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  “I wasn’t going to tell you. I was going to mention it to him, because I didn’t want to worry you any. Plus you know these things aren’t always accurate.” Lily smiled at her but Chloe couldn’t make herself do it back. She felt hollow inside, numb.

  “Just tell me.”

  Lily dragged in a deep breath. “I saw you die. A demon was fighting you, and it killed you.”

  Chloe’s eyes shot wide. “Say what? Do you think this is because I nearly died by that demon yesterday? When did you have that dream?” Chloe said, desperate to know. She had to know. She grabbed Lily’s arm in firm grip, her eyes frantic and wide.

  Lily’s smile relaxed her infinitely. “Just last night. Don’t worry, that’s all it was.”

  Chloe sighed. “Thank God.”

  A knock sounded at the door and Chloe knew who it was. “Just tell me one more thing, and be completely honest, Lily. Do you really think I should pursue him? I don’t want to get hurt,” she whispered.

  Lily smiled gently. “Sometimes we have to experience the bite of pain before we can feel the love. I say do it. If you want him, then go get him, Chloe.”

  Chloe threw her arms around her sister. “Thank you, Lily,” she whispered. Lily squeezed her one last time and then they answered the door.

  The warrior, Rayn, was there. Not her vampire commander. He smiled like a male alley cat at Lily and looked her up and down. “Are you sure you won’t let me take you out, beautiful?

  I would love to show you a good time.”

  Lily winked at him. “I know you would darling, but I already have a man.”

  Rayn cocked a brow. “Who? I’ll fight him for the rights to you any day.” He said it in mock seriousness that sent Chloe and Lily into giggles.

  “His name is Telal Demuzi. If you wish to fight with him, make arrangements so I can be there. I wouldn’t want to miss that.” Rayn’s brow skyrocketed to his hairline.

  He shook his head and held out his hands. “The demon? Damn. Grab on, we’re meeting

  Tyrian downstairs first.” Chloe and Lily each grabbed a hand. Rayn grinned at Lily and pulled her close to his chest.

  “You smell nice, lilit.”

  Before Chloe could ask what that word meant, her body tingled from head to toe, and the hallway dissipated around them like sand dropping, and then a new room appeared. A room filled with weapons.

  “Whoa, what’s this place?” Chloe asked and went to the walls covered in weapons from axes and swords to guns and throwing knives. She even saw a few grenades and laughed.

  “The armory,” Rayn replied.

  A door opened and Tyrian and Henry came in. “You’re back on command duty while I’m

  gone. If anything happens, notify me,” Tyrian said. Henry bowed swiftly.

  Tyrian gaze shot to her like a magnet. He zeroed in on her like she was the sole focus on his mind. It made her stomach flutter, her pulse race. His eyes heated, scorched over the fitted dress she wore, lingered on her black stocking legs.

  He’d changed and now wore a tight, black t-shirt instead of his usual long sleeves. Chloe licked her lips at the play of muscles in his forearms, at the thick veins that ran over his arms and into his finely sculpted hands. Just as quickly, his eyes darted away from her and were back to the distant, unfazed look he always wore.

  “You’re drooling,” Lily teased in a whisper. Chloe glared at her but pulled her gaze away from the man constantly occupying her thoughts. “Don’t worry, he is totally drool-worthy.”

  Tyrian picked up a wicked, curved knife from the wall and two guns that he tucked into places around his cargo belt. When Chloe blinked, she realized she couldn’t even see them. It was like they were never there.

  “How do you do that?”

  She was surprised that he bothered to answer her. “I have an enchantment on certain weapons so that I can carry them but they stay hidden to others.” Oh, so that explained how he managed to have a massive double-bladed axe back at the hotel.

  “But you don’t have those kinds of powers.”

  “Draven does. He can make nearly anything invisible. Let’s go,” he commanded. Rayn

  had to touch each of them for this to work.

  “I’ll need one of the beautiful ladies to cuddle close to me, so the others can touch my hands for this to work,” Rayn said, sounding immensely happy as he smiled at Lily.

