by C. M. Owens
She sounds close to tears, and Kya’s eyes water. With no demon in her, the humanity she’s suppressed for so long seems to be spilling out too emotionally. She sniffs and wipes her eyes, and I pull her to me.
“Stay inside,” Kya says. “Stay inside and locked behind all the markings and spells you can find. Don’t be in this, Karma. Don’t be anywhere near it. If they get their hands on your baby—”
Her words break off, and she struggles not to sob. I hold her tighter as she stares at the phone.
“They’ll never touch my child,” Karma finally says, a lethal tone to her voice. “I’m not a mule, and I’m never going to turn my child over. They’ll have to kill me first.”
So she does know. But she never talks about it?
“You knew?” Kya asks in a hoarse whisper, echoing my thoughts.
“I read about it after the rings were dissolved. Dice found the information. They had several documented cases. I never found ours, but judging by what I was reading... It all sounded too familiar. It all made sense. I did the math.”
“Why didn’t you say anything?” someone asks her, but I’m not sure who. Frankie maybe?
“Because we have too much other stuff going on,” Karma says on a long breath. “Always too much.”
“Where’s my mother?” I ask when the silence drones on.
“I’m here,” she says, and relief hits me again. “Calypso and I are looking through the archives to see if we can find this spell the dipshit asshole spoke of. There’s got to be a way to ward against it. If he’s right, they’ll hit us with it again. Something this strong would drain a coven of its collective energy. They’d need to refuel to replicate it so soon.”
“If they’re mortal witches who’ve come back as demons, they’ve been collecting energy for centuries from the rings,” Gage tells her. “Which is yet another reason for them to have taken it over.”
Mom curses, and she and Calypso start talking about which books would be the most effective. Kya leans into me, her heart hammering. Then a loud sound comes from her stomach, and she jerks back to stare down in shock.
“Um... The hell was that?” I hear Ella ask.
“I think Kya is hungry,” I say, trying not to laugh at the horror on her face. Because now is not the best time to laugh about anything. But she looks so lost and confused and fascinated in the same breath.
Her stomach growls again, this time louder, and she covers it as her cheeks bloom a pink blush. She averts my eyes, and I cover my mouth as my body shakes with silent laughter.
“Now that you mention it, I’m assuming that’s the huge ache in the pit of my stomach,” Ella is saying. “And blood doesn’t sound the least bit appealing.”
“So we order food and stay inside. Go in pairs to retrieve food, and watch your back. I honestly have no idea how mortals survive,” Gage says on a long sigh.
“It’s just been a while since you’ve been flesh and blood. We got this,” Kimber tells him.
“Pretty sure she just called you old,” Zee points out.
“Really fucking glad our age isn’t affected by this spell,” Drackus grumbles.
“There’d be some dust piles if it was,” Ella snickers.
As the conversation dissolves into nothing of importance, I end the call and pocket my phone. We’re both dressed now, but the room is in shambles. Even though she has on shoes now, I still lift her into my arms, worried about her fragile body being hurt by anything.
She doesn’t protest. I think she’s just as terrified as I am.
“What do we do until we get our powers back?” she asks as I walk outside. I turn my back on the ones who have started trying to flip a car over. I’m not sure if they’re helping or just acting like idiots, and I don’t want Kya’s body facing them.
All my protective instincts are on overdrive right now.
“We find a hotel room that isn’t smashed to pieces,” I tell her.
I remember one important thing. I can still run. I could probably run us back as fast as I could drive us, but I’d tire eventually, and who knows what could happen to her in the process.
Not to mention, I’m sure some mortals would notice a blur of a man running by.
It also might make her sick with the speed in her mortal state.
Never mind. I can’t fucking run.
“And then what?” she asks, breaking me out of my reverie.
“What do you do for fun when you’re locked inside a house?”
“Sharpen the knives.”
No knives with those hands. In fact, I’ll be removing her weapons belt as soon as we’re tucked away.
With her black sleeveless shirt and the hood attached, black leather pants, and her combat boots, she looks like something right out of comic book once you toss in that long sheath and dagger.
“What else?” I ask her, walking briskly down the sidewalk, skillfully dodging people who are rushing by, and ignoring the loud arguments or fights.
“Slade usually reads old magic books to me while we strategize.”
“He reads to you?” I ask, confused.
Then I remember what Zee said when she stiffens, and I internally curse myself.
Kya grew up in the rings. The only thing she can read is encoded slave language they made up to avoid the guards finding out what they were writing.
“Yeah,” she says quietly.
“I didn’t... Shit. Sorry,” I tell her.
She tightens her lips. “I can read star charts. I can read maps. I can read things like that. It’s just... English is an extensive language, and it’s difficult sometimes. I’m learning to read the words.”
Pretty fucking heartbreaking.
“Slade could probably spell you to help you learn faster.”
She shakes her head. “I don’t like spells being used on me, unless absolutely necessary. They’re too unpredictable and come with side effects most times. My sister is pregnant, and she was spelled against it, in case you’ve forgotten.”
