Page 12 of True Sacrifice
“Thank you,” I whispered, turning around, finding the doorway open yet again for me. “For staying with me.”
I ran back to the ballroom, finding most of the demons had finished with their food and had now moved on to full nightclub type dancing. There were so many grinding bodies. I’m pretty sure a few guests were engaged in something like an orgy on the table. Guess I shouldn’t be surprised. This was Hell after all.
Jax hadn’t looked like the type to be in the middle of the dance floor. Not when the rest of the elite were lounging on sofas, drinking, and watching the show below them. Jax would be in a dark corner somewhere, watching. Watching for me. My eyes scanned the corners of the room, spotting him easily. He was like a giant grumpy black cloud of grumpiness sitting alone, drinking. His eyes met mine, and we simply stared at each other.
Yeah, I know you’re my fucking mate.
He blinked and as far as I was concerned, that meant he lost. I turned back toward the dancing demons with a smile on my face. I fucking won. I found all three of my mates. Now it was my turn to have a little fun.
I sat at the closest vacant seat for a fraction of a second before a glass of ice and some pink liquid appeared before me.Thank you, Hell, and keep them coming. A girl only dies once.I saluted myself and took a heavy sip. Nothing on Earth tasted like this. It was impossible to describe. Fruity in a way that was entirely like the bite of a strawberry, but floral in the way that a banana wasn’t. That was the best I could think of, and even then, it made little sense, yet fit it perfectly, and it was delicious.
My body took on a low hum, and I didn’t entirely hate the sensation. There wasn’t any sickening feeling in my stomach, and my vision was perfectly clear. There was just an energy that wanted to be expelled. I started for the dance floor, noticing the most grinding action was going on in the middle. I was looking to have a good time, but not that kind of good time. I stayed near the edge, moving and swaying my hips to the sound of the music.
Male demons approached me constantly, and I ignored them, continuing my dance. They would come up to me one at a time, getting close enough so I could get a good look at them. They never touched me, though. Disappointment fluttered through me. I wanted to see what my so-called mates would do if I looked like I was choosing the wrong mate.
I reached my hand out to the demon currently in front of me. He wasn’t bad looking. Dark hair, maybe brown. He looked well dressed. I don’t know, maybe there was something to this mate thing after all, but I just felt entirely not interested. I touched his chest anyway.
I could feel his body, toned and muscular underneath his shirt. I’m sure he had a dream worthy body. He smiled at my touch and took it as encouragement to step closer into my personal space. I could have pushed him away, but my mind flipped to my three so-called mates. I imagined them watching me dancing with someone other than them. I didn’t even know how they felt about all three of them being my mates at the same time. Maybe they didn’t really give a fuck who I was with. Not that I wanted this demon, but it would be nice to know where my boundaries were, considering they would all rather play games with me, rather than have a fucking informative conversation.
I continued my dance slowly. Keeping my hand on the demon’s chest to give us just a little distance as we moved into some kind of rhythm.
“Hi,” he breathed with a smile. Nope. His voice did nothing for me. I don’t remember Jax’s voice doing anything to me, either. Maybe he wasn’t my mate after all.
Hands wrapped around my waist from behind pulling me sharply into a hard body. Silence stretched across the room and even the music stopped. All eyes were on us.
“You touched her,” came a voice from the chest pressed against my back. It wasn’t Jasper or Justice. This voice didn’t make my knees weak, but I recognized the pull between us all the same. Since meeting Justice, I had become more aware of the thrum of power that connected me to the guys. This was my mate, Jax. He was the same demon I met during my escape attempt.
The demon I had been dancing with lost all color. Literally, his skin became a cool gray tone, as did his hair. “I meant no offense, my prince. If I touched her, it was accidental,” he whimpered.
I couldn’t remember if he had touched me or not. I had thought I felt a hand rest on my waist, but a second later I was pulled back. I figured it was just Jax that touched me. Jax didn’t say a word to the demon. He released me suddenly and before I could turn around; he was gone.
Clapping sounded from high above as Marlene, the demon that threatened me earlier, stood up like she was ready to give a toast. “She has found all three of her mates. Please welcome Morrigan, Hell’s Princess.”
A large round of applause sounded all around me. Everyone was careful not to touch me or get close enough to where an accident could occur. I looked back up to the elite area, spotting Justice lounging on a sofa. His shirt was off but random straps of black fabric criss-crossed over his torso. He winked at me and smiled, and I couldn’t help but smile back. I flipped him off, and he started laughing.
I felt thrilled. Happy like I had not felt in a long time. I died. I wasn’t even human anymore. There was a whole new life standing in front of me. A life as a demon, and I was going to stop giving myself a hard time about that.
I strode up the steps, meeting both Justice and Jasper at the top. They both greeted me with smiles.
“Good girl.” Jasper said in that way that just made my legs into jelly. I felt the steady hum of power connecting us, too. It had always been there, I just had not really noticed it as acutely before.
I wasn’t done making him work for it; all of them. But I was done fighting it. I don’t know how the circumstances of this situation could have been any different. No one kidnapped me. There is no easy way to break the news to someone that they are dead and also a demon. I didn’t hold that against them, but I would make them earn my love.
CHAPTER6
MORRIGAN
All those fancy hallways I had run through when trying to escape, well, that had been the boys’ wing of the palace. The gateways into the different wings use magic to let in or block people, depending on what permissions the residents gave. Where I had been staying was very much as Jasper told me: my room. Justice and Jasper led me into what they called theirWar Room. Really, it looked somewhat like the teachers’ lounge back in my old high school. There was a big round table and behind it was a corkboard and a stack of books. A leather lounger sat in the corner and that was about it. The only thing missing was a little fridge and a microwave, but I guess they really didn’t need any of those things in Hell.
“Where’s Jax?” I asked as Justice and Jasper sat down in their chairs, as if this were a normal occurrence. There were only three chairs at the table, so clearly everyone had their own spot.
“He’s probably offhandling Daniel,” Justice responded, taking a knife out of a holster on the crisscrossing bands he wore across his chest. He fiddled with the knife, then ultimately used it to clean his nails.
“And what’s that supposed to mean?” I caught the way he stressed the word hand when he said handling. “Who’s Daniel?”
“Oh, just the demon you used at the ball to flush Jax out.” Justice leveled a glare at me.
“You know he wasn’t the only one watching you, right, princess?” grumbled Jasper from his chair. He gave me a hard stare to let me know he wasn’t exactly fond of my little show either. Well, they would need to get used to it, because I am not just going to play their silly little games and do as I’m told.
