Grand Master (Demons, #3)

by Simcoe, Marina

  “Ivarr is as passionate in life as he is in love,” Kitty’s voice sounded next to me, diverting my attention from my man to her.

  “They all are.” I smiled. “Aren’t they?”

  “True.” Her warm expression grew pensive. “I’m really happy to see you here, Jade. The moment we got the news about you being taken . . . I couldn’t rest until Zayne let us know you were okay.”

  “Thank you. I didn’t know everyone knew about me.”

  “Of course we did. The Incubi world is rather small. What happens in the life of one of them often affects the existence of the rest. It may not look that way on the surface, but their relationships have been forged for centuries and are often indestructible.” She leaned in closer. “I had no idea why Keller took me that day until Vadim’s full report about what happened to you came in, including the plans Keller had for me. That explained a lot, but also made me realise that if I hadn’t escaped that day, I might have been held captive in Kazakhstan all this time, too.” She shuddered, rubbing her upper arms with her hands. “I’m so sorry you had to go through that.”

  “It could have been worse.” I exhaled a long, heavy breath. Despite the horrors of those two days, I knew that the evil that man was capable of was much bigger. “I’m just glad it’s ended.”

  “You are very brave.” She nodded, gazing at me with awe and admiration, which made me smile again. “And smart.”

  “Come on.” I slightly nudged her with my elbow. “Smart would’ve been to find a way to escape much sooner, like you did.”

  A young woman with a stylish chestnut bob approached us from the side.

  “Oh.” Kitty spun her way then back to me again. “This is Pat, my best friend. Jade.” She gestured at me.

  “Nice to meet you.” I shook Pat’s hand. “Are you . . . with someone, too?” Despite a certain number of unmated Incubi, I understood all women present were demons’ partners.

  Her chest rose with a sigh, and she quickly nodded.

  “Pat is seeing Zander,” Kitty answered for her, pointing at a pale, dark-haired Incubus who was talking to a small group of Incubi several feet away from us.

  “Seeing? We’ve had two dates. Two!” Pat shook her head, biting her lip. “And now . . . all this mess . . .” Her voice broke, eyes glistening. “I haven’t even had a chance to really get to know him. And now I’m afraid of having any feelings for him at all. But I can’t stop liking him . . . A lot.” She blinked rapidly, taking another deep breath. “What if something happens to him because of me and my feelings for him? This is so unfair . . . and . . .” She waved her hand in front of her face, struggling to compose herself.

  As if sensing her distress, Zander, excused himself from his group and moved our way.

  Kitty wrapped her arm around her friend’s waist. “Pat, sweetie, nothing is going to happen to Zander or any of them. We will deal with whatever comes our way. All of us.”

  “I’m so sorry.” Pat pressed both hands to her chest. “I didn’t mean to get this upset.”

  “Patricia.” Zander was at her side in an instant, a concerned expression on his face. “We should leave.” He turned to Kitty. “I’ll take her upstairs to my room to rest and will call for any updates later.” He inclined his head my way. “Jade, I’m sorry I didn’t introduce myself. Zander.”

  I shook his hand. “Nice to meet you.”

  “I’m so sorry,” Pat repeated, leaning into him. “Jade, I hope to see you again,” she said as Zander led her away and out of the room.

  “Pat is visiting from Seattle,” Kitty explained. “This is her second time here. She usually meets Zander in her dreams when they’re apart.”

  “It must be hard.” I meant the visiting in the dreams part. Vadim did it to me on the plane, during our flight here. I had a dream I was surfing, and he wanted to see what it was like. Personally, though, I preferred the reality of having him near, body and soul. The haze of dreams, no matter how vivid, seemed like a poor substitute.

  “It’s hard on all of us.” Kitty misunderstood me, obviously referring to the current situation and the threat to the Incubi. “If there is anyone who can deal with danger, though, it would be our Incubi, wouldn’t it?”

  I nodded, loving the fierce optimism of this tiny woman.

  “We’re having a dinner at our place tomorrow night,” she continued. “Pat is staying with us while she is visiting. Well, unless she is with Zander, of course. Andras and Natasha are coming, too. Sytrius and Alyssa . . . Oh, you have to meet their new baby. He is so adorable!” All worries melted from her face. “Little Nixi!”

  “Nixi?” I smiled.

  “Yes, his parents have shortened Phoenix to Nix, but he is too cute and cuddly even for that. Definitely Nixi. The very first cambion—human-Incubi baby. We all had been so worried about how he’d turn out, but he is simply precious. You’ll see. Please come for dinner. Unless you need some time to settle in first?”