I nod as I continue walking, feeling like shit for putting that sad, lost look in her eyes.
“What do you do for fun? You keep talking battle prep.”
“I’ve been in a cage for most of my life. Surviving is all I’ve ever known. The only fun pastime I’ve ever had was sex.”
Really fucking hate that answer. For sooo many reasons. One? My beast wants to murder anyone who touched her before me. Which is insane. Right? Yeah. Definitely insane.
Still want them dead.
Two? I can’t touch her while she’s mortal. I’m too out of control when I’m inside her, and her current body can’t handle a full-fledged immortal being unleashed on her like an animal.
Three? Now I want to ask her who’s touched her so I can kill them and never think of it again.
Okay, so that’s back to reason number one.
“What are you thinking?” she asks as I turn down another street that seems to have received less damage.
I’m thinking I’m a savage right now and having just the dragon inside me is wreaking havoc on my sensibility.
Obviously I don’t tell her that.
“I’m thinking I need to show you what you’ve been missing. After I get you safely tucked into a room.”
She waggles her eyebrows, something so uncharacteristic for her. She seems a little carefree, despite the dire circumstances. Human is actually becoming on her—if it didn’t make her so motherfucking fragile.
“Not like that,” I mumble, finding it odd she laughs so freely at my response. “I’m too much for you now.”
“Egotistical much?” she teases.
My lips twitch as she grins broadly, her face transforming. Humans aren’t supposed to have the same effect on you as an immortal. She’s as human as all the ones running scared through the streets right now, yet she’s still under my skin, possibly even more so.
I finally find a hotel that looks doable. Thankfully I have my wallet with me. I can’t remember the last time I checked
into a hotel legitimately.
Once I give a quick scan of the lobby, I decide it’s safe for Kya to be on her feet. My protective instincts are running wild right now.
The power flickers ominously, but stays on just as we reach the front desk. The woman behind it seems completely unfazed by all the madness going on, as though this is just another day.
She gives a rueful smile. “Can I get you a room?”
Chapter 20
CHAZ
Kya is kicked back on the bed when I return, her feet propped on a pillow as she watches TV. She doesn’t even notice me come in with her hearing being so... human. The TV is loud enough to mask the sound of my entrance, so I take a moment to watch with appreciation.
I’ve been rushing around, possibly using too much speed, because I couldn’t keep calling her every two seconds. I think she was getting annoyed with the fact I was panicking about her being okay without me.
My arms are loaded down with things to entertain her for the night, but she’s the one entertaining me at the moment.
She’s just wearing her underwear, and she’s laughing at whatever is being said on the TV. I’m too distracted with her to notice what’s even playing.
The sound of her laughter is infectious, causing my own smile to spread for no other reason. Deciding I could stare at her all night but the food would get cold, I break the spell by startling her with my ‘sudden’ arrival.
She spots me and jerks at first, reaching for a knife she won’t find. When she sees me, she calms and flashes her smile at me. “I didn’t hear you come in.”
“Why is it that the world is in complete disarray, yet you finally seem a little... freer?”
Her smile falters, and I hate myself for asking.
“Because I feel like I have...” Her words trail off as she looks over at the clock. “Twenty more hours before my shoe fits again.”
“Your shoe fits again?”
She frowns. “I said that wrong, didn’t I? I once heard the story of Cinderella from one of the cage women a few years after I was taken. There was something about a shoe and midnight...”
I’m not sure whether to feel depressed that she’s only ever heard Cinderella once, or endeared by how vulnerable and open she seems right now.
Her stomach rumbles loudly again, and she mutters something about it being an angry asshole. Laughing under my breath, I spread all the food out on the extra bed, since this room lacks a table or any other surface big enough for use.
She hops up and snatches a piece of pizza, and I try not to focus on the fact she’s mostly naked, other than the thin black bra and panties.
“Clothes get uncomfortable?” I ask, biting back the growl as I adjust myself in my jeans.
She grins again, which seems to be something she’s doing a lot tonight. “It’s hot in here. I don’t know how to cool it down.”
I didn’t even think about the fact she can feel temperatures again.
“Right,” I say tightly, moving toward the thermostat. It’s been a while since I’ve fucked with one of these, but I manage to turn the air on.
When I turn around, Kya is right beside me. Hell, she crept up on me like a ninja even as a human.
A piece of pizza is in her mouth, and she moans. That’s one more thing that excites the beast, and I groan internally.
“This is amazing,” she says around a mouthful. “No wonder humans seem so happy.”
“You can eat as an immortal you know? Most of us do, since it’s annoying not to eat.”
She nods as she grabs a bottle of water I brought in, still smiling. Such an angelic smile on a demon’s lips.
“I know, but since it was never actual sustenance, we just ate whatever we could quickly take in just to curb the annoying feeling of that hunger. It’s always been a hindrance, but never a craving like it is now or when I was still mortal. We have a lot of protein bars on hand. That’s all we consume. And when I was still mortal, I was in the rings. They fed us just enough to keep us alive, but it never tasted anything like this. It was some gray goop they tossed in a bowl.”
