Page 69 of The Magic of Betrayal
"Bram. I'm itchy. I'm just scratching an itch, okay?" I narrowed my eyes on him, not in the mood for his shit.
"Yeah, you sure were,scratchinganitch," he winked and I fumed.
"You honestly think I'm laying in bed beside you,” I paused to scratch harder and rub my arm over my forehead, “and whacking off when my entire world just went to shit?" I rubbed my eyes and groaned. "My body feels weird and I'm getting another headache."
"Oh yeah, what time is it?" Bram scrambled to check his phone and I heard him mumble something under his breath that sounded like sexy demon.
"What's the time have to do with anything?"
"It's just past midnight, which means it's officially your twenty-eighth birthday," Bram smirked, "which of course means, you'll soon begin the manifestation."
Bram snapped his fingers and a giant cupcake appeared in his hand with a single candle and he peered down at me with a smug smile.
Stupid demon doesn't even realize I don't care about my birthd—
"Excuse me,the what?"
"The manifestation. The prophecy refers to you needing to find your five before your twenty-eighth, which you did, and now your demon powers will manifest. That's why it's called the manifestation," he nodded, like all the bullshit he just spewed made any sense to me at all.
“How do you even know about the prophecy?” I asked, still squirming around between his sheets.
“The team told me, of course. It’s pertinent information. Granted, they told me before they knew who I was, but whatever,” he shrugged.No biggie.Of course they would have told him, it was a job after all.Ugh.
Sinking back down onto my pillow, I felt a bit better at the change of position, but the dull ache in my forehead wasn't going anywhere.
"What are you feeling, Goldie?"
"Pressure in my forehead, my skin feels tight and itchy, I'm exhausted," I admitted, letting my eyes drift shut once more.
"You might shift, just a warning," Bram said softly, and my eyes flew open, but there was no mistaking the hint of excitement in his voice.
"Shift into a demon? I'm not a full demon, so I fucking hope not," I cursed, clenching my jaw.
"Oh, but you'll be the sexiest demon, those curves with a tail and wings?" Bram groaned and physically shivered, the bed even shaking, as if the thought of me in full demon form was enough to give him a stiffy. Then again, this was Bram, so he probably was hard as a rock already.
Ignoring his ridiculousness, I had some questions that I wanted answered now that I'd recovered the use of my voice.
"Does your dad know I'm here and what I am?"
"I'm sure he does. That's likely where Khol went running off to the moment he stepped through the portal. It's been a very long time since he was allowed to come back here.”
"Allowed?"
He ran a hand over his hair. "Yeah. The Four were sent away to complete their mission of procreating and they weren't allowed to return until they succeeded."
“Who are The Four?”
Bram sighed. “The Four were my father’s highest ranking demons a century ago. Asrael, Eronne, Thijs, and Khol. Known for their ruthlessness, loyalty, and desire for blood, they were tasked with the mission of furthering our race,” he explained.
Wow. The king was crazier than I thought. Sending your highest ranking minions out into the world to fuck and make babies. Nice.
"What does he want with me?" I wondered, absently scratching my arm.
"You're hope. You're a promise of something that our people have long given up on. A future. Possibilities."
"So, he isn't going to want to like, I don't know, study me or something?" The thought of being used as a lab rat was enough to send fear rocketing through my body.
"He can fucking try, but I told you before, Goldie." He hovered his face over mine, his expression fierce. "You're mine and I will kill anyone who harms a hair on your head."
