by Olivia Ash
“I hope you also understand my need to do this,” she said, her lips close to his ear. She held his arms and planted them to the side.
Tease.
“You’re very handsome, don’t get me wrong,” she said, smiling and looking at him with a mischievous glint in her eye. “But you haven’t won the bet yet.”
She stepped backward away from him, nearly tripping as she stepped on a loose stone on the floor. It lowered into the floor like a pressed button.
Instantly, his defenses rose on high alert. He knew what those were. He used the same triggers for his own castle’s traps.
The floor under Sadie’s feet opened to reveal a pit with yard-long spikes at the bottom. He spread out his wings, flying to her before she toppled to a deadly fall. He wrapped his arms around her and flew her to safety at the other end of the hallway. He carefully placed her on her feet and stepped back. His heart rammed hard against his rib cage at the thought that she nearly got hurt.
“What just happened?” she asked.
“Booby traps,” he said, pointing to the place where Sadie had stood, now a gaping hole on the floor.
Sadie’s jaw went slack, and she laughed. “Oh man, my fortress is so cool!”
He didn’t speak for a while. That was definitely not the reaction he had expected. He smiled, wanting this woman even more. Because hell yeah, this fortress was cool.
In the back of his mind, he also knew he had lost the bet. The darkest thing he could think of was a world without Sadie. And that wasn’t a world he wanted to be a part of.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Sadie
Sadie took Steele to her room only to mess with him. She loved driving him crazy. That gave her a sense of power and control. Not to mention, she didn’t mind the way he drove her crazy as well.
She figured the bet was a stalemate. They both got the bejeezus scared out of them. A win-win.
She sat on the leather lounge on her balcony. Steele sat beside her. She didn’t look at him as he brushed her hair behind her ear and bent down to kiss her neck and shoulders. She sighed, eyes fluttering closed.
He gently turned her face toward him and they stared into each other’s eyes. He kissed her again, letting his hand slide down her side to the hem of the plunging neckline. When he stopped, she guided his hand to her breast and he growled as he kneaded them, deepening his kisses with a hungry need.
She thoroughly enjoyed his warm touches and the tingling sensations that quaked through her body when he kissed her. She opened her eyes and looked at silver and gold trees extending from the edge of her courtyard to the horizon, and the river that flowed beside the forest, glowing orange and lavender and blue as it reflected the crystals that shone in her realm’s ceiling.
Beside the river rolled a verdant meadow. A shadow shifted. Had she not been looking in that very spot, she would’ve missed the barely noticeable movement. She squinted as a silhouette seemed to approach her fortress.
There was something familiar about that figure. The limping gait, the strong shoulders and long hair.
She stiffened. It can’t be.
Steele seemed to notice her change in demeanor and asked, “What’s wrong?”
Sadie ignored the question as she sat up and leaned toward the edge of the balcony, narrowing her eyes on the figure. Steele removed his hand from under her shirt and adjusted himself on the seat.
Her breath caught. Blair! She wore the same tattered clothes she had on the night Sadie had found her wounded in her apartment.
Her pulse sped up, but she didn’t run to her sister right away, even though her instinct screamed for her to move. First, she needed to make sure her eyes weren’t tricking her.
“I’m not accustomed to this kind of role-playing, but I can get used it,” Steele said.
She stood and ran to her scrying room where the crystal ball was placed on the table in the center. She touched the orb with her hands, demanding to see Blair. The green and red haze in the ball shifted to reveal her sister, holding her side, struggling to breathe as she stumbled toward the fortress.
That was all the confirmation she needed.
Sadie ran to the room’s balcony, passing by Steele who clearly didn’t know what was going on. The dragon Zagan had brought to her fortress flew by the balcony and halted mid-air in front of her, wings flapping, as if the dragon could sense her alarm. She jumped onto the dragon’s back and they flew to her sister. She needed to protect Blair from the demons in the fortress and give her a heads up on the men.
She dismounted before the dragon landed and almost tripped on a fallen branch. Recovering, she bounded to Blair at full speed and wrapped her sister in her arms when she had reached her. Tears flowed from Sadie’s eyes.
