“What is it?” she demanded. Jared was always cool and collected. To see him with an actual emotional response worried her like nothing else could.
The demon glanced around before grabbing a metal clock from the side table.
“Look.” He raised the back of the clock as a makeshift mirror.
Her reflection was warped but the curve of the metal couldn’t hide her eyes.
Or the flames burning in them.
With a yelp, she scrambled off of him. “What did you do to me?”
He sighed, running a hand through his hair. Darcy tried not to notice how the movement caused the muscles in his chest to bunch and loosen.
“I got carried away.” He sounded disgusted with the revelation. Nice to know she wasn’t the only one swept away in their lust. “I gave you more of my energy than intended.”
She swallowed. “Will it hurt me?”
He snorted. “No. But it might hurt me.”
“What do you mean?”
He glanced at her, the lust completely erased from his expression. “You should feel completely healed. Perhaps even better than you’ve felt in months.”
Darcy rolled her shoulders experimentally. She did feel good. A quick check showed her wounds had vanished. Not only that, she felt refreshed. The constant tension in her shoulders was gone.
“Yeah, I do feel pretty decent.”
“Because you’ve taken immortal energy into a mortal body. As I said, the effects will wear off but until they do, you’ll be harder to hurt. You’ll move faster and heal quicker. I wouldn’t be surprised if you other senses improved too. And, of course, there is this.” He grabbed her hand and snapped his fingers. Fire rushed over her skin.
She jerked her hand back automatically, only to realize the flesh hadn’t been burned.
“Fireproof?” she whispered.
“You’re welcome.” Jared didn’t seem pleased with the development and she couldn’t blame him. It was far harder to intimidate her into things when she was immune to his tricks.
“Can I do the things you do?” she demanded, her mind already spinning with the possibilities.
“No, but you’ll have a resistance to many of my gifts.”
She smiled slowly. “I gotta say, demon, this is an unexpected perk.”
He darted forward like a snake, grabbing her by the arms. “Do not mistake an imperviousness to my abilities for complete safety. I’m more than my magic.”
She gulped. “I know that.”
Jared released her and pushed to his feet.
Darcy followed, scrambling to stand, whereas every move Jared made was unintentionally elegant.
“Nothing goes as I intend it to with you,” he said, his back to her.
“How was it supposed to go?”
He glanced over his shoulder. “You were supposed to get the information I needed and be out of my life.”
She nodded. “Instead you had to save me.”
He said nothing.
“Thank you for that.”
The muscles in his shoulders stiffened. Darcy watched the telltale sign, pleased he hadn’t rescued his shirt from the floor.
“I do not require your thanks.”
She smiled at the tone. “Yeah, well, you’ve got it anyways.”
He didn’t turn.
“I suppose you’re not in the habit of rescuing humans.”
“I’m usually the one who does the breaking.”
She shivered. “Can I ask you a question?” she murmured, stopping behind him.
“I doubt my refusal would stop you,” he replied. She heard the dry humor in his voice and smiled.
“You didn’t have to save me to carry on with your plan. If I died, you could have always grabbed another hunter. I am…” She hesitated for a moment before facing the truth. “I am disposable to you. Replaceable.”
He turned slightly to see her.
“Why did you fight for me?” The question came out a whisper. Spirit toxin worked just as well on demons as it did on humans. He’d risked himself to save her.
And the demons she’d known all her life would never have committed such a selfless act.
Jared sighed as he turned to face her. His fingers rose to brush along her jaw, his thumb gliding over her lower lip. “I think,” he said, his gaze on her mouth, “that were you to die, I would discover you are not as replaceable as I’d thought.” His gaze flicked up to meet hers. “It is you I want, Snow. Not another hunter.”
Her pulse leaped at the declaration.
Jared leaned closer and ran his lips along the tender flesh of her neck up to her ear. “And I will have you before we are through,” he promised.
Darcy pushed him back, even as her nipples hardened in anticipation. “I don’t do demons.”
“Yet.”
There was no shaking the man’s confidence. She settled herself on the couch and reached for his wine. She needed some bracing.
Her gaze never left his as she sipped. The demon sank down gracefully at the opposite end on the couch, close enough to touch but far enough to give her room to think.
“We need to clear some things up,” she declared. “With our clothes on and our hands off each other.”
“No fun,” he purred, taking his glass from her hand and raising it to his lips.
Heat pooled between her legs at the sight. Watching him drink, his lips pressed to the same spot hers had been only moments before, was intimate. And she didn’t want to be intimate with this demon.
“You know more about what occurred last Halloween than I do.” She tried to ignore the way her body leaped in response to the way he fondled the wineglass.
“Yes.” His fingers glided around the thin rim with the same light touch he’d used on her skin.
“Sharing is caring.” Darcy snatched the glass from his hands, earning her another of his crooked half smiles.
“Last Halloween, something happened that should never have occurred.”
“With Kerilyn Whitney.”
