Page 30 of Hers to Keep

Ready to challenge him on that, she reached up into the wards, drew power down into herself, and then stretched it toward him.She meant to restrain him the way she’d done to others, but instead, her magic wrapped around him like a caress.

“Now you’re just flirting,” he said with a cocky smile.

“Okay, we’re done here,” Rio said, stepping forward.

Her magic sprang up into a shield that Rio ran into face-first.He slid her a questioning look, and she could only shrug.She had no idea what was happening, but she couldn’t claw her magic back for anything.

The silver-haired stranger chuckled.“That was unexpected.”You are a delight,he said into her head right after.

Mari felt the shimmering presence of Dohal behind her.His hands slid over her shoulders and pulled her back against him.“Ashdei,” he said in a menacing growl.“You’re not welcome here.”

The instant she heard his name, Mari flinched backward.This was the demon her father had hired to kindle her power—a Prince of the Hells.

The blue fire eyes flicked up to regard Dohal.“I’m welcome anywhere she is.”

“Why?”The question launched from her in a fearful rasp that she hated.

“Because of the contract between us,” he said lightly.

Cisco landed behind Ashdei and lunged to grab him, but once again her magic interceded.“What the fuck?”Cisco snarled, as tendrils of her power snaked around him, and there was nothing she could do to stop it.

Mortified, she shook her head.“I’m not doing it on purpose.”

“She’s hooked into the wards,” Dohal said in an annoyed tone.“You won’t be able to harm him without bringing down the house around us.”

Ashdei popped a canapé into his mouth.“I’m here to protect you.”

“I find that difficult to believe,” she said, her voice shaking.

“The Forest Lord is coming for him tonight.”Ashdei waved an idle hand toward Dohal.“Want to watch me scare him off?”

Dohal’s hands tightened around her shoulders.“The Old One comes?”

The bottom dropped out of Mari’s stomach.It was official, this party had been the worst idea.

Dusting off his hands, Ashdei stood.“He was never a subtle creature.I think he probably plans to just blow up the entire building, but I can’t let him do that since something so precious to me is here.”He smiled at her.“Let’s go meet him outside.Shall we?”He strolled toward the double doors that led out to the driveway without looking back.

Mari stood completely still, staring after him.“Is what he’s saying true?”

“Nothing he said was a lie,” Rio responded in a soft voice.“Although he is a demon, so who knows.”

She looked up at Dohal.“Should we go see if he’s right?”

“He would not let harm come to you right now, of that I am certain.”

“For the record, I hate everything about this,” Cisco grumbled as he walked by her toward the door.

When they joined him outside, Ashdei stood with his arms folded casually, as if there hadn’t been any doubt they would follow.He glanced up at the sky as if listening for something.A moment later, a distant peal of thunder rolled across the cloudless sky.“Ahh.Right on time.”

A line of clouds that looked like a storm front, but was moving improvably fast, tumbled toward them from out of nowhere.

Dark-blue fire, the same color as his eyes, erupted around Ashdei in a halo.He held out his left hand and a huge sword made of the same blue flame materialized in his grip.With a casual sweep of his right hand, a shield more potent with magic than she had ever seen sprang up around her and her group, but didn’t encompass him.In a blink, he expanded to his true form, tall and horned and clad in black armor that flickered with blue fire.

Ashdei took two slow steps forward to intercept as the clouds poured from the sky.Mari stepped back into the protection of Dohal’s arm that wrapped around her and pulled her in.

“Step aside, demon.”A sourceless voice like mountains tumbling down shook the ground under their feet.

Ashdei rested the giant sword over his shoulder and assumed a relaxed stance.“The Lords of Las Vegas are under my protection.So you can toddle off back to wherever you’ve been hiding for the last couple of centuries.”His voice was filled with the same confidence that radiated from him constantly.

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