Page 34 of Demon: Monsterverse
My stomach heaved. I was going to throw up. Her claws slammed into my sides, and tears seeped from the corner of my eyes. She was going to kill me if I didn’t do her in first.
But how would that happen if a knife through her mouth hadn’t stopped her? I gripped the knife harder and pushed into the wound. It inched closer to her neck, causing a large wound from under her chin to her throat.
I grunted and continued shoving, using all my might to jerk it down.
The squishy sound sickened me, but I ground my teeth together. Blood leaked onto my dress and splattered against my face, but I couldn’t stop.
Her arms spasmed before she stopped moving, her head falling to the side, lifeless.
I panted as I shoved her off me and whimpered at the detraction of her claws, then scrambled back, hugging myself.
Dead. She was dead.
I killed Tene’s sibling. Oh fuck. My stomach roiled and I flipped over. With each heave, I emptied my stomach of bile.
I’d done the same to Liam’s sister, and he’d tied me to a pole.
If he hadn’t believed me, I had no chance getting a monster to believe I had done it from necessity. I shuddered, tears leaking from the corners of my eyes as I returned my attention to the dead demoness.
The knot in my stomach tightened.
Mine to kill.If those words weren’t true before, or if they were out of context—not anymore.
He would get rid of me.
Bile coated my tongue, and I heaved again before getting a handle on my anxiety.
What was I doing falling for a demon?
NINETEEN
BRIDGET
A mixtureof dirt and pebbles crunched beneath my shoes. My thighs burned with exertion, but I kept pushing forward. A little farther, then I would stop to rest once I found some coverage. Being out in the open put me on edge like no one’s business.
Everything was so foreign, and I doubted I was safe anywhere, but at least I could get coverage from the foliage. I hoped to God I didn’t run into anything. Swiping the sweat from my temple, I wondered how long I’d been walking. I couldn’t even tell because there was no sense of time or direction.
Maybe I shouldn’t have taken off like a bat out of hell, but there was no use in waiting around for him to kill me.
But what if he wouldn’t have killed me?
Useless hope. Childish, and I knew better. Liam taught me how easily it was to turn your back on someone.
I killed Tene’s sister. I’d seen the possessive way the demoness behaved. For fuck’s sake, I didn’t know their relationship. Was he even telling the truth? Or was everything a ruse to play with me? There was no way he’d spare me. Anyway, there was no certainty he had fuzzy feelings toward me other than my fanciful hope. I was just a curiosity to him.
But the sweet care ... and the gentle way he touched—No. It didn’t mean the same to him as it did me.
I huffed and rubbed my pained stomach.
Scabs flaked my wounds, which was fortunate, since I verged on bleeding out there for a moment. It was another indicator of how my body had changed. Each step forward dragged a little more than the last, and I stumbled as I dipped through the trees.
A little farther.
With an exhale, I beelined toward a sparse collection of foliage near a cliff. That stone would serve as a good place to rest. I didn’t know where I was headed, but walking was my only option. I trudged over a larger stone, my lungs burning with each movement, and I dipped to avoid a collection of dark wood with stringy tendrils hanging. The thick cluster worsened, getting into my face and tugging at my hair. Spluttering, I swatted it away and hunched lower.
My heart burned a hole in my chest, and it wasn’t just exhaustion making it hurt, it was the circumstances. I’d grown to like the demon and shouldn’t have. How could I be this tangled?
I puffed out my cheeks. What had I done? Being involved with a monster was not supposed to hold the drama that being with a human held, but here I was, worse off.
