“I heard it.” She just wasn’t going to follow it. Everything would work out…probably…she hoped. Because it was based on a simple fact:
“He loves me.” That, she knew.
Thirty-Seven
Addison and Parker sat next to each other on the couch, trying to listen while trying to convince themselves they weren’t trying to listen. Total fail on all counts. Micah wasn’t the loud and abrasive type, and neither of them had supernatural hearing.
“What if the demon had your blood?” Parker blurted.
Addison’s mind had already been there, taken a couple trips around the block to look for something better, and then given up. “I can take away his powers, not his personality. So he’d still want to kill Keira. And me for doing it.” Even an unhappy ex-demon didn’t seem like a good thing to have around. “You might be able to get away though.”
“Well, that’s something, I guess,” Parker said dismissively. “If he were mortal, he’d be easier to kill.”
“Right now Keira’s figuring out how to safely give a portion of her soul to the guy. I don’t think she’d consider offing him as a mortal a compromise, do you?”
They both shut up quick when Keira opened the door. “M helped me figure it out, so…um…I’m going to go take care of it now. Thanks for your help.”
“We haven’t helped yet.” Addison pushed herself off the couch, keeping her head down. Her pathetic attempt to keep the pain from showing on her face only made it more obvious she was hurting. “Let’s get going.”
Parker slipped her arm through hers, taking some of her weight and getting close enough to whisper. “Are you sure you’re up to this?”
“I’ll live.” Addison saw the concern in her friend’s eyes and the new wrinkle she had between her eyebrows. That’s my fault. “How far is his place?”
If the hunter’s plan didn’t work out, Addison could spare a little blood. Probably. Of course, they wouldn’t know if it worked or not until after Keira only had half a soul, and no bodily fluid or supernatural power could put her back together again.
At least the demon lived in a luxury building with a great elevator. Long hallways, though.
Keira stopped and turned around. “Are you sure you’re okay, Addison?”
“Yeah, totally,” she said, thankful for a chance to catch her breath as subtly as possible. “I’ve been pulling too many all-nighters, busting my groove, stuff like that.”
“If something happened to you because of this, because of me, I—”
“Nothing’s going to happen…to me. I’m fine, really.” Although, the corner-of-the-eye glances were getting old. Understandable, considering how long she took to walk down the hallway, but still old.
Truthfully, Addison was fighting to stay upright. Her head pounded and she couldn’t stop blinking, as if that would help her balance. But so far, no one had realized exactly how bad it was or how much worse it seemed to be getting.
When you’re leading a rebellion, sick days have to be put off. It seemed kind of horrible to be tucked in bed with some soup, watching reality TV and feeling sorry for yourself while other people fought for their lives and everyone else’s. Keira had been totally right to call Addison out. She’d been hiding for months, afraid any decision she made would end up killing someone. While the fear would never be gone, she knew the only way to ensure a better life for any of them was to at least try.
“You know this might not work at all, right?” Addison whispered as Keira led them into the apartment. Why was she whispering? Not to wake up the sleepy demon? Yep, this was a truly terrible idea. How exactly were they going to exorcise a demon out of a demon? What if it went as wrong as she imagined it would?
Maybe she should’ve asked Graham to come as an advisor instead of sneaking away before he had a chance to tell her how stupid this idea was.
“I’m not afraid, Addison. You shouldn’t be either.”
“Oh please, Keira. If you think this is me being afraid, you’ve never seen me in front of a hungry vampire.” She was pretty sure she smiled. Could’ve been more of a grimace or a sneer, but she’d been going for a smile. Then she saw the demon. He definitely wasn’t smiling. “Crap. Are you serious?”
Keira’s demon was Davyn? The hunter had fallen for the one demon Addison knew and hated more than any other—at least until that other demon had come along. Although, now that it was gone, she would happily go back to hating Davyn the most. He looked more brutal than she remembered, but she recognized him. Still gorgeous in a terrifying way.
“I should’ve known he would send you after Lamere,” Addison said, “and that you wouldn’t listen when he told you to back off.”
“You know each other?” Keira glanced back and forth between them.
“We met. Wouldn’t call it a highlight in my life.”
“First and last time we’ll ever agree, vitae,” he said.
“Oooh, it speaks.” She looked at Keira. “Sorry, but I’m not a fan. He took someone I care about into hell.” Metaphorically, when someone says they’d go through hell for you, it’s sweet and romantic. When someone literally goes through hell for you, it’s not so much sweet as it is really fucking stupid.
“Still don’t get why he’d make a deal just to save your useless ass,” the demon muttered.
There were times Addison wondered the same thing. “What did he give you?” Until now, she hadn’t given much thought to how Rhyse had gotten through hell, just that he had.
“He didn’t make the deal with me, princess.”
“What does that mean?” If her heart hadn’t already been double-timing it from the walk, it would’ve started at his comment.
“You don’t know.” His laugh was cruel, biting, chilling. “He didn’t tell you. So many secrets.”
“Who made the deal?” she shouted.
“Nobody but those who deserve to be there can go through the Devil’s domain without speaking to the big man himself.”
