Page 105 of Claimed
He grips the back of my neck and pulls me into him. His frame is cooler than mine, like Lilah’s, and hardened with years of service to our king. The gesture is like a fist around my heart. The acceptance. Finally, I have it. Finally, I have the team with me.
Now I have to walk away.
For a long beat, he holds on, then steps back.
“Tell Lilah—”
He just nods, the motion tight. “I know.”
I climb onto the thin rail and snap. My portal materializes, its glow crimson and amber in the low light. Stepping inside, I seal the door.
Ruin, Tanner, Gage, and Horan crowd the space of the narrow balcony, their figures imposing in the dimness. I expect some sarcastic salute. Maybe the bird from Tanner. They don’t speak. Don’t wave.
The enormity of my decision crushes my shoulders.
Swallowing hard, I nod and weave magick in a wash of crimson light. My portal jolts forward, leaving them all far behind me.
Chapter 39
Caine
Miami is huge and as the sky begins to lighten, the worry inside me grows. Onyx could be anywhere. She could be hurt. Or worse.
Though I try really hard not to think aboutworse.
The oddity of meeting a woman capable of holding my focus this strongly is not lost on me. Of finding one that I worry about so fiercely.
Asmodeans don’t love. Not in the traditional sense of the word, but we are faster to form bonds. A good partner, a solid match to feed from, is hard to find in the Abyss, so when one is located, we hold on to it. To them. And my mage heritage guarantees I canfeel.
I feel pain. Worry. Fear.
Affection.
But what I feel for Onyx is deeper than that. I don’t dare call it love. Not yet. But what was it she told me?
That she was falling for me?
Like Lucifer fell from grace, I would fall at her feet. I would worship her and blasphemy be damned.
I’m already part demon and God can kiss my ass if he fucking takes her from me.
As I sail over the towering structures of steel and glass that make up Miami, a distant pulse of familiar heat brushes my senses. Weak, but there.
I turn my head, seeking the warmth. It seems to caress my insides and I exhale in a tremulous push. “Onyx.”
The portal jumps forward and I use a hint of my mage magick to force it faster.
A dim alley near an older pharmacy is visible beneath my feet, as is a familiar slumped form. Two dark skinned males hover over Onyx, talons protruding from their fingertips.
The rage that fills me is volatile, deadly.
I dispel my portal without needing a command and drop the twenty foot into the alley.
Onyx’s face is ashen and her scent is almost non-existent over the metallic tang of blood. Crimson light blazes from my eyes. I grab the demon closest and slam a beam of mage energy into his back. It shoots out the other side in a burst of midnight blood.
His companion whirls before I can drop the first. He swipes in blurring volleys and I rock back, going under his strikes. My fist meets his torso. The icy expanse colder than the depths of the levithan sea.
He grabs my wrist and twists, leaving my arm throbbing before I grab his square jaw with my other hand. Light fills my palm.
