What was with everyone calling Xoda “the kid”? She had a name.
Xan tripped over her own feet, like a thought was pushing so hard to get out, it was interfering with her stride.
The image of Xera beating the strange demon with its own limb ran through her mind. The act didn’t bother her as much as the gleeful smile on Xera’s face. It had been like witnessing the flower of the underworld turn into a six-foot Venus flytrap. Times like those made Xan worry she hadn’t offset Mama’s evil influence as much as she’d hoped.
But Xera had saved her. Quution had plotted against her and she’d stopped him with only a thought. Xera had channeled and manipulated his fear better than Xan ever had, though Xan had gone for subtlety, a tactic she’d worked hard with Xera to master.
“What did you make Quution think was happening?” Xan couldn’t admit that she’d never been that successful with him. Her attraction must’ve gotten in the way.
“That Spaeth was killing you.”
Xan snorted. “No, really.” She’d never detected herself as Quution’s weakness, and she’d had him inside her.
“Why would you think I was lying?” Xera ran her tongue along her teeth. “I’d been dying to make him see that, to tease him with your slow death. I hated pretending to be asleep while he chitchatted with his vile brother.”
Xan drew in a sharp breath. “But I’m not his weakness.”
She’d been in his fantasy, but only because he’d wanted to fuck her. It wasn’t like he had a lot of options down here. She was the only female who knew that he was a half-breed, and she was bound by their bargain to keep his secret. Except, there were plenty of ways he could fuck someone without revealing his true identity. She’d almost taken him in the chair, fully clothed.
None of that mattered when he planned to leave forever. To leave her forever. How much could she mean to him?
Xera rolled her eyes. “Yes, most guys ram their heads into a wall because the female they absolutely don’t care about is burning alive. He was trying to save you. You’re welcome.” She growled. “You might sense only fear, but I’m still stronger with it.”
Someone had woken up on the wrong side of the dirt floor. Xera had always gloated about her power and Xan had never argued. Instead, she’d doubled down on teaching Xera compassion and cunning instead of brute force. There was a time and place for each tactic, but to Xera, it was always time for a fight. Who could best who in the fear department hadn’t been a concern of Xan’s.
Xera was better at being an empath. That must be why she’d sensed Quution’s vulnerability when it’d come to Xan. Had her own connection with him interfered? The only time her kind was oblivious to a weak point was when they were reading their—
Xan’s heart slammed against her ribs. She put a hand to her chest.
No. Her kind didn’t do love. Talk about setting themselves up for failure. They resisted attachments and didn’t mate.
Sure, she prided herself in being an unconventional demon, but this was just…ridiculous.
And if Quution was so damn worried about her, why was he wedging himself between her and Xera? He was turning on her.
Xan’s continued silence must’ve inspired Xera’s irritated hiss. “Mama was wrong. I could still beat you no matter how well you mastered fear.”
Mama had said she was the strong one? “She was trying to make you jealous.”
Xera sucked her teeth, the smacking sound echoing off the walls.
Xan frowned and watched the floor as she walked. How was Quution turning on her again?
She looked at Xera from under her lashes. Her sister’s lips were curved in her typical perma-sneer. She was catching her breath, but tension radiated from her.
Quution didn’t trust her sister.
I’m an energy demon, Xan. I can tell when someone is asleep or awake.
Xera had been awake, listening to the brothers talk about going to Spaeth and killing him. When exactly had Quution plotted against her?
Xan’s steps slowed.
Quution didn’t trust her sister, and Xan trusted Quution.
The realization startled her. She’d never trusted anyone other than Xera, and truthfully, she’d always had doubts. But only because Xera was brash, impulsive, and so damn resentful. But Xan trusted Quution.
If she were to evaluate her own weaknesses, she’d find three. Xera, Xoda, and Quution.
How old is Xoda?
Quution had asked her that more than once. Maybe it was time she found out.
“Xera, how old is Xoda?”
Xera slanted a dark look her way but kept walking. Her pace kicked up.