She continues to eat the pizza like she’s starving to death, and I watch, fascinated, as she pretty much devours the entire thing while dancing to the music playing from the TV. I could get used to watching this more often.
It’s like the weight of the world is off her shoulders right now, and this is the real Kya—the one who has been hiding under the mask of the part she’s been playing.
I drop to the bed as she dances—terribly. She has zero rhythm, and when she starts singing, it’s off key. It’s almost like she’s drunk on food and life right now. Speaking of drunk...
I pull up a bottle of tequila from one of the bags.
“Here,” I tell her, smiling when she arches an eyebrow. “Probably your one chance to get really wasted, since we metabolize it too quickly.”
Her smile spreads, and she starts taking a shot. She coughs and shakes her head while making a face that has me laughing.
“That’s disgusting!”
“You aren’t drinking it for taste. Keep on.”
I shut the TV off and turn on the music from my phone.
Shuddering, she forces another shot down, and I watch her for the rest of the night as she dances, sings, shoots tequila, and eats pizza like it’s a five-star meal. She doesn’t know the words, so she’s singing them wrong most of the time, trying to guess what’s coming next. And it’s the best fucking thing ever.
Is this what she’ll be like when this Master thing is all over? We better fucking survive all this shit, because I want to see her this free all the time.
She smiles over at me before saying, “I never knew music was this good,” as another AC/DC song ends.
She cocks her head when she notices I’m just staring, reveling in the view. She struts toward me and holds her hand out.
“I’ve never danced with anyone.”
My eyebrows go up as a slow smile curves my lips. I take her hand and stand, then tug her back to my front before kissing a trail down her neck and moving much slower to the music than the beat should allow.
“Being human isn’t so bad,” she sighs.
She leans against me, swaying her hips in time with mine. My hands roam over her body, and she shivers against my touch. Suddenly, she stills, and I look in the mirror to see an odd look on her face.
Her cheeks puff up suddenly and she dives to the trashcan. I grimace when I realize what’s wrong, which is easy to figure out when she starts heaving into the trashcan.
I go to her side, pulling her hair back as she continues to share the pizza and tequila with the rest of the trash. Between breaths, she strains, “Being human fucking sucks.”
Chapter 21
KYA
Strong arms are wrapped around me, holding me to a solid body full of firm planes. I snuggle closer, before my eyes flutter open to the sun beaming into the window.
A stupid smile spreads over my lips for no reason at all. Maybe it’s because I just spent the night feeling cared for, possibly even protected. I’ve never shared a bed with anyone before, so it feels good to be in the arms that are holding me so closely.
His warm breath fans my hair as he sleeps peacefully, and I find myself too comfortable to move an inch.
My eyes move down to the arms, seeing how tightly wound around my waist they are, as though he wanted to make sure I didn’t disappear in the middle of the night.
Last night’s memories are blurry, but definitely there. He cared for me. He took me to the shower and cleaned me up, holding me the entire time as he treated me like something precious.
I don’t even know how to feel right now other than... safe. I’ve never felt safe, not even with Slade.
When he curled in behind me in the bed, I was stunned and confused—no one has ever done that with me before. But then his arms came around me, and I slept harder than I’ve ever slept in my life. I felt... peace.
If the world wasn’t on the cusp
of possible mass destruction, I would stay like this for the rest of my life. I want to bottle this feeling and keep it with me for all time.
There’s no lingering bad taste in my mouth, and I feel strong... Too strong. In fact, I feel like a fresh breath enters me without even breathing. My eyes widen in realization, but I can’t even tell Chaz before my phone starts ringing, as does his.
I snatch mine as he jerks awake, disoriented until he realizes where he is and what’s happening.
He grabs his phone, and I can hear so clearly the person on the other line.
“Chaz! Our magic is back!” Ella is shouting.
“I was just about to tell you that,” Slade says through my phone. “It ended early. Hurry up and get back before the window closes. I think they’re trying to catch us off guard.”
I nod like he can see me and end the call. In a blur of motion, I reassemble myself, putting on my clothes and my weapons.
Chaz is putting his phone away and stalking toward me. He doesn’t even say a word before grabbing me at the waist and then we’re gone, my stomach tilting as we’re submerged into darkness.
When my feet hit solid ground, we’re standing in front of the cabin where his people are. I start to dematerialize, but Chaz jerks me out of it before I can get gone, stifling my powers with whatever mojo it is he uses to do that.
“What are you doing?” I hiss as he starts tugging me toward the cabin, his fingers locked with mine.
“We need to find out what they’ve learned.”
“I can’t go in there. Your people made it clear they—”
He stops abruptly, and his lips find mine, silencing whatever I was going to say. For the barest of moments, I forget we’re back on the mission, no longer taking an unexpected break.
His lips leave mine, and my eyes flutter open to see him studying me.
“They need to get used to you being around.”