Blair clung to her.
Beside Sadie, the dragon roared and rose on her hind legs. Sadie jumped back and away from her sister. The dragon planted her feet on the ground and swiped her tail, slapping Blair’s back and sending her flying over the boundary into the fortress land before Sadie could do anything to stop it.
Blair grunted as she stood up and doubled over in pain, clutching her midsection.
Sadie’s intuition flared. This wasn’t Blair at all, but an imposter. The dragon had sensed it before she did. Sadie was too consumed by the idea of seeing her sister that she didn’t pause to think about whether or not it was really her. Sure, she checked the crystal ball, but that probably would only show what she wanted to see. And Sadie wanted to see Blair.
Her blood boiled. Partly because she had made a mistake and partly because the woman who pretended to be her sister had the audacity to show up at her front door.
“Who are you?” she asked, glaring at the woman. Sadie balled her hands into fists as she approached the imposter.
Sadie wished she could conjure the vines to keep the woman still. She would just have to make do without them.
“Drop your act and show me who you are,” Sadie said, demanding.
The woman screamed as Blair’s form shifted into Mara, adorned in skimpy armor and golden gauntlets. She glared at Sadie but didn’t make a move.
“Where’s my sister?” Sadie asked through gritted teeth, not even bothering to mask the hatred she openly felt for the demoness. Sadie flicked her wrist, and a smoke-sword appeared in her hand. Now was a good time for her training to pay off.
Mara sneered and lifted her arms. Sadie knew this move already. Mara prepared to cast fire, but Sadie didn’t move. She also came prepared. And she would show Mara just how much she had learned over the past few days.
As a torrent of fire blew in Sadie’s direction, she stood still and let the flames billow over her, knowing she wouldn’t get hurt. She held her smoke sword in front of her, willing it to collect the fire. When the flames died down, she stood unharmed, her smoke-sword blazing and slowly dimming as the fire died.
Mara gaped.
Surprised? Good.
Sadie used Mara’s surprise to her advantage, sending the same torrent of fire Mara had given her back to the demoness. Before the blaze ran out, she rushed to Mara and slashed at her torso with the smoke sword. Mara shook herself from her daze and had somehow avoided the fire but didn’t move quick enough to avoid the wound that Sadie’s sword made.
Sadie almost whooped that the smoke sword actually worked, but as her sword disappeared from her hand, so did her excitement. She sighed.
Great. Of course, it wouldn’t work.
As she created a fire sword to replace her one of smoke, the dragon flew to Mara and used its claws to pin the demoness to the ground. Mara unsheathed her sword, swiping at both of the dragon’s front legs. The dragon let out a painful cry and flew away before Mara could pierce the dragon’s throat.
With her fire sword held in front of her, Sadie rushed at Mara. She leapt and thrust her weapon at the demoness’s heart, but Mara parried it with a swing. Sadie jumped back, positioning herself in a fighting stance.
But Mara didn’t come for Sadie. Instead,
the demoness flew into the air, wings spread behind her. She screamed, “Charge!”
Yelling and the clanking of weapons came from the forest behind her. A knot of worry twisted in her chest. She should have felt their presence, but she had been so overcome with the idea that Blair had returned to her, she didn’t pay attention to anything else. She pushed the worry aside. This was her territory. Whoever dared invade her home would pay for their transgressions against her.
An army advanced from the trees. A few dozen imps and horned skeletons appeared from the forest. Sadie wrinkled her nose as their collective smell of sweat and decay pervaded her nostrils. She raised her sword, preparing herself for battle.
When the army reached the border of her territory, an invisible barrier prevented them from getting in. Sadie let out the breath she hadn’t realized she was holding.
More imps and skeletons reached the border. They banged and slammed against the barrier with their bodies and weapons. As they assaulted the invisible wall, some of them managed to slip through.
The fortress produced metal vines, ensnaring the soldiers. Some of them were unlucky enough to get impaled by the sharp, metal vines.
