“Hell.” Nik rubbed a palm over his scruffy jaw. His brow furrowed, then his contemplative stare lowered to her chest. He reached out a hand and gently stroked her sternum. “It’s your symbionts. I think now that they’re properly nurtured, they’ve somehow released this ability.”
“What?” Her mouth dropped, her heart thundering in her head. The fight in her died out at the terrifying truth. “Nik, what if more demon-like powers take hold of me. What if my soul turns dark, oh…” Her knees trembled, and she swayed at the thought of the horrid reality. She was changing? Oh, god, oh, god!
Nik scooped her into his arms and strode to the turret living area, setting her on the couch.
“Nik.” She grasped his shirt before he could straighten, terror strangling her. “I already need their dark energy to survive. What if I become a demon?”
His lips pressed together, and that single dimple she rarely saw and adored appeared. He sat on the coffee table, his leathers creaking, knees caging hers. “Then, together, we’ll handle whatever abilities arise, but you need to tell me the moment you sense any changes. As to your soul, yours isn’t dark like those of the demons, agápi. You’re like a blaze of light inside here.” He tapped his chest. “I would know if you weren’t. We are one. We share a soul now.” His gaze swept tenderly over her face. “And if you do become a demoness, it doesn’t matter. Because you are the flame that warmed this cold heart of mine. Nothing will take you away from me.”
A smile started, his promise wrapping around her in a comforting hug.
His gaze lowered to her throat, and his smile vanished. “You’re bleeding.”
Gingerly, she touched her throat. “Oh. I’ll heal—eeek!” she squealed as he picked her up and switched places with her. He shifted her to his lap and ran his tongue along her throat wound.
The faint burn faded. “It doesn’t hurt—”
“Don’t care. The thought I could have killed you will not leave me for a damn long time.” He lapped her skin again, stirring all the delicious nerves endings, and she shuddered. Her core clenched, and nipples tightened.
More, she needed his arms around her, needed to feel like she could breathe freely again.
Shadow turned, and Nik’s mouth captured hers. His hand slid through her hair, and he kissed her deeply, as if he, too, needed the connection…
“Hell,” he groaned, breaking their kiss far too soon. “I have to go back.”
Inhaling a shaky breath, she met his scorching gaze and nodded. “I know. The fight I appeared in, what was that about? The usual or…?”
His lips tightened briefly. “Tolvi sent his minions after us.” He set her on the couch and rose. “It frustrates me that we get so close then hit a fucking dead end.”
“Maybe you should let me try and flush Tolvi out?”
“No.” Steel edged his tone and seeped into his eyes. “Don’t ask me that again.”
Man, he could be so darn intractable. Just because they were mated, it didn’t mean she’d suddenly become fragile and helpless. Before she could set her mate straight on his ancient views, his expression morphed to a cold mask.
“What is it?” she asked.
“Work.” He pointed at his head. “Got a telepathic message. I have to go. I’ll see you in a few hours. If you feel anything unusual, call me.” Then he dematerialized.
Shadow remained on the couch for several seconds, unable to believe she’d flashed. Caught in the throes of disbelief, she pushed to her feet and made her way to the dressing room—
Don’t ask me that again. Not unless you want the same thing to happen to you.
Shadow stumbled and grabbed the jamb, at the strange, chilling voice echoing inside her skull. She hastily glanced around the silent room.
Great. Now she was imagining voices. But wariness settled inside her.
Had Tolvi somehow got into her head?
God, she hoped not.
Chapter 22
Moldy, soggy air surrounded Nik, along with the gut-churning stench of sulfur as he stepped into the contained space of a crypt in the cemetery on the East River.
Aethan and Dagan waited for him, along with a moaning, dark-haired demon Dagan had trapped with his telekinesis.
“What happened with the horde?”
“I took them out.” Aethan shrugged. “Pointless to waste time when we know they were mere minions for the fucker, Tolvi.”
Nik nodded. With Aethan’s ability of whitefire, he probably decimated them in seconds.
“And him?” Nik nodded to the demon. Even with a busted lip and swollen left eye, the male still managed to glare at them.
“Found him lurking in the shadows after taking down the hellscums.” Dagan thrust the demon forward. “After a little, er, persuasion, he finally brought us here. But we just missed the bastards. Thought you’d get a better feel or scent something you’d recognize.” He waved to the empty vault.
Nik let the acrid smells in the gloomy crypt roll over him…then the sensation of absolute fear grazed his psyche, one quite familiar. Shit. It was the female Shadow spoke to in The Refuge when he’d tracked Rough’s goons. “The woman that was here, Joyce. Shadow tried to help her.”
“Picked up at least four females, and there were kids, too.” Dagan’s fists clenched, looking like he wanted to throttle the scourge.
Nik grabbed the demon and flashed outside, the moonlight casting an eerie light over the cemetery. He flung the demon to the ground, damp with dew. “Talk.”
“I don’t know anything—”
“You fucking knew this place!”
“Because I-I followed the humans taking her,” he moaned. “I live underground, loathe that jerk Rough and his thugs.” Truth. “H-he likes collecting w-women,” he coughed out.
You think this is about the abducted females? Aethan mind-linked with him. This Rough’s one of the traffickers?
We’ll find out. I know where that fucker is.
“Why were you spying on us?” Nik demanded, clenching his tingling fingers, powers barely leashed.
The demon hurriedly scrambled back on his ass, probably sensing the imminent danger. “Because I needed help. My name’s Laex. Shadow knows me,” he added hurriedly. “And I like Joyce. I wanted to save her and hoped she’d give me a chance then.” Truth.
“You could have avoided all this…” Dagan flicked a hand over the demon’s battered face. “If you didn’t run when asked to talk.”
Laex scowled then grimaced, swiping the blood seeping from the wet scab on his mouth. “You assholes are known to beat those of my kind first before asking questions.”
Aethan snorted. “True. But then we’re seldom wrong about you idiots.”
Frustration hiking, Nik nailed the demon an icy stare, knowing Shadow could have so easily become a statistic, too. “And Tolvi?”
“Heard of him. He gets heavyweight humans and demons to do jobs for him. Uses our species’ rep to pretend to be all evil and shit. Lazy fucking twat.”
Nik narrowed his eyes. That sounded nothing like the ruthless asshole Shadow told him about. “His lair?”