  “Oh, it doesn’t take me long to settle into a new place. I‘ll talk to Vadim, but I would love to come over.”

  “Great! We live, literally, just around the corner of where they’ve rented a house for you.”

  “Thank you. We’ll see you then.”

  Just like that, I felt I’d become part of this wonderfully unique group of demons and people.

  EPILOGUE

  VADIM

  “Wait for me.” He stopped Jade from entering the rented house.

  All the lights were off inside, but the two outdoor sconces at the entrance under the porch were on, allowing her to see well enough to unlock the front door.

  “Isn’t it a human tradition for the man to carry his woman into their first home?” He lifted her into his arms, not giving her a chance to answer.

  She gasped then relaxed into him with a soft giggle. “That’s for married couples, silly.”

  “We are more than married, my precious Jade.” He kicked the door open then shoved at it with his elbow to close it after entering. “You’re mine now, for eternity, which is a really long time, I’ll have you know.”

  She giggled again—the sound peppered his skin with ripples of pleasure.

  “This house seems way too big for just the two of us,” she observed as he flicked the lights on in the foyer.

  “Should we search for something smaller?” He marched into the living room, still carrying her.

  “No, of course not. No point in wasting time and effort for that. Hopefully, this is all temporary anyway.”

  He knew she still harboured hope she’d go to her job in Moscow. Jade never mentioned it, but he saw the wistfulness when she talked about her work, and he hated the fact she had to give it up because the situation didn’t allow them to move to Moscow at the moment.

  “Wait here.” He carefully placed her in one of the chairs around the large table in the dining area. “I’ll get your dinner.”

  He went back to the porch to fetch their suitcases and the plastic bag with the restaurant take-out for Jade. That was all they had the time for after the meeting. Tomorrow he would make her a proper meal.

  “We didn’t get any sparkling water for you, baby,” Jade lamented as he took the food from the plastic containers and arranged it on the plates for her—fish, salad, tiramisu for dessert.

  “I’m not thirsty.”

  “I know you aren’t. But that’s not why you drink it.” She shifted in her chair, closer to the table, and picked up a fork. “I’ll make sure to get some for you when I go shopping tomorrow morning.”

  Although the house came fully furnished, they would still need to pick up some things for it. Cleaning supplies. More food for Jade. Sparkling water for him, apparently.

  “You know,” she bit into a slice of cucumber from her salad, “I haven’t even seen the rest of the house yet, but it already feels like home.”

  “It does?” he asked, sitting down next to her, a glass of tap water in his hand.

  He’d learned that people felt less uncomfortable wh
en others at the table with them had something to occupy their hands and mouths, too. And he wanted Jade to be as comfortable as possible right now, despite the long journey and stress of the day.

  “Yes. And you know why?” She put her fork down.

  He didn’t know the exact answer to her question, but he guessed it had something to do with that warm multi-coloured glow taking over all of her emotions whenever she gazed at him like that. Shimmering bright with all the colours of the rainbow, it ebbed and flowed, filling her whole.

  “Because you’re here, with me.” She smiled at him. “I’ve travelled most of my life. Lived in an insane amount of houses, rooms, and apartments. Never minded any of them, but never felt any particular attachment to one, either.” She reached for his hand, and he took hers—no gloves on either of them. “You are my home, Vadim, the only one I truly want.”

  That light that shone in her eyes—he could never have enough of it. He loved her tenacity, her zest for life, her resilience. The way she knew what she wanted and how she went for it, unapologetic for her desires.

  He loved her.

  Unable to comprehend the enormity of this feeling rolling over him in a swell that threatened to sweep him up whole, he reached for her, needing her close.

  “I swear I’ll feed you dinner tonight,” he growled, hauling her into his lap. “Right after I kiss every single inch of you.” He pressed his lips to her hair, her face, to the fragrant, delicate skin of her neck, taking in her scent, her warmth, the light of her love for him. “Jade. My treasure. My love.”

  The Cursed

  Demons, book 4

  (UNEDITED AND SUBJECT to change.)

  “The Council is yours, Stolas.” Raim rose from his seat in the meeting room. The old armchair groaned as if relieved to be free from his weight.

  Raim was well aware that the demon had been using the human name Andras for several centuries now. However, he never addressed any Incubus by a human name. Ever. Lest they forget who they were and where they came from. And he was not about to make an exception for Stolas either.