“Tell me what happened, or I’ll make sure you spend the next fifty years strapped to that bed. At the bottom of the ocean.”
“Addison,” Keira hissed.
“I need to know.” This could affect Rhyse and the entire war. Check that. Then take it back because it wasn’t exactly true. Yes, it would affect the war, but it was mostly about Rhyse.
“No worries, puppet. I’ll tell her,” he said to Keira. “Simple trade—passage through hell in exchange for a soul. The soul is really old though, so it’s not like the vamp hasn’t enjoyed the good things in life.” Davyn smiled at Addison, then Keira, before turning his head from all of them. “Like spending some time in between the firm thighs of that special someone.”
Addison felt the air leave her lungs, catching herself when her knees gave way. “That’s a lie. He wouldn’t have traded himself. He… He would have told me.” That was a lie too. Rhyse wouldn’t have told her. Because if he had, she’d still be trying to slap the stupid out of him.
One calamity at a time. She took a deep breath. Step one: deal with the demon. Step two: get hold of that bastard who had sold his soul for her. Nah, she didn’t have that kind of time or patience. She’d have to multitask. “I need to call a friend. Two friends, actually.”
Then she’d get a cup of tea and relax for a little while, because she felt very close to death.
‘Thanks, M.’ Angels sent messages so much faster than a carrier pigeon or any of the ways Addison and Rhyse normally got messages to each other. Rhyse. She felt a little light-headed when she saw him, mostly because it still confused the hell out of her why someone so perfect wanted her once, let alone permanently. The wooziness might also be connected to the body aches that made her feel like her parachute hadn’t opened.
“What is going on?” His back was to her, so he hadn’t seen Addison yet, his focus only on Davyn.
“Last time I checked,” the demon growled, “we were on the same side, vamp. So you’re obligated to get me the fuck out of here.”
“And I shall…immediately after I uncover why an angel directed me to a place where I would find a demon strapped to a bed.”
“Déjà vu, right?” He spun towards Addison before she’d made it through the first poorly-pronounced syllable. She blinked and he stood right in front of her.
“I thought I imagined your scent, that I—” He lifted her chin, studying her. “You are not well. Why was I not told?”
“It’s just a little cold. Human body.” She shrugged. “What can you do?”
“Send a message to your lover whose blood will make you well.”
Why did the word ‘lover’ still make her blush? Especially now that it was so seldom true? But this wasn’t the time to blush. This was the time to be really angry at him.
“That can wait. We need to talk now.” Her finger landed dead center in his chest and definitely hurt her a lot more than him.
“From your tone, I am sure it will be a lovely conversation.”
“Oh, it won’t be.” They couldn’t talk freely unless they were alone. “But it’s not happening here because these people shouldn’t be exposed to all that yelling.”
“And then you will drink from me.”
“Yeah, whatever. Sure.” Truth: She couldn’t wait to taste him again, in all sorts of ways. Right now she would give anything to feel good, or even normal, again. Keira had been pacing in the hallway for the last fifteen minutes, so Addison turned to Parker. “Don’t let her do anything crazy until we get back, okay?”
“I have about as much control over her as I do over you.”
Addison grimaced. “Sorry.”
“Hey, vamp!” Davyn yelled. “I’m not getting any younger or happier over here.”
“I will be back well before your tour is over, I assure you.” He wrapped his arm around her. “Try not to vomit on me, Addison.”
As soon as they phased into…“A hotel room—really?” The bed looked comfy though, maybe they could—
She pushed away, not sure if she was more nauseous or more furious. “What were you thinking making a deal with the Devil?”
His eyes widened fractionally. “It is difficult to recall my exact thoughts, but I believe it involved you being in danger and the witches attempting to start an interracial war in my zone. But again, it was months ago, so I cannot be sure.”
“Did you trade your soul, Rhyse?”
His pause gave her heart enough time to palpate, stop, and then start beating irregularly. “I do not know.”
How could anyone forget something like that? “So, like, the Devil was vague on the details, or you just weren’t paying attention?”
“It happened very quickly.” He ran his hand from her shoulder down her arm, and then took her hand. “I had no memory of the event afterward. While I never intended to trade my own soul, I cannot be absolutely sure the deal was not struck regardless.” His tone held no tension. “He is, after all, the Devil and has far more experience with this sort of thing than I.”
“How can you not even be worried about it?”
He brought her hand to his lips and kissed her palm. “What is done is done and cannot be altered. Worrying is useless.”
“Well, that’s just great,” she said, pulling her hand back. “Because now I get to do all the worrying for you. Can’t you ask him or get whatever you agreed to in writing?”
“Davyn offered to attempt to find out when he returned to hell. I intend to speak with him as soon as it is possible.”
“Great. Let’s go back so you can tell him to do it.”
“It is not yet possible, Addison. Davyn will not tell me now. In a few decades, if he has discovered anything, he will tell me. But not as he is now.” In a few decades? She’d forgotten how differently they saw time…and everything else. She didn’t have that kind of time. But if Keira’s plan worked, Davyn would be more agreeable and they wouldn’t have to wait twenty years. If it worked.
