Vander scrambled for his jumpsuit as I squared off with the prisoner. “Forget it, Azara. Let’s just get out of here.”
The female grinned, flashing her incisors and another whiff of bad alcohol burned my nostrils. I leaned in and licked my lips as the insatiable hunger returned ten-fold. Perhaps a little vampire snack first wouldn’t hurt.
I drew in a breath and the vampire’s slim shoulders heaved. Her jaw dropped, but instead of her soul, the entire contents of her stomach spewed forth. Oh, gods. I leapt back in disgust as the stench of vomit overtook the alcohol.
Vander tossed me my jumpsuit, and I slipped into it as we raced out of the foul outhouse.
Chapter Eighteen
I darted across the snow-covered yard, eager to lose my overly eager shadow.
“Where are you off to in such a hurry?” Vander called out.
“I’d prefer not to fight off horny inmates for the rest of the evening. I’ll be returning to my cell now.”
His pouty lips twisted. “I thought we could hang out for a while.” He reached out his hand, but I ignored it.
“Tired,” I mumbled.
Vander continued to follow me despite the deep frown settling into his face. “Finally kissing you was different than I’d imagined… Maybe it was for the best that we were interrupted, especially given the faery wine.”
I grunted. I didn’t want to burn any bridges should the need arise again, but I did not want to rehash our hookup. “You don’t have to come with me,” I finally said. “I can make it back on my own.”
“No, I’ll walk you. Talon’s already going to hate me, and I don’t want to make it worse.”
My brows knitted as I watched the guilt flash across his expressive irises. “Why’d you do it then? If you knew being with me would upset your best friend?”
He snorted and huffed out a breath. “Because I’m stupid, and I knew a drunk Azara without memories would be my only shot. Pretty shitty of me, right?”
I shook my head. “The dragon had his chance, and he didn’t take it. I’m a free woman and can be with anyone I desire.”
His head cocked to the side as he regarded me. “Are you sure you’re okay, Azara? You seem different.”
“I’m fine. Now let’s go.” The wine-fueled haze was beginning to dissipate, and I’d lose my hold before long. I hoped to be asleep before that happened.
The rest of the walk back to block one was a quiet one—between us anyway. The loud music and drunk, bustling inmates around us provided the background noise we needed so speaking wasn’t necessary. It seemed that the prisoners were taking full advantage of their one night of freedom.
Once we passed the rec room and turned toward the atrium, the chaos settled down. Apparently, there wasn’t much sleep going on tonight.
“Azara, I hope I didn’t mess things up between us.”
I shook my head and waved a nonchalant hand.
“I’d like to give this a shot.”
Dammit. I pressed my fingers to my temples and grimaced. “Can we talk about this tomorrow? I feel a headache coming on.”
He nodded and fell into step beside me. The shuffle of approaching footsteps spun my head toward the back side of the atrium. The door to block eight whipped open, and half a dozen demons poured into the hall.
Vander hissed out a curse and tucked me behind him. I bristled, a flash of darkness eclipsing my pupils.
One of the demons stepped forward, a female, with cascading forest green hair. Forestria demon. Instead of blood a strange sap-like fluid filled their veins, lethal to any non-demon and not particularly fun for us demons either.
“Out of the way,” Vander barked. The loopy haze cleared from his eyes in a flash.
“Relax, guard dog.” The female crossed her long arms over her chest. “We have a message from the dark lord.”
My heartrate spiked as visions of my traitorous cousin streaked through my mind. “What does he want?”
“You, dead.”
“He can try,” I snarled.
She chuckled. “He’ll give you three days to break out of here and go to him. Otherwise, he’ll accept your dead body as a truce.”
“That doesn’t sound like a good deal to me.” I slammed my hands on my hips and glared at the tall, lanky demon.
“It’s not up for discussion.” She tipped her head and twirled back to her demon friends. “Have a good night.”
Vander bristled beside me, anger skimming across his skin. I could practically taste it. He lunged at the female before they reached the door to block eight. His thick arms wrapped around her middle and dragged her to the floor. She let out a sharp screech, and her demon crew attacked.
Damned wolf! I sprang into the fight, grabbing the nearest demon and throwing him against the wall. His head bounced off the hard obsidian with a crash. Another one came at me, a dark gleam in his crimson eyes. He pulled a knife from the inside of his jumpsuit and sliced it through the air. I lunged to the side and avoided the brunt of the blade, but a sharp sting spread across my upper arm, a few inches from my tattoo.
My magic flared to life, slowly rising to the surface. The cuff was nothing compared to my warlock powers. I blasted another demon with a blazing ball of witchfire. He shrieked as the scorching flames licked up his hairy torso.
“Azara, watch out!” A deep voice echoed across the atrium and like a magnet, my body spun toward the sound.
A pair of smoldering silver irises locked on mine, and my humanity fought its way back to the surface. “Talon?”
Sharp pain shot across the back of my skull, and a curtain of darkness blanketed my vision.
“Wakey, wakey, little demon pumpkin.”
My eyelids fluttered at the familiar singsong of Hayden’s voice. I pried my eyes open, pushing back the heavy fog that weighed down my entire body. “What happened?” I forced myself up and immediately regretted it. My head swam, and a jackhammer drilled into my skull.
“You and Vander had a little too much fun with the Fae wine last night.” The beautiful angel sat at the foot of my bed, a halo emanating from his golden locks. Or maybe it was just my fuzzy vision from all the bootleg booze.
From over Hayden’s shoulder, I could make out a dark, brooding shadow pacing the length of the cell. His gaze was trained on the floor, but the erratic tick in the tendon of his jaw said it all.
“You don’t remember anything?” Hayden pressed.
“No, not really. I don’t even remember getting to moon fest.” My last clear memory was of the four of us drinking in Flix’s office. Then it was all a black hole of nothingness.
“I told you, T. Her demon must have snuck her way out when Azara’s inhibitions were down.”
“Or her faulty memory is a result of the copious amounts of alcohol she consumed,” he growled, still marching maniacally.
“I’m guessing I did something bad?” I ticked my head at Talon. “Is that why he’s all murder-y?” I searched my mind for any memories of the evening, the demons, the party, but it was all a blank slate. Had my demon taken over?
The dragon leapt across the room and landed an inch from my nose. I lurched back and hit the cold obsidian. His hot breath chased over my face as fire ignited in his irises, searing me to the wall. “Yes, you did something bad, Azara. You should’ve listened to me, but you didn’t as usual. Thax’s men surrounded you, and you and Vander were so drunk you thought a brawl with your cousin’s demon crew would be a good idea. Now the dark lord wants you to surrender yourself to him within three days or you’re dead.”