As she watched the fortress defend itself from the intruders, a horned-skeleton approached her with a dagger in its bony hands. It must have been the undead remnants of what used to be a demon.
The skeleton attacked her with its dagger. She blocked it with a swipe and plunged her fire sword in its chest, but it only went through the bone harmlessly.
It must not be hot enough.
She concentrated and let the orange flames of her sword burn brighter until it turned light blue. She let the flames expand until it covered the skeleton’s entire body, and eventually it burned to a crisp.
Another one advanced on her. She lifted her free hand and summoned an orb of fire inside her attacker’s chest cavity, making it as hot as possible. She let it grow, until it too turned to ash.
To her right, the dragon fought the brunt of the army, swinging her tail and snapping her maw at the enemies. She leapt and landed, crushing imps on the ground. She also kicked with her hind legs, dismembering a few boney soldiers.
The dragon kicked demons beyond the boundary that when they tried to come back, they couldn’t cross the invisible barrier anymore. She defended herself, holding her own against the demons despite acquiring numerous slashes on her back, wings, and legs.
Sadie thought her dragon would be able to handle herself, but there were too many imps and skeletons. They climbed onto the dragon’s back and she shook in an attempt to get them off her. She snapped at them with her teeth, but she was only slowly getting overwhelmed.
Above, Mara swooped in Sadie’s direction. Sadie sidestepped and crouched. She struck her sword against Mara’s and the demoness parried. Sadie swung again, this time slicing Mara’s thigh. It didn’t wound the skin, but the demoness hissed. Sadie slashed again, hitting Mara’s left wing.
“I see you’ve gotten better,” Mara said. The demoness smirked, but from the way her lip quivered, and her eyes widened, Sadie knew it was all bravado. She had gotten better. And that thought filled her with hope that she could defeat this vile demoness and finally find her sister.
Advancing, Sadie jabbed at Mara’s side. Mara blocked the blow with her gauntlet. Sadie turned in order to make a strike with her fire sword toward Mara’s neck, but before she could lift her sword, the demoness’s tail swung at her from the side. She knocked Sadie on the ground, and her ankle twisted in the fall. She winced and gritted her teeth as Mara’s sword descended on her face. She rolled aside but didn’t avoid getting her cheek cut. The wound stung like hell.
Mara lifted her sword. Sadie’s pulse raced. She didn’t think she could move fast enough to escape it. The dragon emitted a resounding roar, and the demon army shouted collectively. Sadie and Mara both looked in that direction.
Sadie relaxed as the four princes raced toward her at full speed. The princes tore into the army, slashing at the imps, killing them with single blows. They exploded to pieces with just a bash from a sword or a blow of fire. Kaiser fought at the forefront, killing most of the demons.
He fought with such a grim and determined expression, dead set on reaching Sadie and Mara. When Sadie met his eyes, he seemed to fight faster and more aggressively, killing double the numbers he already had. She felt a twinge of guilt for running off and getting him this worried. Gathering willpower, she used the upheaval the princes caused to stand up and step back within reasonable distance from Mara’s sword.
Mara whirled and attacked Sadie. Shifting her weight on the uninjured foot, Sadie parried two of Mara’s blows with her fire sword. The demoness’s smirk had disappeared, now replaced by a wide-eyed countenance that seemed more like panic. Mara’s moves became rushed and sloppy, as if she couldn’t wait to kill Sadie and get out of here. Even with an injured ankle, Sadie dodged and slashed with her weapon, fighting with relative ease.
The demoness kept looking over her shoulder and at the princes. She had the same expression back in Sadie’s apartment when Kaiser had appeared. Sadie snorted to herself. The demoness seemed to be really terrified of him, picking up her pace like that and with the expression of a small child afraid of the monster in her closet.
Sadie’s blade struck Mara’s hilt and hit the demoness’s knuckles. Mara yelped, dropping her sword. Sadie caught the demoness’s weapon with her free hand and attacked with both swords at once. Mara dodged the blow, tumbling to the ground.