“Yes. She died, but Arawn, the lord of the dead, wrestled her back from the edge. In doing so, he made her part spirit. Her transformation broke the rules that govern our world. Humans cannot become either demon or spirit, just as we cannot become mortal.”
“So the magic holding everything in place rebelled,” Darcy said, thinking aloud. “Kerilyn became part spirit and a tear opened between those two worlds.”
“Yes.”
She looked up at Jared. “Seems to me this is a human-spirit problem. Why are you here?”
“Any change to the structure of our worlds raises concerns. The development interests us.”
She took another sip of wine. “You want to use it for your gain.”
He smiled his enigmatic smile. “Leave demon interests to me. All we need to figure out is how to control the rift.”
“You mean close it,” she corrected.
“Of course.”
“Which is where I come in. Looks like humans are good for something after all.”
“On the contrary, I can think of several things you’d be good at.” His gaze drifted down her body and she snapped her fingers to regain his attention.
“None of that,” she warned.
He reclaimed the wine, his fingers caressing hers as the glass exchanged hands.
“I don’t trust you,” she murmured.
“Probably wise.”
“That’s all you have to say in your defense?”
He held the glass out to her wordlessly. Her fingers hesitated before wrapping around the stem.
“You I will not hurt,” he said, his voice low. “Not if I can help it. My sentimentality, however, does not extend beyond you.”
Her fingers tightened on the fragile glass. “Meaning you are still holding the ax over my head. Threatening those I care for.”
His eyes were hooded as they regarded her. “It is your weakness.”
Wine sloshed around the glass as she banged it against the coffee tabl
e. Darcy launched from the couch, needing distance from Jared. “And you will exploit my every weakness for your gain,” she said, disgust clear in her tone.
“If our positions were reversed, you would do the same.”
The words were said with such calm she wanted to claw his eyes out. He might want to bed her but she was still his pawn moving around the chessboard at his will.
“Blood,” she snarled, her back to him. “You need blood to close the portal.”
“Whose?”
A feral smile curved her lips. “Whitney blood. And Kerilyn was the last of her line. Figure your way out of that riddle, demon.”
* * *
Anger radiated from his hunter. Justified though he knew it to be, it still unsettled him. He didn’t want her angry. He wanted her warm and willing in his arms as she had been mere moments before.
Her back was stiff as she stood turned from him. Not many creatures dared to show their backs when in his presence. Darcy was too brave for her own good. Watching her expressive posture, he shook his head. He’d hurt her, though he’d broken no promises.
Not living up to her expectations, however, disappointed him.
Ridiculous. The only person’s opinion he cared about was his father’s. Approval from Abaddon would give him everything he’d ever wanted. Nothing else mattered.
“I will find the blood,” he said, breaking her angry silence.
“Good luck. Give me a call when you make it back from the spirit world, having successfully assaulted their queen.”
“There is always another way.”
“Really?” She glanced back at him. “There was no way for me to avoid you without endangering my friends, was there?”
She had a point. How was he to get Kerilyn’s blood when she was safely ensconced in a realm he couldn’t touch? Besides, his uncle would rip him limb from limb before he got anywhere near the hunter.
Jaral pushed himself from the sofa and paced away from Darcy. His father would never accept failure. There had to be a way.
His father.
He stilled. Abaddon had been there last Halloween. If anyone would know about Kerilyn’s bloodline it would be him.
He looked back at his hunter and felt a strange panic course through him. Summoning the king of demons in Darcy’s presence was asking for trouble. Letting her go when she possessed some of his powers was asking for worse.
“Hell.” There was one way to get the info he needed. One choice. “Darcy,” he said, moving to her side. “You need to go back to the bedroom. Now.”
She glared at him. No other creature living would think of disobeying a direct command from him, but this one little mortal stared him down.
“I’m not a naughty child you can send away.”
He caught her around the waist and hauled her up against his chest. Jaral knew surprise was the only reason she wasn’t attacking him and he made the most of it. “I am trying to protect you,” he said.
Her eyes widened as they met his.
“I can get our answers. Ones I will share, you have my word. But the method is not one you want to witness. What I call into this hotel room can never know of your existence. When I ask you to leave, it is because I’m doing my damnedest to keep you safe.”
The seriousness in his voice must have alerted her to the danger. Anger wiped clean from her face as she frowned. “What’s happening?” she demanded.
“My father will know what to do about the blood.”
Darcy swallowed hard. “Who’s your father?”
A bitter smile twisted his lips. His hunter was going to learn far more about him than he’d ever wanted her to know. For centuries he’d been a well-kept secret and now Darcy would know the truth. A truth she would take back to her brethren.
“Jared,” she breathed.
He ran a finger down her cheek. “Not my name.”
She hesitated for a moment, looking as uncertain as he’d ever seen her. “My stepfather has a theory,” she said finally. “That Abaddon has select sons who help run the demon realm. Sons with powers far greater than any one demon should ever possess.”
“Interesting idea.”
“Is it true?” The words were soft but he could hear the fear under them. He didn’t like it. Once she knew who he really was, would she challenge him as she did now? Or would she cower? A growl caught in his throat at the thought.
