Page 54 of Hellish Fae
And as if she were his handler, he does as he’s told without hesitation.
Black twinkling sparks fill the air from his long fingertips. It smells strangely like burning sugar. It warms me from the inside out, and I start to wish I’ll never have to leave this intoxicating magic.
I haven’t felt this calm in years.
Not since I came here to this hellacious realm a hundred years ago.
18
The Torch
Aries
When my feet sink into hot sand the color of blood and gemstones, I know where we are. I’ve never seen this realm a day in my life, but before I knew who Krave’s handler was, he used to tell me that he’d bring me here someday. As soon as my father died and his banishment was off of me, I planned come here with Krave.
Once upon a time.
Not many people daydream about the demon land in such a fairytale way, I guess. They’re missing out. Because the Torch, as demons call it, is a beautiful nothingness. Miles and miles of coasting sand set out before us. I never really wondered about where Krave and I would live if we came here together.
Not that he can stay. He’ll have to report back to my father tomorrow afternoon. I don’t even know how Krave has the power to just bring us all here. But we’re here now. And during this time, I intend to plot.
“Welcome to the hellish Empire of Asperia. Right this way, fallen friends and,” Krave arches an inky eyebrow at me as if has no idea what the fuck to call me, “matrimonial enemies.”
Well, that does have a nice ring to it, doesn’t it?
My eyes roll hard, but I follow after the big footprints he’s leaving in the drifting sand. Krave doesn’t use his glimmering wings, so it must not be far. Mine are still glamoured away inside myself, and I keep them there, away from the sand that’s catching in my hair and along every crevice of my skin.
Even in the evening darkness, the heat of the sand scorches under my feet, and I try not to linger too long, skipping from one place to the next while everyone else casually walks in their nice protective black boots.
Zaviar peers at me out of the corner of his eye, but I ignore him, folding my arms beneath my bra and pretending this is just a fine stroll in the park.
“Just ask for help, Crow. Come here, and I’ll carry you,” Zav says, holding out his arms to me, but I can’t stop the burst of laughter from leaving my lips.
“Carry me. No. I’m fine. I’m totally fine.” A sharp breath exits my lungs when I dawdle too long in the hot sand to reply to him. “And besides. Remember that time you threw me ass-first in a muddle puddle? Remember that, Sweet Zav? Yeah, no, fuck you. I’ll walk.”
With a slight grimace, he shakes his head at me, while Krave glares back at him with the judgment of pure hellfire for what he did to me.
Good. I hope Krave shoves a demon horn up Zaviar’s ass. On second thought, as broody as he is, he probably already has one there firmly inserted. Probably doing ass kegels around it right now as we speak.
“Let her walk. Let her suffer. At least she shuts up a bit when she’s concentrating,” Ryke mumbles, walking ahead of me with that cocky long-legged stride of his.
Why are they all such fallen fuckfaces? Aren’t angels supposed to be kind and good? Even Damien doesn’t fit the bill, because as quiet as he is, I can see the dirty thoughts pounding through his skull when he looks as me.
I’m still glaring a hole through the back of Ryke’s short brown hair when I take a running leap at the bastard.
He’s surprisingly ready for me. I land right between his smooth leather wings. His big hands slide around my thighs the moment I tackle his back, and he doesn’t stumble a single footstep. His jagged iron blades skim my skin, but he’s careful with me.
Everywhere our bodies touch is a soothing, tingling heat that no longer burns the way it once did when I’d touched his iron-cursed body.
I don’t know why that is . . .
“And that, fellas, is how you piss her off enough that she does what you told her to do in the first place.” Ryke smirks over his shoulder at me, and I’ll admit it takes me a full second to realize he’s carrying me.
He’s such a dick. A really, really sweet dick.
My lips purse, but it’s hard for me to keep up the façade of annoyance as he hauls me around the hellacious desert as if I weigh nothing. Between his leathery wings, my arms wrap around his smooth shoulders, and I rest there against him.
The past couple weeks have been exhausting. Even when I sleep there’s no rest.