Sadie knelt over Mara and dug Mara’s sword into her wing, pinning the demoness to the ground. Mara screamed.
A calm, ruthlessness, and consumed Sadie. The darkness she had embraced. “Where is my sister?” she asked. “Answer or pay with your life.”
Mara didn’t speak as she struggled to steady her breath.
“Suit yourself,” Sadie said and lifted her fire sword, aiming to stab Mara’s heart with it. Mara screeched in pain as she wrenched her wing free from the blade that rooted her to the ground. The pointed tip of the demoness’s wing struck her across the face. Her vision blurred with tears from the unexpected blow. A jolt impacted her side as Mara kicked Sadie to the ground.
Sadie stood, raising her sword in defense even though her vision still blurred. Her eyesight cleared in time to see Mara disappear in a puff of shadow, leaving what remained of her army to die. Sadie stared at the spot where Mara had disappeared. She clenched her fists and the veins in her neck throbbed. She almost had Mara. But the wretched woman got away.
She bit the inside of her cheek enough to hurt. She stood there, livid, while the princes dispatched the remnants of Mara’s army.
As Mordecai dealt with the last soldier standing, Steele rushed to her, yelling. “You shouldn’t just run off into danger like that, Sadie!”
Her dragon flew to her and stood beside her, keeping an eye on the horizon. She looked over her pet, relieved that, aside from shallow scratches and cuts, the dragon wasn’t gravely hurt.
Kaiser ran to her. She opened her mouth to say something as he wrapped her in his arms as soon as he reached her.
“I’m okay,” she said, her face buried in his chest. She pulled herself from his hold in time to see Damien and Mordecai approaching them, both glaring at her.
“Why would you put yourself in so much danger? You haven’t even had a chance to learn more about your magic,” Mordecai said.
She cleared her throat. She wanted to snap at them. Tell them it was none of their business. Why would they make it their business? They knew her abilities were limited, that she was still learning. But she had to think about everything they had gone through. After all, they could have just killed her, taken her power for themselves. But they didn’t.
Little by little, they each showed her that they were good men. At least to her, they were.
She could’ve called on them. In the moment, she was too consumed by the idea of Blair being safe and showing up at her fortress gate that she didn’t think ab
out anything else. Emotion blinded her from considering it was a trap she had walked into.
Looking at each of them, she slowly nodded. “I know now. I should’ve counted on you. But I’m okay. Thanks to you.” She forced herself to smile though she felt guilty for making them all worry like that over her.
She shared a long look with Kaiser. “Did you see what happened?”
He nodded, lips in a grim line.
“I saw the whole thing, too,” Damien said. “And that demoness pretended to be someone familiar.”
Kaiser approached her. “I’m sorry, Sadie. But Blair’s probably dead if Mara is taking her form.” His eyes seemed so sad.
A lump formed in Sadie’s throat.
“That’s—” She choked on the words. She tried to swallow down the lump. “That can’t be right.”
Damien looked at both of them, his eyebrows knitting together. He turned toward her. “I don’t know what’s going on here, but he’s right, Sadie. Demons can sometimes take the look of the people whose souls they steal or buy, though it’s rare.”
Sadie didn’t speak. Dread wrapped around her heart, pulsing and swelling. Tears threatened to spill out from her eyes, stinging, and burning and itching. She clenched her teeth, trying her best not to break down in front of these men as she rubbed at her eyes to ease the tears and keep them at bay. She struggled to stay hopeful as she considered Mara taking Blair’s form was just a trick. Maybe there was another explanation. There had to be another explanation. But deep in her heart, she suspected the worst.
“Do you know who Mara is?” she asked Damien and Steele.
“No,” Damien said.
Steele shook his head.
So, Mara was probably unknown in the demon world, which likely contributed to her hunger for the pendant. Maybe she wanted it enough to steal Blair’s soul to get it. If that’s what happened. Sadie clenched her fists at her sides as she considered Mara using Blair as bait.
The dragon nudged her side and Sadie absently petted the scales on her new friend’s side. “Thanks for keeping us safe.”