  Lily smiled back at him, but pushed Chloe into him. Her arms naturally went around him in an awkward hug. She looked up at Tyrian and saw his nostrils flare, so she stayed where she was. Damn right. Lily took hold of Rayn’s hand and saddled up next to her. Tyrian was next. He took his time, almost as if it pained him to move close to her.

  He tore his gaze away from her and cut Rayn a look that spoke volumes. The warrior

  winced and quickly the room started to disappear. Chloe couldn’t have been happier as they appeared in front of the demon’s headquarters. She’d seriously needed that ego boost his jealousy just provided her.

  As the guards escorted them to the elevator, Lily leaned close and whispered, “See, I told you.” They all sidled into the elevator and Chloe couldn’t keep from grabbing Tyrian’s hand and tugging on it.

  He took a deep, long breath but looked down at her. She crooked her finger at him and hesitantly he leaned down. She met him by rising on her toes.

  In the sexiest voice she could manage, she whispered into the shell of his ear, “I

  remember your tongue licking my sex in this very spot, Tyrian. I remember the way you felt as you thrust inside me so hungrily. I wish we could do it all over again. Right now.”

  He pulled back quickly, his eyes wide and a flush darkening his cheeks. Chloe looked down, saw the start of a bulge in his military-style black pants, and wanted to do a little cheer.

  Instead, she blew him a kiss just as the doors dinged open.

  The same two guards waited for them. Their eyes met Tyrian’s with a mixture of blatant hostility and fear.

  “I hope we will not have the same problems we did last time,” Tyrian said.

  The guards spoke into their mics and eventually nodded at them before leading them

  down the hall. They went into the demon’s office, but the demon was nowhere to be seen.

  “He’ll be right with you,” one of the guards said. Lily’s eyes were wide and bright with excitement. She ran over to the demon’s desk and sat on it, kicking her legs back and forth as she looked over the papers and things on his desk.

  “Lily, what are you doing?” Chloe whispered furiously.

  Lily smiled and waved her off. “Demons have an incredible sense of smell or so I hear. I just want him to get a good long scent of mine.” She hopped down and sat in his chair, sliding back and forth on the leather. She’d just hopped back onto his desk and started reading through his papers when a side door opened and the demon came in.

  His gaze locked on Lily like a sniper. “What the hell do you think you’re doing? Who are you?” Lily smiled at him, which seemed to completely unfaze him as he stalked towards her.

  “Get off my desk.”

  Lily hopped off but grabbed his hand and lifted it. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Telal Demuzi. I must say I hate that you’re into weapons manufacturing but all of your other work has seriously impressed me.” She brought his golden-skinned hand up to her face and then licked his palm. His eyes flared huge and he viciously yanked his hand back. He backed her into his desk, her thighs hitting it and stopping her. He crowded her.

  “I said, who the fuck are you?”

  Chloe watched as Lily licked her lips in the sexiest way possible. The point of her tongue darted out and licked the top of her lip slowly, as if she was licking off the last bit of ice cream.

  The demon’s golden eyes watched and if possible, grew brighter in the already well-lit room.

  “Lily Bellum, animal lover, spiritualist, and all around demon lover.” The demon’s

  nostrils flared. “I had no idea demons wer
e so...big,” she said, her fingers climbing up the front of his chest. “I like,” she said, practically purring. The demon snatched her hand away and brushed her off him. He took a seat at his desk with a feral scowl on his face.

  “Tyrian, let’s get to business. I don’t have time for silly women and games.”

  “You heard him,” Lily said to Tyrian. “Chip chop.” She hopped onto Telal’s desk and smiled at him. “Your hair is beautiful. A luscious blue—my favorite color.” The demon’s jaw flexed side to side until Chloe heard it crack.

  “Get off my desk.”

  “No,” she said and swung her sandaled feet. Chloe couldn’t help but grin at her sister.

  This poor demon. Once Lily set her mind on something, she didn’t stop until she got it. The Bellums were a tenacious bunch like that.

  “What did you learn?” Tyrian asked.