  “Lead it wisely,” he added, not hiding a sarcastic smile.

  He had no doubts Stolas would be selected as the new Grand Master. However, as intelligent and even inventive as the Incubus had proven to be in the past several months, Raim doubted he had the necessary ruthlessness and ingenuity to balance Incubi’s interests with the Priory’s demands.

  For a moment there, Raim considered telling Stolas about the sarcophagus, the only soros stone urn that survived the journey to this world intact and was in possession of the Priory for the past six hundred years. Then decided against it.

  The Elder would no doubt let the new Grand Master of the Western Council know about the source of human power over the Incubi the moment the demons tried to disobey any of the Priory’s demands. So far, though, Stolas and The Elder seemed to get along splendidly.

  A sting of resentment pierced through Raim. The Priory went against all his efforts to halt the integration of Incubi into the human society. Still, the centuries-old habit of looking after this ungrateful bunch of demons was hard to beat.

  “Beware of the Priory,” Raim couldn’t hold back the warning before exiting the room. “They are the ones with the real power.”

  Not that it really mattered anymore. Nothing did. Incubi had doomed themselves the moment Sytry broke the rule of silence and spoke to that Source last year.

  “Where are you going?” Stolas called behind him.

  Raim didn’t dignify him with an answer. Wasn’t it enough that he was leaving the place he ruled most of his life on earth? Giving up everything he had built and failed to preserve?

  Stolas can have it all. Raim owed him nothing more.

  The white silk of his robe streamed in the air behind him as he swiftly walked along the corridor then up the stairs. Out of habit, he turned right at the top of the stairs, but stopped after taking just a couple of steps. There was nothing he needed from his room, not a thing he would miss if left behind.

  Resolutely, he spun on his heels and headed to the exit instead.

  The door at the Base had not been guarded for months now, and he walked out without having to say a word to anyone else.

  Crossing the property towards a number of vehicles parked by the wall, he yanked free the jewelled clasp that held his robe closed at his shoulder and tossed it in the snow. The wind caught the silk, his robe flew open, and he let it slide off his shoulders and flatter to the ground, without slowing his pace.

  Left dressed only in a pair of black pants now and a thin white tunic, Raim immediately felt the biting winter chill through just one layer of silk. The sensation felt invigorating as he climbed behind the wheel of a truck.

  Fishing the keys out of the glove compartment, he started the engine and drove off the property where he had spent most of his time during the past several centuries.

  Long ago, he had split the Incubi council into Western and Eastern and moved half of the Incubi here with him. Part of the reason for the move, possibly the only reason at all, was the desperate, stubborn hope that pushed him to search for her—the woman who didn’t want to be found. That search ended two hundred years ago. Yet, he had remained on this continent.

  His phone rang, and he yanked it out of his pant pocket. Without glancing on the screen to see who was calling, he rolled down the window and tossed the phone into the snowbank on the side of the road.

  The Incubi had doomed themselves, rushing out there like a pack of eager puppies, wagging their tails, to claim the first female who would let them come close enough. Once tasted, the sweet energy of a human female was impossible to resist for his kind. It took over a demon’s mind and soul like poison, eventually destroying them both.

  He didn’t need to stay and watch, as the Incubi whom he had tried so hard to protect would learn the true nature of a female heart. And they would fall, the way he had fallen.

  Driving along the snowy road, Raim rubbed his forehead, wincing at the painful memories that tortured him every hour of every century. Yet, completely addicted to this poison, he made sure to feed consistently to remember everything.

  “God did not curse me to endure the centuries of torment, Olyena. You did.”

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  More By Marina Simcoe

  Demons Series

  Demon Mine

  The Forgotten

  Grand Master

  The Cursed – 2020

  The Last Unforgiven – 2020

  Standalones Set in Demons Universe

  The Real Thing

  To Love A Monster

  Science-Fiction Romance

  Enduring (Valos of Sonhadra)

  Experiment – 2019

  About the Author

  MARINA SIMCOE LIKES to write love stories with characters, who may or may not be entirely human, because she firmly believes that our contemporary world could always use a little bit of the extraordinary.

  She has lots of fun exploring how her out-of-this-world characters with their own beliefs, values, and aspirations fit into our every-day life.

  She lives in Canada with her very own sexy demon, their three little angels and a cat, who might be The Lucifer himself.

  For more illustrations of all of her books please visit Marina Simcoe Author page on Facebook or www.marinasimcoe.com.

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