But she was watching him, waiting for her answer. There was no hiding now.
“Yes,” he confessed.
Her sharp inhale echoed in his ears.
“Who are you?” she whispered.
“Jaral.”
Recognition lit her eyes. Apparently he hadn’t been as secretive on past missions as he’d thought if she knew his name.
“Jaral. Abaddon’s son.”
He liked the sound of his real name on her lips. The fear in her eyes, however, made him want to break something.
“It’s all true?” she asked. “Demon princes supporting Abaddon. Others with gifts like yours.”
“Not many,” he replied. “I have many brothers but few rival my abilities. Those who do, my father keeps close at hand.”
She grew silent, her mind no doubt already working on how to use this information to the hunters’ advantage. But when she spoke, her words weren’t what he expected to hear.
“I’ve read ancient, half-crumbled stories about you. I thought it was myth. The demon’s version of a boogeyman.” Her gaze rose to meet his. “Why didn’t you kill me the night we met? Surely it would have been a simple matter for you.”
He looked down at her, seeing wariness and fear in her face, when before she had gone toe-to-toe with him. Jaral should have rejoiced. Finally he had the key to making her a biddable puppet he could use.
And he hated it.
With a growl he pulled her closer, his mouth slanting down on hers. Darcy’s lips parted under his. He could almost taste her surprise. For a moment she stood still under his hands as if uncertain of what she should do. But he was a determined man.
He pressed her soft body against his as his tongue teased hers. His kiss was meant to dominate, to consume. He meant to overwhelm her with passion until she thought of nothing but him.
It wasn’t long before Darcy yielded against him, tilting her head to give him better access. Her hands gripped his shirt as she used him for balance. The hesitant, unsure woman who had stood before him just seconds ago vanished under their mutual lust. As he returned her aggressive kiss he knew she wasn’t thinking of his royal demon blood. He’d wager she was focused on a far different part of his anatomy.
But as much as he’d love to waltz her back into the bedroom, he had other things to worry about.
Regretting the necessity, he pulled away. “The night we met I wanted to kiss you just like that,” he told her. “I might be Abaddon’s son but I’m still a man. What I feel for you has nothing to do with my bloodline.”
She looked up at him, this time with an expression far more calculating than fearful. Jaral knew he should mourn the return of her confidence but instead the sight made him want to smile.
“You need to go to the bedroom and stay there while I speak to my father. He cannot know you are here.”
“I want to hear what’s going on.”
“If my father suspects I’m hiding a hunter he will destroy you, Darcy.”
She shook her head. “He can’t come to this realm expect on Halloween.”
“That was before the magic holding our worlds went to hell,” he pointed out. “Besides, he doesn’t need to be here in the flesh to wreak havoc. You have to go.”
“But—”
“Please.”
The word startled both of them. Jared had meant to argue with her but instead the word that emerged was one he hadn’t uttered in centuries.
But it seemed to do the trick. Her mouth snapped shut, though the determination didn’t leave her eyes.
“You will tell me what happens,” she commanded him.
>
He smiled at the words. Only his father dared to give him orders. “I will share what I learn.”
Darcy nodded, glancing at the hall leading to the bedroom. Before she left, however, she turned back to him. “Are you going to be all right?”
He arched a brow. “Worried for a demon?”
Her gaze sidled away from his. “It’d be inconvenient to find a new demon partner.”
“So I’m replaceable,” he murmured, teasing her with the words she’d thrown at him not so long ago.
She looked up, her eyes wide and far too serious. “No,” she whispered. “I don’t think you are.”
Something tightened in his chest. Not my mate, he told himself. Not my bloody mate.
“Good,” he said. “Don’t make a sound.”
She nodded and ran for the bedroom. Waving a hand he cast the strongest enchantment he could weave over her door. Not only would the hunter be unable to hear his conversation, anyone in the suite would be unable to sense her. At least, in theory.
Staring at her door, he hesitated. He needed his father, needed the answers the king would bring. But still he worried. Over a human.
Shaking his head, Jaral strode to the large mirror hanging over the fireplace. Now or never.
“Abaddon,” he said, pressing his palm to the mirror. “My king, I have need of your guidance.” He pictured his words shooting through the mirror into the throne room and sure enough, he felt dark vibrations break through the air around him.
In the mirror’s reflection he saw the air behind him ripple. Spinning, he watched as Abaddon shimmered into life. His father could send a copy of himself through the realms when he wanted to. A useful tool when checking up on situations in the human world, especially given Abaddon was governed by the same laws as his brother.
With the rift shaking the magic of their worlds, however, who knew what his father was capable of?
Automatically Jaral bowed. “Your Majesty,” he greeted.
“Jaral,” Abaddon replied. “You have had three days. I require a report.”
Jaral straightened. “I’ve found a way to control the rift, but it requires blood. Kerilyn Whitney’s blood.”
A slow smile curved Abaddon’s lips. “Does it?”
“As far as I know, Kerilyn was the last of her line. We will have to find her.”
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