  The demon cast Lily a hard look then said, “The news isn’t good. The Bellum sisters chose possibly the worst location to perform a spell, especially to say the spell wrong,” he growled, cutting Lily a look.

  Lily shrugged. “We chose the location for its magical properties.”

  “That you did,” agreed the demon, “but you also cast the spell above the burial ground for one of the most dangerous demons in existence. Its name is Karr gh’elic Crumanja.

  According to demonic lore, the demon was once normal but craved power. Using a mixture of dark magicks, it grew more powerful and more dangerous. It was killing demon women and children for sacrifices and black worship. Dozens of demons banded together to rid Karr from the earth.”

  “They didn’t do a very good job,” Chloe noted.

  Telal glared at her. “They did until three foolish women stepped onto his grounds and cast a summoning spell.”

  “It wasn’t a summoning spell,” said Lily. “It was to keep you men away from us. We had every right.”

  Telal leaned back in his chair and drummed his long fingers on his thighs. “You were wrong and it won’t stop until it dies or it kills her.” He looked pointedly at Chloe.

  “How do I kill it?” Tyrian asked. The demon cracked his neck side to side.

  “Not easily. As I said, it took dozens of demons fighting it to subdue it long enough to bind it magically. They put it in a cage and buried him deep within the earth, below the rift where only the idummi live.”

  “Why didn’t they just kill it?” Chloe asked. Her stomach clenched in warning. She was feeling sicker by the minute. The same sick feeling she had when the demon climbed out of the ground and roared her name.

  The demon leveled his bright amber eyes on her. “Because it can’t be killed. It’s too powerful and every moment it’s free, it will grow more so. We have no idea what it’s capable of at this point or what it’s even doing. I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s trying to amass a new army already.”

  “That’s not true,” Lily said. She hopped off the desk and closed the distance between her and the demon. He looked appalled and shocked that she’d do such a thing. But then she turned towards his desk, giving him her back. Her bare back. The demon’s eyes glowed brightly as his gaze wracked over her.

  “You know nothing about it, lilit.”

  “Au contraire, my soon-to-be demonic lover. It can be killed. I dreamt it. Chloe will cast a spell that puts the demon back into the earth.”

  The demon stood and put some space between them. “Nonsense. Ridiculous. A dream?

  You are just spouting lies now, lilit.”

  “She is not lying,” Chloe said and took an aggressive step towards him. He cocked an eyebrow at her that said he wasn’t impressed. “Lily never lies. Her dreams have been known to come true. Lily, how do we get this spell so we can get it done?”

  “I don’t know,” she said, shrugging. “I can do some research and write one up with you.”

  “In English, please, I don’t want to summon anything else.” Lily giggled and perched herself back on the demon’s desk.

  “You are on my work. Get off,” Telal said with barely controlled anger.

  “Chloe and Lily, you will work on the spell immediately. If it works then we’ll kill the demon, set a trap for it. If not, we’ll wait until it attacks again. We don’t have the demonic magic to bind the demon. It will have to die,” Tyrian said.

  “It’ll only amass a bigger army,” the demon warned.

  “Let him.” Tyrian seemed completely unfazed at the thought, while Chloe couldn’t help the unsettling feeling sitting in her gut. “Let’s go.”

  Lily whined but stalked to the demon. He took a step back and stared at her, astonished.

  She whispered, but Chloe still made out the words. “I dreamt of us. Perhaps I’ll tell you all about it one day. I think you’d like it, Telal. Call me...anytime.” Then she walked away, grabbed Chloe by the hand, and they left.

  “Let me guess,” Chloe said, “you like him.”

  Lily fanned herself with a hand. “The demon is hot. Blue hair! And did you see his skin?

  No wonder I was licking him everywhere in that dream. I’m ready to go back in there and—”

  “Enough!” ordered Tyrian. Chloe couldn’t help but laugh as they climbed into the

  elevator. Instantly she remembered what they’d done in this same elevator mere days ago. She looked up at Tyrian but he didn’t meet her gaze. Chloe sighed. Oh well. She would just pursue the commander later tonight. After all, she hadn’t put on this dress for nothing.

