Demon Untamed (Shadow Quest Book 4)

by Kiersten Fay

  “The lady has set the challenge,” Ivan replied with a tone of finality, and then headed out of the bar with his men.

  Ethan turned to her. “Sonya, this is insane.”

  She shrugged and followed behind Ivan. “What’s insane is bringing me among a group of pirates and expecting me to be docile.”

  He groaned furiously. Note to self.

  Back in the arena, Tak and Koda readied the machine as Ethan tried once more. “Please, you don’t need to do this.”

  Sonya shot him a sweet smile, and he gritted his teeth, feeling her resolve. “I’m not afraid of a hunk of tin.”

  Ivan called from the side of the ring, “It’s set for light damage only and to pin, not kill.” Then he added ominously, “But I’m not responsible if something goes awry. It’s designed to battle machines twice its size, not cute little girls with hot arses and killer moves.”

  Ethan grabbed her by the hand as she moved to enter the ring. “Sonya, please.”

  She leaned down and planted her lips on his, and chirped, “Kiss for luck.” Then she pulled away from his grasp.

  The sight of her next to the steely bot had him frozen in fear. She looked even smaller than normal with the hulking machine more than three times her size coming to a stand. His gut flipped and pinched so badly he feared he might vomit.

  Might as well have another blade sliding through my organs. The pain would be the same.

  The machine took a hefty step forward. Its shoulders were bulky and wide, making the head look small and out of proportion. Its arms and legs were twice as thick as Sonya’s body, the metal mechanics exposed and bulging like living muscle. Ivan had attempted to make the thing fashionable with strategically placed purple and black embellishments racing along the few flat pieces of the metal that doubled as body armor, but it still looked gruff with countless nicks and dings, no doubt from numerous battles.

  Battles won!

  Sonya stood looking up at the bot as if it were just a bug to be squashed instead of an eighty ton death machine, her black hair falling in waves down her back.

  This can’t be happening!

  “You’ve got one hell of a female there, Ethan. Although, a bit addled, no?” Ivan said from behind him. “I’ll give her one round before I stop this.”

  That did nothing to ease Ethan’s mind. He was helplessly transfixed as the bot began the fight. Its great massive arm descended toward the mat right above Sonya.

  A painful bellow stuck in his throat.

  Sonya dodged the bot’s first strike easily.

  The thing was slower up close than it had looked from afar. She determined the only way it could land a strike was if it caught her by surprise.

  Gripping a thick band in its still down-stretched arm, she swung her legs up and planted her feet atop the wide appendage. Then she climbed the length to its shoulder, positioning herself by the head. Rearing her fist back, she slammed through one of its orange glowing eyes.

  The bot reached for her, metal groaning as if in pain. She knew it wasn’t, but it made her feel better to imagine it was so. Dodging its grasp, she shuffled along its upper back to the other side of the machine’s thick shoulder, intending to take out the second eye.

  This might turn out to be easier than she thought.

  In a surprising move, the bot sprang up and flipped itself over to drive the shoulder she was perched on into the mat. Spoke too soon.

  Just before she was crushed under all that metal, she pushed off with her legs, landing oddly and hastily rolling to a stand.

  The bot’s free arm arched toward her. She quickly planned her next move, but a burst of flares erupted from the bot’s elbow joint, increasing the speed of its swing.

  Metal knuckles bashed into her torso. The air jettisoned from her lungs in a harsh burst. Her body was propelled back, landing hard on the mat.

  She forced her eyes to focus.

  The machine pushed to its full height and targeted her again. Mustering her strength, she rolled out of the way, still gasping for oxygen as its hammer-like fist smashed down where she had just been.

  It was easy to call on the Edge since she had so recently evoked it twice, and she embraced the burst of energy it provided. As the machine came at her again, she jumped to her feet in a twisting move that took her from its destructive path. The mat rumbled under her.

  Catching her balance, she raced straight at the bot and then slid feet first between its legs, slicing a thick exposed hose near its heel with her claws as she went. Compressed air hissed out of the now writhing tube, but it didn’t seem to cause much damage.