“That’s why we’re here…there,” she said quickly, excitedly. “To change Davyn back…or forward. Does it matter which way we go? Anyway, whichever it is, as long as it stops Keira from sharing her soul with him.”
“The hunter wishes to bond with Davyn in this manner? Understanding what that means?”
“Yeah, but she wouldn’t have to if I make him human.”
He looked off, maybe in the direction they’d left, who knew? “Davyn never would have taken her soul from her, but to give it freely is her decision. Something between the two of them and the love they share, or rather, the love they did share and will share again, once Davyn returns to who he was. Would you take away the choice of two separate beings who have never trespassed against you?”
“You mean besides taking my boyfriend to visit the Devil?” When he grimaced, she realized how unpleasantly shrieky her voice was. She cleared her throat and tried again. “Keira’s young and confused enough to think she’s in love with a demon. That makes Davyn dangerous to someone I care about.”
“No, it does not. It may sadden you to know a friend is taking a risk you disapprove of, but it is her soul, her reasons, and her choice. It has nothing to do with you.”
“It’s illegal! Immoral, unethical.” Addison paced a little, spoke with her hands a lot, but none of it was convincing either of them. “Just an all-around terrible idea.”
“Davyn came to me seeking advice I could not give him. I, in turn, sought out the angel to see if there was any way I could help another find the happiness I cannot have. Do you know why the law forbidding demons to lay with humans exists? Because lower-level demons who escape a summoning circle have raped human women and stolen their souls to gain a lifetime of complete freedom from their Master. The law exists to protect humans and avoid the damage a lower-level demon would cause on earth. If your friend offers her soul to Davyn, it is not stolen. It is a gift.”
“She’ll wilt and die.”
He shook his head. “Davyn will not leave her. He could not, even when I ordered him to. I believe he loves her…in his own unusual way. If the two halves of the soul are kept together, shared, she will not diminish. It is only if they are separated that the danger exists.”
“How do you know that?”
“I am proof of it.” He paused. “Do you not feel lessened from who you were while you and I were together?”
“We don’t share—” Yeah, they did. “It’s not the same thing.”
His jaw clenched, and he drew back. “There is little I can say to prove the truth to someone as unwilling to believe it as you are. Perhaps you should ask the angel. Perhaps you trust him.”
“I trust you, too.”
“I often wonder if I love you because you frustrate me so profoundly, or despite it.” He bit back whatever he was going to say next. “Now, if you are done yelling at me, you need my blood. And you will take it, preferably while we make love, although the two activities can also occur sequentially. As long as they both occur. Then we can return and deal with Davyn.”
Powers, she wanted to, but she wasn’t sure she could. “We don’t have time. We need to be there, just in case. Then we can talk to Davyn and find out if he spoke to the Devil about you.”
“My soul can wait. My heart cannot.”
“Rhyse, you can’t put it off. We’re not talking about a dentist appointment here.”
“If it was my soul I traded, the Devil cannot claim it until I am…dust.” The grin didn’t touch anything but the corners of his mouth. “When that happens, I hope to have your taste on my lips, your scent in my lungs, and every part of you in my memory. So you will drink my blood, I will have my way with you, and you will not refuse me again. Do you understand me, vitae?”
“I just think—”
He put his hand over her mouth. “That is the trouble. Too much thinking. Not enough doing. Therefore, you should be very grateful you have me, because I will not leave until I have finished doing you.”
She flinched, then laughed. “Tell Logan to stop teaching you new expressions.
’Cause it’s not working.”
When darkness crept into her vision, blacking out everything on both sides of her, she shook her head to clear it. But it didn’t stop moving, swallowing the room bit by bit. A shiver ran through her, confusion and heat spreading from her center out.
“I don’t feel so good,” she said weakly, watching his expression change from playful to concerned to fearful. He held her up with one arm, tearing his fangs through the other wrist and putting it to her mouth.
“Damn it, Addison, drink.”
“It’s just a cold…or the flu.” The fear didn’t quite sink in until she felt the warmth of his blood on her tongue. It didn’t taste of anything, didn’t excite her or make her want more—things that always happened when she drank from him.
“Your body is human, Addison. It can be harmed in millions of different ways.”
She looked up when he said her name again sharply. Tried to assure him everything was okay, even knowing it wasn’t. Knowing that what she’d thought was the flu, unsure of what else it could be, wasn’t a human sickness at all.
“Why are you so stubborn? So unwilling to admit you are not invincible?”
Because she had to be invincible. Because so many people’s lives depended on her not being as weak as she was. I am. Weak. Whatever small amount of control she had over her body slipped away. But Rhyse was there to catch her. He was always there to catch her. And yell at her.
The darkness swallowed everything but him. Then, even his incredible features began to blur. No! No, she couldn’t lose him.
“Rhyse?” She loved him for so many reasons. “Don’t let me die, Rhyse. I can’t die yet. I have too much to do…for my family. Don’t let me—”
Thirty-Eight
Addison still hadn’t come back, and Parker still wasn’t saying where she’d gone. Or how, for that matter. So—yay—Keira had another reason to worry. If Parker had seemed at all worried, Keira would’ve…well, she didn’t know what she would’ve done, but it would’ve included violence.
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