  Rayn met them outside of the demon’s headquarters and warped them back to the castle.

  Lily kissed her goodnight and said she was off to bed to dream of her demon. Rayn

  drooled after her, and Chloe didn’t know what to do. Tyrian left quickly and soon she was standing in the room alone.

  Lily’s words ran through her mind. Take a chance. Be brave. She hesitated for a moment, then stalked after him. He was not getting away from her tonight.

  Chapter Twenty-two

  Henry climbed out of the shower and grabbed a towel. He looked at his complexion in the mirror and noted how pale his skin was getting. He’d have to feed soon.

  He didn’t keep a frimar as many of the warriors did. Some even shared their blood concubines. In return for their blood service, the women were gifted with fine luxuries like jewels and clothing. Henry had always thought it seemed very...mistress-ish. It was probably his demon side that made him think so since no one else seemed to feel the same way.

  He also didn’t need blood as often as full-blooded vampires did. So when he did find himself needing, like he did now, he would usually go into town, find a dark-haired woman and charm her—one of his demonic gifts. As he sat on the edge of his bed and towel dried, he couldn’t help but feel dirty. It shamed him what he did.

  That it was another he pictured while taking whichever female’s vein he’d chosen. But it was so easy to see her there, her beautiful dark skin waiting to be broken, waiting for him to sink his fangs into and suck.

  He shuddered and gripped his cock that now stood like an erect flagpole between his legs.

  “Shit.” He briefly considered jacking off but fuck that. He climbed under the bedsheets, but sleep eluded him as usual.

  He stared at the ceiling as thoughts of her poured into his mind. They were sappy

  thoughts too, like how he wished she’d accept his half-blooded arse and mate with him.

  God, did he want her. He could have had her body by now, that he knew with the way

  she’d pursued him lately. Damn if he didn’t want more, though. She’d never do it, and her brother would never allow it. He was a half-breed, a mutant, a mistake.

  How he wished he were some man whore type like Draven or Rayn. Men who would

  easily accept the luscious body offered to them eagerly. Henry couldn’t do it though. Not when he knew he cared for her on a much deeper level. He respected her too much, and he respected himself.

  Being with her would be like jumping into a pit filled with spikes
just ready to cut you.

  The fall down would be exhilarating, a rush. A sweeping heart-pounding moment, but then he’d land and be screaming in agony. That’s what she would lead him to.

  He scrubbed a hand across his face and stared at the alarm clock on his table. Had only five minutes passed? Shit. If he didn’t get his mind to slow down, he’d never get to sleep.

  His cock was still a heavy, hard mass tenting the damn comforter. “Go away,” he

  grumbled. “You can’t have her.” God, how many times had he wished things were different? He had no doubt that if he were a full-blooded vampire her brother would accept him with open arms. But now he was practically a contagious virus. Course, she was grown, logic argued. She could just choose him over her brother.

  “Yeah, right. The last family she had living.” She wasn’t going to disobey his wishes anytime soon, if ever. So what was he holding his breath for? God. A fucking chance. He wanted her so badly he could practically taste it. He wanted to wake up next to her every damn day.

  Wanted to give her his vein and have hers in return. He wanted to fill her with his child.

  He growled viciously and slammed his fist into the bed. The spring coils groaned in protest.

  Slowly, anger left him. Numbness filled him instead. It was the closest thing to tranquil he had. He closed his eyes and pictured another time, another place.

  A time where he was a full-blooded vampire just like her. Where her brother pushed the match of them together, where she still looked at him with those sharp, sexy eyes. She’d be his, completely. He would finally be able to taste her dark golden skin, finally see the shape of her breasts and nipples.

  She was curvy in places he wanted to bite with his teeth. Her breasts pushed flat against him when she pressed close. Was she larger and rounded, or smaller and pert? Would her nipples be dark like her lips? A gorgeous sun-kissed color that reminded him of pyramids and older times.

  Damn, he was a pussy. And a masochist for even thinking such things.

  Eventually his thoughts slowed, and his body relaxed. His eyes fluttered close and sleep finally came.