Page 54 of Deranged Demons

Her bird companion bounces around nervously near my feet.

“Breathe, little one,” I tell her. “There are times when even the weakest must display acts of bravery.”

The crow cocks her head and glares at me, but I turn my attention to the demon princess who draws close.

“Great pep talk,” Princess Blake says sarcastically as she sets down beside me.

I frown, surprised by her comment. “Did I say something offensive?”

The crow is shaking her head now, and I don’t understand what’s happening. Princess Blake seems to take pity on me, because she answers. “It’s best not to call a girl weak, especially when she’s about to fly across a gateway to the shadow realm.”

“But she is weak. I could easily crush her in my fist if I wanted,” I reply. “I was merely trying to comfort her.”

The crow ruffles her feathers showing her displeasure, and the princess lets out an exasperated sigh. “Just grab on, big guy. Let’s get this over with.”

I remain bewildered, but I move to the she-demon’s side, wrapping my arms around her. She feels small and fragile in my arms, but she holds onto me and flaps her wings steadily, easily lifting us into theair.

“Try not to move too much,” she tells me. “Or you might upset my balance.”

I take her request seriously and keep still, even as my cock hardens, her intoxicating scent of cinnamon and honey filling my nose. She sucks in a sharp breath like she’s just as affected by our close proximity as I am, and the hint of a smile pulls at my lips.

Her little feathered friend flies beside us as the princess starts to carry us across, and I force myself to clear any negative thoughts from my mind. The shadows whisper below me, calling my name, but I think of the snowy mountains in Rostof, where I have a small cabin that’s hidden away from the world. I don’t get there often, but when I do, I relax by the fire, listening to the crackling flames and sinking into my favorite armchair. When I’m in the cabin, I can block out all the noise of the past. And of the present. I’m thinking of the snowy caps I can usually see through the windows of the cabin, and the rainbow of colors that fill the sky for months of the year, when the princess’s panicked voice jolts me from my thoughts, her grip tightening on me.

“Shade, what are you doing?” she hisses.

I blink, watching as the little bird flies lower, leaving our side and descending toward the shadows below which swirl, coiling around each other like vipers waiting to attack.

“Shade!” Princess Blake calls out again, but the crow continues downward.

“Fuck! They have her,” Princess Blake curses, and then we’re dropping lower as well.

“If the shadows have penetrated her mind, there’s no saving her,” I say bluntly, and the princess glares at me.

Despite the anger in her eyes, I see the fear there. The desperate, chilling fear for her friend. “Screw that,” she says, her lips set into a hard line. And then she drops me.

I land on a platform not far from the archangel prince and the others, and Princess Blake moves faster without my added weight, flapping her wings harder as she rushes toward her friend.

“Blake!” I hear Dante cry out, but she ignores him, flying headfirst toward the shadows, her arms outstretched.

“Snap out of it!” she yells at her friend, but the bird only flies steadily downward, her beady black eyes unfocused.

I clench my jaw, and I don’t think as I start to leap between obstacles, moving closer to the pair of them.

The crow is almost at the shadows, and they writhe beneath her like they’re desperate for a taste of her.

Closer, the bird flies toward them.

The black shadows form clawed hands, dozens of them reaching out and swiping at the air, but just as they’re about to take her, just as the shadowy fingers prepare to drag her into the shadow realm, Princess Blake grabs hold of her friend’s little body, and theshe-demon swoops upward with the crow in her grasp.

I don’t want to acknowledge the relief that goes through me.

The princess flies higher again, but the layer of shadows ripples below, angry whispers exploding into the air around us.

“Save me,”my twin brother, West’s, voice carries on the air, but I ignore it, even as my heart clenches. It’s not him, and I won’t let the shadows lead me to a pointless death.

“Get to the gateway!” Princess Blake shouts as some of the shadows form up beneath us, and I begin making my way back in the direction of the portal to Seral.

The platform I’m on shakes, and I adjust my stance, stopping myself from losing my balance and tipping over the edge. Peering down, I watch as a creature emerges from below. The dragon is the size of a horse, made of shadow with hollow eyes and smoky wings that carry it swiftly through the air. It soars past me, and the other males try to pierce the creature with their swords as it flies close to their platform. “Your weapons will be of no use,” I shout, knowing full well that an ordinary blade can’t harm a shadow creature.

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