Page 123 of Madness of Her Mages

Iwoke to the sound of a crash down below. “Auntie! It’s dirty in here! It’s dirty!”

Dirty? Demons!

I shot up with a gasp as my mates flung the covers off us, scrambling to their knees. Blaze was the first to jump from the bed, flying away in a blur as threads of moonlight spilled into the bedchamber.

I fell into Nikko’s arms, and he flew after Drae. We landed hard on the floor beneath. Drae instantly ignited his flames. Nikkos set me down and lit his flames, too. I released a shaky breath of relief when Blaze scooped up Ember and Aurora, pulling them into our circle, though I didn’t see any demons.

“Where are they, Em?” I whispered as my mates slowly circled around us, their flames like lanterns casting shadows across the walls.

Ember pointed to the hearth, though there was nothing there but fading embers and ash. “Revelare,” she whispered.

I gasped when a shadow of a winged creature with horns and a spiked tail suddenly appeared, followed by two red, glowing eyes.

The demon screeched when Blaze hit it with his fire.

Before the demon could strike back, I hollered, “Demon, hold your fire and do not move!” my siren voice ricocheting off the walls.

The creature froze, and Blaze extinguished his fire. Drae illuminated the demon with his flame. This beast was so strange. I could only see his eyes and fanged mouth. The rest was nothingbut a silhouette, his tail poised in the air like a snake preparing to strike.

“Why have you come here?” I demanded.

“I bring greetings from my mistress.” The demon flashed his fangs, speaking on a sibilant hiss. “She has a message for you,white witch.”

Holy elements! I did my best to still the shaking in my limbs. I turned up my chin, refusing to let the creature intimidate me. “And I have a message for her. I will not stop fighting until she and all demon-kind are eradicated from these lands.”

“You won’t be able to find her, but she will find you,” he taunted, his red, glowing eyes flashing with malice. “She will always find you, for she has your very essence at her fingertips.”

“Sorry,” Drae said, “but you’ll have to deliver that message in hell.” He let out a primal roar before dousing the demon with his flames.

Acrid smoke filled the air, and Blaze covered the girls with his wings, turning away when the demon let out an unholy wail. When Nikkos joined in with his fire, the demon fell to his knees. My mates burned the creature until there was nothing left but cinders.

I stumbled to a sofa, and my knees gave out as currents of fear flowed through my veins. The demon’s words replayed in my mind. ‘She will always find you, for she has your very essence at her fingertips.’

Blaze sat the girls on the sofa beside me, and they crawled into my lap. I held them tight, tears filling my eyes when I realized this night could have ended far worse hadn’t Ember alerted us to the demon. I had a feeling we had her ‘friends’ to thank.

“Em,” I asked as I kissed her brow. “Do you know what kind of demon that was?”

She nodded while clutching her doll to her chest. “My friends said a shadow demon.”

Drae knelt beside us, stroking the girls’ arms. “Ember, what was that you said to reveal him?”

“Revelare.” She pointed to the hanging bed above us. “My friends taught it to me.”

I swallowed bitter bile. Just great. Ember’s friends were in our bed? I shuddered to think of them watching us while we made love.

“What did the demon mean when he said his mistress could find me?” I asked, looking from Ember to my mates. “That she had my essence at her fingertips?”

Ember gave me a puzzled look and shook her head.

“I don’t know.” Drae sat back on his heels with a groan. “It doesn’t make sense. I think she is tracking you somehow— the giants, the demon nurses, Sol and Bertram.” He released an unsteady breath. “They all knew where to find you.”

Aurora buried her face against my chest. “I’m afraid to go back to sleep.”

Blaze sat next to us, rubbing her back. “You can sleep with us.”

Moisture tightened my throat as I mouthed my thanks to him. The girls and I were so fortunate to have my mates.

ALL THE COMMOTION WITHthe demon alerted the guards, though they were too late to help. They sent for servants who swept up the ash and cleaned up the spill from a potted plant that the girls had knocked over when Aurora teleported them into our bedroom.

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