  She jumped to a stand. The bot turned toward her, its single orange eye boring down where she stood. Raising both of its huge, shining hands together, it brought them down fast and hard. This time, she anticipated the tricky blast of extra speed and dove out of the way. When the blow collided with the mat, she once more leapt onto its bicep, intending to scramble to its back.

  The damn thing rose up fast and then shook her off. As she tumbled through the air, she was caught mid-fall by the rocket-induced speed. It was like a one-two punch. Metal met flesh, causing her mind to blank. The second hit came when she bounced off one of the taut oversized ropes of the ring and landed face first into the mat.

  Although she was badly dazed, instinct told her to move and move now! She rolled to the side, her vision tunneling. Next to her, the mat vibrated harshly, springing her into the air.

  She could hear Ethan yelling from far away, but could not make out what he was saying. He sounded in pain. She realized then that she had left him with those pirate mercenaries. They could be doing anything to him while their bot kept her busy.

  While she was helpless.

  Her mind was transported to a dark corner inside a small crawlspace where terrible sounds brought tears to her eyes. “No!” she screamed. Loss and regret conspired with helplessness to bring forth a deluge of boiling rage.

  Ethan screamed for Sonya to get out of the ring as panic flooded him. She’d taken some pretty harsh hits and was shaking her head hard as if trying to come out of a daze. He couldn’t even glean the machine’s next moves to yell out at her.

  Word of the unorthodox fight must have spread through the complex because the stands were quickly filling up with excited onlookers.

  He didn’t give a shit about any of them.

  “Sonya! Get up!” he pleaded, banging his palm on the mat.

  She did, but he didn’t think it was because of his desperate cries. She’d gone fully demonic, her horns and eyes aflame, her fangs descending. She met his gaze for only a second as the bot’s massive raised foot barreled down on her. She gracefully flipped backward, avoided the crushing hit, and then latched on to its calf. With a chilling war cry, she dug her claws in past the cords of metal. Oil spewed in an arch, coating her to her shoulder and spilling onto the mat.

  The bot lifted its fist and brought it down, crushing part of its own leg trying to get to her. More black liquid spewed. Ethan’s heart stuttered, chest squeezing. Then he spotted her holding onto the bot’s forearm as it began rising into the air, her body dangling straight down. When she was high up off the mat, the machine pulled its other arm back and engaged the rocket thrusters.

  She vaulted her legs up, flipping her body around and coming to rest on top of the bots arm in a squat. With the power of the thrusters, the bot was unable to alter the path of his swing, and the hit flew past where she had been moments ago.

  She let out a raging snarl and launched towards the bot’s head, thrusting her fist into its remaining eye socket. The machine made a grinding noise of protest. Yanking her hand back, she crawled to its shoulders and planted her feet on either side of its head. Then she cocked her fist and brought it down hard, penetrating the apex of the shiny metal skull. The orange light that still flickered from one of its ruined sockets died out as Sonya ripped free a handful of wires covered in black ooze.

  The machine toppled chest first to the mat, and s
he rode it to a stop, never losing her balance.

  The room went silent. Even Ethan had lost his breath. Sonya’s chest heaved with exertion as she fisted the machine’s innards in her hand. Nothing had ever looked so terrible or so beautiful.

  A deafening roar erupted from the crowd, shaking Ethan free of his stupor. He rushed onto the mat and grasped her in his arms, cursing her for making him sick with worry and thanking the gods she was alright.

  As Sonya inhaled the deep musky scent of Ethan, unimaginable relief washed over her. He was alright…and yelling at her. So what else was new?

  “Holy crap! I should have charged for that,” Ivan bit out as he approached them on the mat. “That was the most—”

  Ethan let go of Sonya and turned to crack Ivan hard across the jaw. Ivan stumbled back, landing against the outstretched arm of his broken bot.

  “Okay,” Ivan said, rubbing the side of his face. “I’ll give you that one.”