“Xera!” Xan barked.
“What does it matter? It’s not like we’re planning a birthday party soon.”
Xan had inhabited enough humans to know that kids’ ages were a fact mothers didn’t have to think about. Sure, there were the times they were harried, their minds churning with a million different details—like being possessed by a demon, for one—but they could rattle off their kids’ ages and birthdays without fail.
“Why can’t you answer?”
Xera cut her hand through the air. “Because I’m worried. My daughter has been kidnapped and you’re asking inane questions.”
Familiar anxiety churned Xan’s stomach, anxiety that hadn’t been there minutes ago.
“Where are we going?” Xan slowed as Xera sped up.
Xera threw a glare over her shoulder and stopped when she saw how far back Xan had gotten. “You’re wasting time. They’re after us.”
Facts. Details. They were fear’s biggest weakness. Xan took a fortifying breath. “Spaeth wants to know what Quution’s up to. He kidnapped—” Xan briefly shut her eyes. Facts. “He said he kidnapped you and Xoda to get me to work for him.” The reverse wouldn’t have worked. He couldn’t have abducted Xan to coerce Xera into cooperating because Xera would have just let Xan languish.
The knowledge cracked her heart.
“We already know this.” Xera huffed. “Why are you wasting time?”
“You kept us away from you, saying it was for Xoda’s safety. Yet every time Quution asks me how old she is, I have no answer. And each time I think of her, she looks exactly like you when you were younger. Exactly like you.”
No two demons were alike.
Instead of asking, Xan said it. “She’s not real.”
Xera bared her fangs. “You wanted to save me so badly. Your love was ripe for the picking.” She shrugged. “I needed you off my back. So I gave you a kid to save. You always said I wasn’t patient enough. How was that? I started her as a baby, knowing one day, I could use her against you.”
Xan’s heart splintered in two. Her niece wasn’t real.
A sob tore from her throat.
Xera’s evil laugh didn’t belong to the sister Xan had thought she’d known. “Who’s the strong sister now?” She tossed her head back. “If only Mama could see you now. You know, I should’ve known she was toying with my insecurities like a proper mama would.” A snide look crossed her face. “But then I wouldn’t know, would I? I’ve never been a mama.”
The battle cry ripping from Xan’s throat was as unexpected as it was powerful. She launched herself at Xera.
Her claws met skin and she curled them in, digging as deep as possible. Xera screeched and tried to wrench herself away, leaving several gashes in the process.
Xan kneed and kicked. Xera threw a punch at her face, but Xan flashed her fangs, shredding her sister’s hand.
“You bitch!” Xera stomped on her foot.
This wasn’t a cold and calculated fight. It was decades of Xera’s resentment and all of Xan’s broken heart.
Xoda wasn’t real. Xan hadn’t saved her sister, and the niece she adored had never existed. She poured her fury at herself into the battle as they clawed and bit each other. Xan had been clueless, had refused to notice that Xoda’s memory was only strong around her sister. She’d been chasing the idea of family, too influenc
ed by her time in the human realm to realize that notion didn’t exist in demons.
Xan snaked an arm around Xera’s neck and tightened her into a headlock. “Are you working for Spaeth?”
“He’s working for me,” she hissed and elbowed her in the side.
“Am I?” a male’s voice purred next to their ear.
Xan gasped at the searing pain on the side of her face and released Xera.
“She knows,” Xera shouted.
Spaeth fully formed beside Xan.
Shit. She couldn’t back up fast enough to avoid the inferno licking over her skin.
Tingles coursed over the pain and a bolt of light shot over her shoulder to nail Spaeth in the side.
“What the—” Xan was grateful for the reprieve.
The three of them whipped their heads in the direction of the attack. Quution’s hand was poised to lob another.
Spaeth hissed, steam streaming out of his mouth. He clamped a hand on Xera and her mouth dropped open in pain. They both disappeared, her sister’s gasp lingering in the air.
Xan sagged, her hands going to her knees, blood tracing rivulets down her skin and dripping onto the floor. “She’s not… She’s not…real.”
