Page 89 of Demon's Mate
Luc shook his head like a disappointed father. “Calm down, Dante. You’re going to pop a blood vessel.”
Taking advantage of Luc’s distraction, Ash pierced his wrist with his fang. Blood trickled from the wound, and he pressed it to Harper’s lips.
The magic in Ash’s blood would enhance Harper’s healing magic tenfold. Harper seemed to have been strangled, and since he was breathing, Ash’s magic should heal him faster than the injuries could kill him.
Ash got here in time. But only just.
Harper’s breathing was so weak.
A tear ran down Ash’s cheek. Witches were so fragile, not much stronger than humans. If only they’d mated, Harper would have recovered quickly, all on his own. Luc could have killed Harper, and as long as he didn’t drain all of Harper’s blood or cut off his head, Harper would have come back.
“Letme guess.” Luc’s snide voice pulled Ash back into the conversation. “You were searching for me by tracking my magic?”
Dante’s black-flamed eyes narrowed. “Not just your magic.”
“No? I guess I’m just that much more accomplished at illusions than the rest of you. Invisibility is sobasic.” Lucifer’s lip curled.
Harper stirred in Ash’s arms. He sucked in a deep breath and his eyes popped open, instantly finding Ash’s.
Ash pressed a finger to Harper’s now-pink lips, and Harper stilled. The cut on his cheek was already gone and the bruise on his neck was fading fast.
“I’ve been wearing an illusion of you three,” Luc continued, glancing around as if looking for Onyx. He didn’t seem bothered not to find his brother. “You couldn’t find me because I cloaked myself in your magic, making mine undetectable and masking me against any tracking. I still have some of your power. I never used all of what I stole. Never realized that, did you? Even your winged pests couldn’t find me, Dante. All they detected when they saw me was your own magic, a complete illusion making them think I was you. It was perfect. However…” His gaze landed on Ash. “I made a mistake.”
A mistake? Dante caught Ash’s eye, brows raised. Lucneveradmitted mistakes. It was like a punch to the face.
Luc went on as if his admission had been nothing. “I must have broken my illusion by revealing my true self to Harper. He’d seen me before, which was fine because he mistook me for human, but when he realized I was a demon, something must have changed. I suppose my spell was no longer all-encompassing. I should have realized a small crack was as good as shattering the whole thing.”
Harper turned in Ash’s arms and faced Lucifer, who wrinkled his nose at the sight of Harper conscious again. “Seems likeyou wasted your big advantage,” Harper snarled, almost as growly as a demon.
Ash’s chest swelled. His fierce mate. Fuck, Harper was perfect.
Luc sneered. “Like I’d make a move with only one advantage.”
Ash had enough of talking. He released his hold on Harper even though it was like letting go of a piece of his soul, his body cold and empty without his mate. He stepped in front of Harper, shielding him from Luc’s unworthy gaze and encasing Harper in his protective fire.
“It’s not an advantage to be caught off guard.” Ash bared his fangs and launched into the air.
He came down on Lucifer hard, knocking him onto his back. Ash gripped his throat. Luc raked his claws down Ash’s arms, drawing blood, but Ash felt no pain. He beat his wings, using the force to press Luc into the cement floor.
Dante appeared at his side, pulling a glowing vial from his pocket.
Lucifer shot a bolt of red lightning into the center of Ash’s chest. Ash’s heart stopped and his body jolted, his grip tightening on Lucifer, crushing his throat. He couldn’t move.
His magic raced to repair his heart. Fuck! At least he hadn’t lost consciousness.
Luc pushed Ash off him, sending another bolt of lightning at Ash’s chest and stopping Ash’s heart just as it started to beat again. It wouldn’t kill him permanently, but Ash was completely incapacitated while his heart healed.
Luc turned on Dante, his lip curled back in a snarl as his crushed neck healed itself.
Movement flashed behind Luc. Harper stooped to the ground, blazing bright with Ash’s fire. When had he circledaround them all? Ash caught a determined look on his flower’s face.
His unbeating heart swelled with affection.
Harper gathered dust from the floor and threw it at Luc, muttering a spell. The dust sparked, hitting Luc in the back of the head.
Lucifer screamed and whirled around, only for Harper to hit him in the face with more dust. The flesh on Luc’s face burned as if the dust were acid, but his rapid healing closed the wounds quickly.
Luc lunged for Harper just as movement returned to Ash’s body. He grabbed Luc by the wing and pulled him to the ground. As he fell, Luc hit Ash with another lightning bolt.
