Page 103 of A Bond in Flames

“The love of his life. He and I met in my dreams a very long time ago.” He took a step forward. “I’ll help you, and you’ll take me to him.”

There was genuine pain in his eyes, but my daughter’s life was at stake. “Prove it.”

“He said you’d be a tough nut to crack.” The male smiled. “He said you have an herb garden outside the kitchen, and he enjoyed your dinner together, that you’re strong and threw him off-balance. You reprimanded him when he not so subtly tried to convince you that your place was with his brother. You asked him when he’d last done something for himself and told him that he wasn’t practicing what he preached.”

No one else could know that. How could they?

I took him in. He was a lithe male, with larger blades strapped to his thighs and smaller ones strapped to his chest. You didn’t arm yourself like that unless you knew how to use them.

“Grab her,” a demon yelled, charging through the forest toward us with three others right behind him.

I backed up, gripping my knife tighter.

The male claiming to be Somnus’s lover moved so fast, he was nothing but a blur. Steel flashed as knives flew, taking all four demons down. The male strode forward, and pulling one of his larger knives free, he relieved them of their heads. He slid his knife back in its sheath, brushed the ash from his sleeves, and glanced back at me. “Believe me now?” he said with a cocky grin.

I wasn’t sure I could trust him, but he could have let those demons take me. He was also obviously skilled with a blade and could have incapacitated me easily by now, but he hadn’t. The sound of more demons coming echoed through the trees.

“If anything happens to me or our daughter, Death will hunt you down and torture you until you pray for death, understand?”

He inclined his head. “As he should.” He glanced over his shoulder as the demons grew closer.

“What’s your name?” I asked.

“Pascal. Shall we get the fuck out of here, then?”

I nodded, spun, and sprinted toward the temple.

CHAPTER33

Zinnia

It was quiet,way too freaking quiet.

“How are you getting in there?” Pascal asked.

There were several yards between us and the temple. So far, we hadn’t seen any demons scouting the place, but they had to be there. I slid the vial from my pack. “Death’s blood.”

“Are you sure it’ll work?”

“No, but Death said it would. It’s our only hope right now.” I still wasn’t sure if this male could be trusted, though every instinct I had said he could be. I tucked the blood safely back in my pocket and slid out my small knife. I made a slice in my palm and then whispered a magic-boosting spell.

“What the hell are you doing?” Pascal asked, sounding horrified.

My power instantly shot higher. “I’m a witch. My coven uses blood to spell and for a power boost. If we get attacked, I’m going to need my magic at full strength.”

His head jerked back. “You’re a witch?”

“Yes, why?” I said, narrowing my eyes at him.

He shook his head, but a small smile teased his lips. “No reason.”

I didn’t have time for whatever that was. “You ready?”

He nodded. “If the demons come, leave them to me. Your priority is to get the door open. They can’t follow us in, so you get the door open, and we’re safe.”

Pascal had a nice face. The guy was handsome, charming, and Somnus had mentioned him by name at our dinner. He’d said he’d trust him with his life, with Marigold’s life. “If you are who you say you are, Somnus will be pretty pissed if I let you get hacked into tiny pieces by a bunch of demons.”

He chuckled. “You think they’ll get the chance? You’ve seen what I can do.”

---