Page 87 of The Demon's Fire
“Don’t be such a pussy. Tyr zapped you with a spell so you’d leave with us. No fuss. No muss. Not our fault you’re a lightweight.”
“When do I meet this Rein?”
“Since he’s busy, I’ve got the okay to answer any questions you might have.”
Hmm. She’s still gorgeous, even with my throbbing headache, but I’m gonna kill her.
He reached for his gun, remembering he didn’t have it.
“Aw, cuddles. We took your weapon away. No guns on Scath.”
“Cut the ‘cuddles’ shit. What was so important you kidnapped an Alliance agent? I thought we were all on the same team.”
Sabine sighed. “We are. Sorry about the whole spell routine, but you weren’t cooperative. You’ve already got a rep around here for being a jerk.”
“I’m sad. Should I smile more while you guys ream my ass? Why don’t you tell me why I’m here so I don’t have to guess. I assume it’s not because I’m so devastatingly good looking you want me for your personal sex toy. Or is that it?”
She snorted. “You know you got stuck two times by a healer who came to your office, right?”
Nico ran his fingers through his hair, mildly interested in the direction of the conversation but still working with a headache. “Sure. I was there.” He plopped back onto the couch.
“You already knew you had some Aeternal running through your veins.”
“Obviously. That’s why I joined the Alliance and became an agent.”
“The bad-news-worse-news is the first blood test showed you are descended from a mage. The second confirmed you are related to a member of the Blood Coven.”
“Okay. Big deal.”
“Actually, it is. It means you are in deep shit, and Cerberus, the hound of Hades from prophecy, is hunting your kind.”
Although Nico heard what Sabine was saying, he stared at her kissable lips. Then his gaze roamed to her pale, translucent eyes like sea glass, a distinguishing mark of a nymph or satyr. He fantasized about taking her sun-streaked blonde hair out of the braids and letting it flow down her back, his fingers rubbing along her baby-soft, cream-colored skin and nicely muscled arms. Maybe she’d wrap those strong, shapely legs around him while he buried himself in her core.
What in the hell was she going on about now?
“…for your protection.”
There you go. She just pissed him off. He brushed an unruly strand of hair off his forehead. “Fuck your protection.”
****
Aftera sleepless night in a crowded tent where Kole contained his urges, the craggy rock aerie of the Spriggans was far behind them. As he had been doing since leaving the enclave, he marked their trail with bursts of fire, ashing a shrub or two. “We’ll reach my cave before nightfall. Since it’s stocked with emergency supplies, we can hide out there until my Firebrands find us.”
“They know about your cave?”
“They know I have a hideout. They don’t know where it is, but at some point, they’ll check with the Spriggans. Once they do, they’ll see my marks along this route. In the meantime, we’ll wait it out. Don’t worry.”
Skyler hit him with the frosty-chin-up look. “I’m not worried.”
“Of course you’re not. You’re tough.”
At midday, Kole paused. He passed Skyler water along with the Spriggan version of a protein bar while they rested on a grassy slope at the base of a mountain.
She perched on a boulder with her knee bent, her arm clasped around it while she took in the scenery.
Kole thought he might enjoy being stuck in his cave with Skyler. He peeked overhead at the bright sun. It must be affecting his mind. Still, she presented a beautiful picture, her platinum hair hanging loose, her skin glowing, and her face tilted upward with her long, luscious neck begging to be kissed. In the light, her eyes were blue with strong lilac highlights today. The sun was getting to him, possible sunstroke. She spoke, jarring him from a vision of her in his arms, his lips pressed to her very enticing neck.
“Which way are we going?”
