Page 52 of Tricky Magic
It had been a week. A whole week of ending up with her fingers between her thighs whenever that fucking asshole crept into her mind, reminding her about the wicked ways he’d made her come. On top of her frustration, she was confused. Why had he left her?
Ellea stood a few feet from the large glass window at the back of her cabin, glaring at the green structure across the lake. She hadn’t seen Ros—hadn’t attempted to see him either. Her eyes refocused on her reflection scowling back at her, then she jumped. Belias had appeared out of the shadows behind her.
She whirled on him. “What the fuck are you doing in my home?”
How had he just appeared there?
“I wanted to apologize.” He didn’t look at her when he said it. “I’m sorry it took so long for me to come back, but I figured you needed time.”
“Time?” she scoffed, and he looked up. “I need a whole lot more than time to get over the fact that you lied to me.”
“I didn’t lie.” He looked thoughtful. “I only kept what I was from you. Clearly, it was a smart thing to do with the way you reacted.”
“Oh, please enlighten me, Belias. How should one react to finding out someone she trusted with her magic lied about who and what he was?” She couldn’t believe him. How dare he show up inside her home and think the whole situation was nothing?
“Yes, I didn’t tell you I was a demon prince, but what does it matter? What do you know of demons?”
Ellea rolled her eyes. Royalty meant nothing to her, and she didn’t even know what a demon prince did with their life, but she knew demons were bad—even though she’d had one between her legs recently. She glared at him and realized he did look like a prince; clean, pressed clothes, raised chin, and a smirk that showed he got whatever he wanted. There was no way he and Ros were related. She waved her hand in the air, showing it didn’t fix anything.
“What do you want, Belias?” She was still pissed about that lie too. She’d trusted him with her magic, and he couldn’t even share his name.
“I came to offer you a proposition.” Clasping his hands behind his back, he stepped closer to her, letting his chin and gaze lower. His dark eyes looked at her from under his lowered brows. “I want to offer you a spot in my court. Come home with me, Ellea, and let’s really see what you can do.”
Ellea’s mouth dropped open.
“Excuse me?” It came out as a cough. He couldn’t be serious. “Come home with you? Where?”
“To Hel, of course.” He straightened as though he didn’t understand why she was questioning this.
Suddenly, laughter bubbled out of her. She bent over with it, causing him to scowl at her.
“I’m being serious,” he said over the hysterical giggles.
“I’m sure you’re very serious,” she said, wiping tears from eyes. “Why would you think I belonged anywhere near your—what was it—court?”
Her laughs bellowed harder, and he rolled his eyes at her. He wiped his hand over his face, causing her to laugh more.
The laughter cut off as a zing of her magic shot up her spine. Ellea turned to her window, feeling a pull at her core. A wave of unease washed over her, and she looked back at Belias, but he didn’t seem to notice what was creeping in her chest. Looking back at the window, she zeroed in on a clump of trees near Ros’ cabin. They were swaying and falling too quickly to be someone chopping them down. A wave of something blasted them apart.
“Something isn’t right,” she whispered. Her feet moved toward the back door on their own, but Belias wrapped his hand around her upper arm, stopping her. She whipped a glare over her shoulder. “Let me go.”
“I can’t do that.” It came out like a hiss, and there was something in his eyes she didn’t recognize. Her magic reacted to his hold on her and scorched him through her shirt. He pulled his hand away roughly. “Stop that and listen to me.”
“No, you listen to me.” She created distance, stepping closer to the back door. “Something is happening, and I need to go help.”
“No, you need to come with me.” He reached for her, but she lunged away. “You don’t belong here, you belong with me.”
He tried again as a swirl of shadows appeared behind him. They were nothing like Ros’ shadows, but she blasted some of her powers at it, at the void of endless nothingness. The dark tendrils dissipated as her shock of magic cleared them away. Belias glared at them. She took his distraction and swiped quickly at his foot. He landed on the floor with a thud.
An urgent wave of panic washed over her again, making her look over her shoulder to where she was being pulled.
Belias took advantage of her distraction and threw shadows that wrapped around her hands, her face, and then her feet. Again, the shadows were so different from Ros’. His were night and crisp darkness, these were suffocating. She fell to the ground, feeling weighed down and breathless. He dragged her across the floor, but she continued to fight.
What was it with males trying to drag her places?
Ellea cleared her mind, taking a shallow breath, and released her powers. They danced across her skin. Electricity zapped, and the shadows floated away. As her eyes cleared, she saw that Belias was trying to drag her to a doorway filled with shadows.
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