  “It could have killed her!” Ethan shrieked, stalking toward Ivan.

  “But it didn’t. And now I’m out one bot. Tell me there’s more where she came from! I mean, I figured she was one tough female, but that? That, I was not expecting.”

  Sonya glanced around. The crowd was still high from the fight, some of them offering a play by play to those who were just now arriving. Noticing the oily wires and goop in her grip, she flung the mess to the mat. It landed with a squishy thud.

  “Well, this outfit is ruined,” she commented, looking down at herself.

  “You’re worried about your clothes?” Ethan snapped. “Of course! I must be insane. Forgive me for not asking! How are your clothes? Are they hurt?”

  “Just sore,” she assured with a rakish grin. “They’ll probably have a few nice bruises in an hour.”

  Ethan pinned her with a hard stare. “Don’t ever do something like that again.”

  She raised a brow. Never would she promise something so ridiculous. Ethan ground his teeth, realizing it as well. Yet something in his expression made her study him closer.

  “You were really worried for me?”

  He reared back as if she’d slapped him rather than asked a simple question. “Of course. Did you think I wouldn’t be?”

  She shrugged. “You shouldn’t be. It would be easier for you if I—”

  “You think I should prefer you dead?” He stepped away, his eyes wild.

  Sonya blinked, confused by his sudden outrage. She wasn’t sure exactly what she was trying to say. It was all too clear that her body longed to claim him, and that should alarm him. It alarmed her! The fact remained: he would soon begin courting Kyra. And yet, if he continued to gaze at Sonya the way he had been over the last few weeks, continued stroking her desire to fevered heights…she might be forced to cut a bitch.

  Even if said bitch was likable.

  It would dishearten Ethan if she did anything to harm Kyra. But if Sonya became any more attached…if she allowed herself to fall for him as she feared she was…she wouldn’t have a choice. The instinct to claim her mate would become too great. She could feel it creeping over her even now.

  He had to know the danger.

  She tried again, “All I’m saying is it would just be easier, and—”

  Before she could finish, Ethan whirled around and climbed out of the ring, not stopping his retreat till he was out the door. She glanced at Ivan as if this stranger would hold the answer to Ethan’s behavior.

  However, Ivan was looking at her as if she were the next big thing. “You must fight for me. I’ll pay you well, the best of everything.”

  “Not going to happen,” she hissed. “So, your bot’s scrap metal. Will you help us now or not?”

  “Lun feist, I will follow you anywhere.”

  * * *

  Ethan waited for Sonya to join him at the transport unit, fuming. He couldn’t imagine a time when he had been so furious in his life. She thought he wouldn’t care if she died! More accurately, that he should be happy about it—figuring he would be relieved to be free of her. Free to court another.

  What the hell was wrong with her?

  How could she believe he could want another? Admittedly, he hadn’t spouted any sappy declarations of love or anything, but didn’t he make up for that every time they were together?

  A dark suspicion invaded his mind. Was she projecting her own desires onto him? Did she want to be free of him? His fists clenched. Of course she did. She made no secret of that fact. She’d been appalled from the start to find he was her mate.

  A lowly pirate.

  Peering down the hall, he caught Sonya’s approach and hated that he couldn’t keep his eyes off the sway of those curvy hips. Hips that were always soft and relenting under his touch. She was still partly soaked with black oil, which had carved out small rivers down her slender arm to her fingertips. Even filthy and fresh from a fight, even as angry as he was with her, she had him standing to full attention.

  By the gods, could he be any more pathetic?

  Ivan and two others followed behind her like newly acquired pets.

  “So, you’re joining us, then?” Ethan muttered abrasively.

  “A deal’s a deal,” Ivan replied, eyeing Sonya as though he were in love.

  Ethan ignored the violence that stirred inside him. “Then let’s go.”

  All the way back to the ship, Sonya watched Ethan with open curiosity, while he avoided looking at her altogether. She was so used to having his undivided—if sometimes unwanted—attention, being without it caused an odd feeling to bloom in her stomach.

