger is gone in a flash, and even though it was only there for a second, I miss it.
“Alright, here we go…” he mutters, more to himself than to me.
“What exactly are you—” I cut off as he clasps his hands together in front of him, his gaze intent on his threaded digits. Through the cracks between his fingers, I see a soft golden glow begin to emanate, like he’s holding a lightbulb in his palms.