A long, mournful cry resonated from her chest. She met Quution’s sympathetic stare. He’d known. Or at least had suspected. He’d tried to help her see the truth.
Maybe he did know what was best for the realm.
She slammed her eyes shut. Before her next breath, she disappeared.
Quution had rounded the corner moments before Spaeth appeared, Stryke and Zoey on his heels. The two sisters were too busy fighting to notice their arrival, much less Spaeth’s. But before Quution could dive into the fray, Spaeth had snatched Xera, and now Xan was just…gone. He caught his breath as he took in the scene of the scuffle before him.
In the other chamber, Xan had aided her sister’s escape. The knockdown, drag-out fight he’d come upon had been unexpected, to say the least. The pain in her eyes had had nothing to do with her own injuries. She’d fought with her sister, but she hadn’t been hurt physically as much as mentally.
She’s not…real.
Xera had created an entire person to fool Xan. His female’s repayment for caring for her family was total heartbreak.
“I have to find her.” It wasn’t a mystery where she’d gone. He glanced at Zoey and bowed his head. “Thank you for your help.”
Zoey shook her head. “I wasn’t a big help. How can you be sure this isn’t an elaborate ruse to split us up?”
“Because…” The answer didn’t come. He just knew. Xera had been the one to make the first move toward escape, and he’d already had reason to think she was using her powers on her sister. Xan had gone along with the escape plan, but she hadn’t run him into a wall, nor had she hurt Stryke or Zoey. She pumped massive amounts of fear for each other into them, yes. But if she and Xera had been working together, she would’ve had time to twist Stryke and Zoey against each other. Quution didn’t have to have Xan’s abilities to know that Stryke’s worst fear was not just that Zoey would get hurt, but that he’d be the cause.
“Quution,” Stryke prodded when he didn’t continue. “Find her. We will wait to search for Spaeth until you return.” Stryke’s gaze strayed to the last spot Xera had been in. “Since there’s no little girl in danger.”
Zoey shook her head. “I didn’t think I’d ever feel sorry for someone like Xan, but damn…that’s harsh.”
Quution nodded. “Unconscionable.”
He searched for the familiar energy pattern of future-college-grad Brooklyn. She was there, still uneasy about what to expect when she was officially kicked out of the nest, still a ripe host for him to slide into.
She stiffened as he muscled her consciousness out of the way but then relaxed like she was grateful for the mental reprieve, happy to not have to stress for a few minutes. He shook his head, her blond hair flying. So much worry for such a young human. Weren’t they supposed to be dancing with glee at the chance to carve out a life of their own?
Quution blinked, adjusting to the body. A laptop was open in front of him and he sat on a couch in an economy apartment that had seen better days thirty years ago. This…was not the place he’d expected his host to live. Her car probably cost more than this entire building.
But that was a worry for another day. He had to find Xan. Checking to see if he had to save anything before he closed the laptop, he flipped through the various sites she had open. Job postings and descriptions littered the page.
No wonder Brooklyn’s anxiety was giving her heartburn. He rubbed his chest. The discomfort didn’t ease and he set the laptop down. After locating keys, he charged out the door.
Would Xan be at Marcus’s? She’d be in Marcus, but where would he be? It was the middle of the day, and Quution didn’t often track the days of the week humans lived by, but he didn’t think it was the weekend. Xan had mentioned that Marcus worked from home.
The drive went quickly despite sticking to the speed limit even though he wanted to stomp on the gas and fly through town.
What did Marcus drive? Quution parked in front of Marcus’s building and ran to the foyer door. It was locked.
With a frustrated growl that would’ve bared his own fangs, but only showed Brooklyn’s even white teeth, he spun around, trying to figure out what to do next.
Muted thumps sounded behind him and he turned back to the door. A tall man about the same age as Brooklyn banged the door open, a smile lighting his face when his gaze landed on Quution’s host.