  Standing near the ship’s entrance, Sebastian spotted them. “Where’ve you been?” he inquired, then eyed group of mercenaries.

  Ethan marched past him into the ship without answering.

  Sebastian turned to Sonya with a what-the-fuck expression.

  “Beating up a robot,” she offered flippantly, then added, “Found some mercenaries in the process.” She peered past Sebastian, seeing Ethan disappear around a corner. Absently, she introduced her flock. “Ivan, Tak, Koda, this is your new captain, Sebastian.”

  Ivan gave a bow with a flamboyant wave of the hand that screamed of insolence. Adhering to authority wasn’t going to be the mercenaries’ strong suit, but at this point it wasn’t submission they needed, it was warriors.

  To Ivan, she said, “Sebastian will show you around. Excuse me.” She disregarded Bastian’s stunned expression as she hurried into the ship, calling after Ethan.

  He did not acknowledge her, merely continued on his way.

  “I don’t understand your anger,” she said, closing in on him.

  He turned on her, a slew of emotions flexing behind fierce eyes: wrath, indignation, outrage…but the one that sliced through her heart was anguish.

  “Would you be happy if I were dead?” he snapped.

  The question stopped her dead. For a moment, she couldn’t speak, and when she was finally able, all that came out was a quiet, “What?”

  “If I were gone, out of your life, would you like that?”

  A baffling pain shrouded her chest, spreading like the oil slick that coated her right side.

  “Well!” he bellowed, his voice so loud it shook her eardrums.

  How was it she could have no qualms about battling a massive killing machine, yet this male so easily terrified the courage right out of her?

  He waited for her answer, his expression darkening with every muted second.

  She wanted to tell him: Hell no, I don’t want you out of my life! I’m hopelessly addicted and possibly falling for you. But what she managed instead was a lame, “No.”

  “Then why would I?” He threw his arms in the air.

  “It’s not the same for you,” she countered. The urge to sink her teeth into him with each intimate encounter was great. Controllable, but great. And it was something she would never be rid of unless she finally did claim him. But she couldn’t resign herself to such a vulnerable position. If she claimed him, she would be saddl
ed with him alone…while he could go off willy-nilly and be with any female of his choice. A matebond with her would mean nothing to him. And that kind of betrayal would kill her.

  His eyes closed tight, and he squeezed his hands into fists. “It’s not the same, is it? I’m glad I have you here to inform me of what I feel. I would have no idea otherwise.”

  Sonya’s jaw fell open, but she quickly shut it.

  His expression turned merciless. “Oh, please. Keep going. You’re on a role. Why don’t you tell me next how unworthy I am for being a pirate, or how in love I am with Kyra?”

  Her eyes began to burn, but she choked back the tears. She knew their relationship was nearing its end, she just hadn’t expected it to end like this, or so soon. “I never suggested you loved her, merely that you wanted her.”

  “Ah, that’s much better. Couldn’t possibly want the stubborn, irritating female I’ve been fucking!”

  She gasped, not at his crude language, but the fact that he’d just admitted to wanting her instead of Kyra…for more than a bed partner?

  Rationally, she told her she was reading too much into his words. That he couldn’t possibly mean what she thought. More likely he just meant to keep their liaison going. But why? And how could it after this?

  “For the love of the gods! How can you not see?” His eyes softened, anger draining away, yet a hint of pain remained. It tore at her.

  He moved in close, backing her into the cool metal wall of the corridor. She let him, needing what he was about to offer because it would put a temporary patch over the razor-sharp fear that was ripping a hole her gut.

  He curled a finger under her chin and then pressed their lips together. Soft at first, testing. Then the pressure increased and the kiss turned desperate, for both of them. Their tongues collided. Sonya reveled in his warmth, his taste, letting it take her mind to a place without thought.

  The depths of her soul cried out for more, but a hazy part of her brain sensed others watching. She almost didn’t care. Heat expanded over her skin, and the most primitive form of desire settled between her legs.