Page 328 of Flirting with Darkness

Until he’d seen her eyes, he’d had no idea even when they were fighting. Dex was still having a hard time wrapping his head around what he’d seen.

Had she been hunting him this whole time?

Looking down at his shaking hands, he stared at the stains.

He was covered in her blood.

Dex had managed to patch her throat and he’d flown her to his place as quickly as he could to properly heal her. No one had seen her face except him, and he had no idea what was going to happen when she woke up.

She’d slit her own fucking throat.

Up until that moment, he’d been so enraged Dex would have killed her himself after getting the information he needed.

The way she’d looked up at him while bleeding out though…the same emotions he’d seen when she’d confessed how she really felt were there. At the very least, she wasn’t lying about that.

He couldn’t decide if that made it worse, or better.

The chains rattled and he looked up to see her gasping, hand to her throat. Those gorgeous eyes were wide, and she stared at nothing while her chest heaved. Burying the urge to comfort her down as far as he could, Dex watched.

His room was so dark even a shifter would have trouble seeing, but she wasn’t a shifter.

Nova was a different breed altogether.

Dex watched as her eyes slowly refocused. Keeping her soul in her fucking body had been harder than he’d expected it to be, but he’d managed without slipping completely into his angel side.

Her hand dropped and she jolted when she heard the chains clink together. Nova stared down at the hell-forged, iron manacles and frowned. He’d give anything to know what was going through her head, but he could finally scent her and that was the next best thing.

Confusion rippled through her as she stared at the manacles—at the blood covering her hands. He’d taken off her gloves and stripped her of every weapon he could find including the various charms she wore.

There was nothing he could do about her tattoos, but Nova had used all her magic for that blast. Dex could still taste the ozone on the back of his tongue, thanks to her.

She looked up at the ceiling, then over her shoulder. The chains were mounted into the wall. Dex knew it would be impossible for a shifter to get out of hell-forged iron though.

But her?

He had no idea what she could do.

Nova had taken down fifteen of his best fighters like it was nothing – without killing them. And then she’d managed to get away from him. She had taken her own life without a split second of hesitation rather than be captured.

No doubt she was capable of more surprises.

Interestingly, she didn’t try to get free of the chains. Her hands went for her throat again, and then her shoulder. That one had been bad too. Dex couldn’t believe she’d climbed to a rooftop with only one working arm.

He was pretty sure her sheer will and determination were the most terrifying things about her. That and whatever magic she possessed that lay dormant. He could feel it simmering in her blood, waiting.

Dex had seen her use every ounce of her own magic, but there was something else she hadn’t tapped into yet – something stolen from a demon. He doubted she knew how to use it, or she would have already.

Regardless, the hell-forged iron would ensure she couldn’t access it.

“Am I in hell?” she whispered, staring down at the manacles again.

His heart wrenched at that, and Dex hated everything about this.

“You’re very much alive,” he told her, voice still vibrating with his rage.

It was impossible to temper his demon right now. All he could do was release it instead of letting it fester to trigger his angel.

“I’m alive?” Nova ran her fingertips over her throat gently. The scent of her disappointment broke his heart.

---