“Hey. Haven’t seen you around here before.” He held the door open and Quution skirted around him to get inside, keeping his eyes down. Brooklyn’s eyes would be ink black, and startled humans did stupid things.
“I’m looking for Marcus.” The human had already proved useful; perhaps he was full of answers.
“Nice.” The way the guy said it, Quution wasn’t sure if he should preen or pepper spray the man. “He’s probably at the gym.”
Damn. He’d planned to sprint up the stairs and pound on Marcus’s door until she let him in or went back to the underworld, but Xan wasn’t going to come back here if Marcus was already out. She’d know that Quution would check here first.
“Oh.” He needed the helpful man to provide more details. “That one down on…”
“Third and Piedmont, yeah.” The man reclined against the doorframe, blocking Quution’s exit as he eyed the trim body of the host. “But I can entertain you until he gets back.”
The man needed to move and Quution couldn’t face him to tell him off. Accessing his powers mid possession was like dragging an anchor through deep waters, but he managed to send a jolt of electricity through the steel doorframe.
The guy yelped and stumbled out the door. Quution breezed past him. “Thanks for the help.” The stranger was too busy rubbing his shoulder and inspecting the doorframe to respond before Quution was back in the car and peeling out of the lot.
Chapter 20
An unfamiliar voice filtered through the stall door. “Uh…you, like, okay in there, dude?”
Marcus’s shoulders shook as sobs racked his body. Xan had tried to hold it together. She’d appeared in Marcus, dropped the fifty-pound kettlebell, and marched to the locker room. She’d only meant to grab keys and get the hell out of there. All she had to do was make it to his car before she lost her shit.
But shit had gotten lost once she’d reached the quiet of the locker room. The crying had started and she couldn’t stop. Now she was perched on a toilet in a long line of stalls, sniffling and sobbing in Marcus’s deep keen.
“F-fine,” she managed to get out.
“Uh-huh,” the guy replied, but his feet disappeared from the other side of the door.
Unrolling a wad of toilet paper, she blew her nose and wiped her eyes. Marcus was going to feel like a train wreck when she was done with him, but she didn’t plan on leaving him anytime soon.
Was she strong e
nough to permanently possess a host? There was no way she was going back to the underworld. What kind of being would fake a fucking kid being born—and then carry on the lie for years?
Her crazy sister.
How long had Xera been an evil bitch? Had she ever had a chance at being decent, or had Mama robbed all innocence from her? Or had Xera been born wicked and preferred to stay that way?
Xan rose and brushed herself off. Tossing the tissue into the toilet, she flushed and left. The locker room was empty once again.
In the mirror, Marcus’s face looked ashen and haggard. He’d probably been like that before she possessed him today. His body was sluggish, and walking was like trudging through molten iron. He was working out too much again.
Food. That was on her agenda for the day. Food and rest. Marcus was so worn out that his consciousness wasn’t even fighting her.
No protein-rich diet today, big guy. She was going to the ice cream shop next door and picking up a gallon. Maybe two. And a spoon, no bowls necessary. Then she’d fill the gas tank and drive to a park where she could drown her sorrows in cold, creamy guilt.
Not bothering to change out of the workout basketball shorts and tight black tee, she grabbed Marcus’s keys and wallet and kept her head down, walking through the hall to the front office.
A vaguely recognizable voice was arguing with the front desk clerk. “I just need to see if he’s here.” The high-pitched tone didn’t bother her as much as it should.
“I’m sorry, but only members are allowed inside.” The clerk was standing her ground against a petite, curvy blond.
Wait…Xan knew those highlights.
“Quution?” The clerk’s brow scrunched and Xan realized her error. “Um, Brooklyn?”
The girl spun around, her pristine hair twirling. She wore sunglasses and lowered them to peer at her. Solid black eyes peered over the rim. “Good.”
Quution sounded so relieved, Xan wanted to roll in the feeling of his concern. She’d been his worst nightmare—the fear of her getting hurt. But she’d also psychically attacked his brother and Zoey trying to get away. She’d left Quution at her sister’s lack of mercy.
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