“I warned you that they have not told you everything.”
“Everything about what?”
“Ezra knows his body and soul are destined to be mine. If he finds out what I can do, he will tell his friends, and his friends will kill him.”
My muscles locked down. No. Never. Aaron and Kai would never—could never kill Ezra. Even if … even if …
Darius’s voice murmured in my memory. “If Ezra had ever seemed like a danger to anyone in the guild, we would have taken the necessary steps.”
Necessary steps. One of those had been removing Ezra from the guild and getting him away from other people. The next step, the obvious fallback, the only possible option … was to kill him before his demon took full control.
If I told Aaron and Kai, they might end Ezra’s life. If I told Darius, he’d take that “necessary step” and eliminate the danger. If I told Ezra … he wouldn’t hide it. He didn’t want to put others at risk. That’s why he’d told Darius he was a demon mage before joining the Crow and Hammer.
“But you,” Eterran crooned, “you do not want Ezra to die.” He pressed a finger to my lips. “So this is our secret, yes?”
Sick to my stomach and every limb trembling, I glared at him, hating him more than I’d ever hated anyone. “You’re a disgusting, despicable monster.”
“Ezra thinks so too.”
“What do you want with me? Why are we having this little talk?”
“We want the same thing, Tori.”
“Like hell we do.”
He shifted closer again and I shoved back, dragging the blankets with me. “Stay away.”
In a flash, he grabbed my wrist. He pressed my hand against his bare chest, my fingers splayed across the three round scars where, six weeks ago, a demon had impaled Ezra with its claws.
“This is your desire,” Eterran purred. “To touch him. For him to touch you.”
I tried to tear my arm away, but he was too strong. He held my hand against his hot skin—too hot. Feverish. Unnatural.
“You are not Ezra,” I ground out.
“This body is the same.” He smirked. “This body is what we must discuss, payilas. I am trapped within it, and as long as I am, it belongs to me. You and I want the same thing: my freedom from this karidris hh’ainun—this human flesh that is my prison.”
I stopped trying to pry his hand off my wrist. “What?”
“The amulet,” he breathed. “Vh’alyir’s amulet. You stole it from Dīnen et Lūsh’vēr, didn’t you?”
“From … what?”
“He recognized me. Twice he tried to give me the amulet, but Ezra would not allow it.”
My heart pounded. The winged demon. Eterran was talking about the unbound winged demon we’d fought six weeks ago.
“But the third time,” I whispered, remembering that violent, terrifying night in the park, “he was already tapping your power, and you …”
And Eterran had wrested control away. Ezra had been so upset, his emotions running high—because of me and my stupid mouth.
The demon’s eyes blazed scarlet. “Do you understand what the amulet is?”
“It … it frees a demon from his contract?”
“Yes. It can free me from this prison, this death sentence. Ezra will be freed from the same. Give me the amulet and you can save us both.”
I sucked in air. Calm, I needed to stay calm. “Will it save Ezra, or will it give you full control of his body? I was told you could never be separated from him, no matter what.”
Eterran considered me, the seconds stretching out. “I am not certain.”
“Not certain about what?” I asked suspiciously.
“If I will be freed from his body or gain control of it.”
My mistrust deepened. “Why would you admit that?”
“Demons do not lie.” His fingers caught my chin, forcing my eyes to his. “I am not certain, but there is a chance. If you do nothing, Ezra will be mine. I will take his body, destroy his mind, and consume his soul. That I promise you. But with the amulet, there is a chance Ezra can be freed from me and survive.”
Or the amulet could hasten Ezra’s destruction. “So you want me to give you the amulet.” A thought hit me. “You searched my stuff, didn’t you?”
He gave me a leering smile and I jerked my chin out of his hand. Thank my lucky stars I hadn’t been dumb enough to bring a dangerous, secret demonic artifact on vacation with me.
“Will you give me the amulet?” he asked softly.
“No.” My stomach twisted and I swallowed back the urge to vomit. “But I’ll consider it … on one condition.”
His crimson eyes narrowed, and I hated the demon, hated seeing him inside Ezra. Twisting him. Torturing him. Tears stung my eyes but I refused to show weakness.
“You need to leave Ezra alone,” I said. “You won’t disturb his sleep or control him until I talk to you about the amulet—after I do some research of my own, because I don’t trust a single foul word you’ve said.”
“You cannot research a demonic amulet in the world of hh’ainun. Those who know of it do not exist here.”
“Agree to my terms or I’ll wake Ezra up right now.”
Eterran thought. “I swear to neither control Ezra while he sleeps, nor disturb his sleep, for a lunar cycle. Until the next full moon, I will wait.”
That was probably the best I would get. “Fine. Now take Ezra back to his bed and leave him the hell alone.”
His hand was on my face before I could stop him, fingers brushing over my cheek in a mockery of affection. “Good payilas. You are giving him his only chance. Don’t forget that.”
I recoiled but he was already rolling off the bed. Eterran’s glowing eyes flashed over me, loathing in his gaze, his sadistic smile tainting Ezra’s lips. Then he was gone, closing the door soundlessly behind him.
Holding my breath, I waited. When he didn’t return, I slumped into the blankets, hugging my pillow as my whole body shook. The tears I’d held back leaked down my face.
My skin tingled where Ezra’s fingers had brushed across my cheek. But it hadn’t been Ezra touching me, and I wanted to rip Eterran to pieces for that as much as anything else.
Chapter Sixteen
“Ah,” Sin sighed. “Sunlight!”
She spread her arms, face tilted toward the watery winter sun in the pale blue sky. Thursday’s weather had taken a pleasant turn; it was well above freezing, without a cloud in sight, the warmth only somewhat marred by a fitful wind. Yesterday, I would’ve been worshipping the sun with her, but today, it stabbed my tired eyes. If the sky had matched my mood, it would’ve been a twisting black vortex of doom.
Yeah, I wasn’t coping well with the aftermath of my late-night visitor.
After Eterran had left, I’d lain awake all night, turning the conversation over and over in my mind. Ezra would want to know what his demon had learned to do. Not telling him betrayed his trust and our friendship. He needed to know.
But Eterran was right that Ezra would tell Aaron, Kai, or Darius—and they might execute the demon mage before he became a danger to everyone around him.