Page 39 of Demons In My Head: Exposing the Exiled
Hunter held me tighter, his own tears falling into my hair. "I know, Palmer. I know."
We sat there on my floor, surrounded by broken glass and years of suppressed pain, finally letting ourselves feel the full weight of what had been done to us. And for the first time in my life, I didn't try to push the emotions away. I let them wash over me, knowing that maybe the only way out was through.
Chapter nine
Talon
Holy mackeroly!
Here we were, back in fucking business! Finally home where we belonged, ready to deliver the kind of justice that made my blood sing. Asrael wouldn’t know what hit him when we're through. And dragons, actual, fire-breathing DRAGONS! The legends didn't do them justice. Their raw power, those scales that shimmered like living metal... Made me want to laugh at how perfect this was. And speaking of perfect creatures that commanded attention and awe...
My gaze kept wandering back to Milady. There was something magnetic about her, something that commanded more than just attention—she radiated an energy that made my skin prickle with recognition. A true Queen if I'd ever seen one, and believe me, I'd seen plenty who claimed the title but didn't deserve it. One moment in her presence was all it took. Fuck if I could explain why—logic's never been my strong suit anyway—but my instincts were screaming that she's the real deal. Good to her core, despite the darkness that clung to her like a second skin. The kind of person worth following into whatever beautifuldisaster she'd be cooking up. And my instincts? They'd never led me wrong. Well, mostly never. Close enough.
I couldn't help but grin watching Saige command everyone like she'd been born to wear that invisible crown. Hell, maybe she had been. Fate was a fickle bitch, but sometimes she got shit right.
'Stop staring at her like that,'Felix warned in my head.'You're going to make her mate nervous.'
'Fuck off, I'm admiring her leadership qualities and shit.'Which was true. Mostly. I mean, yeah, she was hot as hell, but that wasn't what had caught my attention. There was just something about her that drew people in.
Speaking of being drawn in... my eyes drifted to her massive fuck-off dragon mate, Sloane. Now there was someone I needed to corner for a chat. Dragons knew all about mate bonds and that kind of mystical fuckery. After the whole Palmer situation and that gods damned knot that popped out of nowhere, I had questions. So many fucking questions. My brothers were being pretty tight-lipped about what happened, but after the initial shock of her leaving and her potentially being a rat… I found that I just didn’t fucking buy that story. There was no gods damned way the connection we had, right off the bat, was fabricated. I’d sooner believe some asshole telling me American cheese is real cheese—newsflash, it’s garbage!—then believe Palmer did us dirty.
"Talon?" Milady's voice broke through my spinning thoughts. "We need your help, please."
Blinking rapidly, I forced myself to focus on the now. On our mission. "Right. Yes. Coming, Milady."
I couldn't see Ashland's judgey little eyeballs, but I felt him rolling them at me as I ran past him to answer the call of our Queen.
As I helped coordinate where the dragons would need to be positioned—and fuck me, the thought of it alone got my heart racing—my mind kept drifting to the sheer impossibility of our situation. Here I was, gesturing like some deranged conductor while these magnificent bastards watched me with ancient eyes that held centuries of wisdom. Or maybe just centuries of judging idiots like me. Either way, the irony wasn't lost on me. A demon directing dragons? The universe had one twisted sense of humor, but not as twisted as mine. I grinned.
"The fuck are you making that face for?" Sloane rumbled next to me.
I barked out a laugh. "I've been told that sometimes I smile a bit too hard. It's not really something I can control, ya know? Just happens. Keeps people confused." I waved my hands around dramatically. "Like, is he super fucking pumped about something? Is he having an intense stomach cramp? Who could say?"
His ice blue eyes studied me for a moment. "You remind me of someone."
"Ohhhh, really?" I straightened my spine and dusted off my shirt. "What a compliment. What is it exactly? It's the hair, isn't it?" My face fell as my hands flew to my red hair. "Dear gods, it's a natural disaster!" I frantically combed through it, trying to get some semblance of order as I glanced over at Milady's luscious red hair that didn't have a single strand out of place.
Sloane's gaze flicked between me and Milady before settling on me with a raised brow. "You do not remind me of Saige. Are you for real right now?"
My arms fell to my side, defeated. "Well, way to take the wind from my sails."
I jumped when the stoic asshole barked out a laugh.
"It's not an insult that you don't remind me of Saige. You remind me of Faris… and one of him is quite enough. I don'tknow what would happen if the two of you were ever in the same room." He suddenly became very serious. "In fact, I hope you never are. I don't want any part of it."
I decided right then and there that I had to meet this Faris. I was going to make it my personal mission. After the main mission, of course.
Keeping my mind focused was like trying to herd cats through molasses while juggling flaming swords. In other words: fucking impossible. Every time I tried to concentrate on the task at hand, my brain would skitter off in twelve different directions, usually ending up back at Palmer and that gods damned knot situation. Or, wondering what this Faris character was like and if we could cause some beautiful chaos together.
"Talon!" Rhodes’ sharp voice cut through my wandering thoughts. "Focus. We need you over here."
"Coming, daddy!" I sang out, skipping over to where he and Felix were setting up some fancy-looking equipment. The look Rhodes shot me could've curdled milk, but I just winked at him.
Felix held up the container of our vapor, the purplish smoke swirling inside like a trapped storm. "We need to ensure the dragons' fire hits this at exactly the right angle. Too direct and it'll destroy the compounds, too indirect and it won't activate properly."
I nodded sagely, pretending I understood any of that scientific bullshit. "Right, right. So basically, we're playing hot potato with dragon fire and mind-control juice?”
"That's... actually not entirely wrong," Felix admitted with a sigh.
