Page 43 of Demanding Discord
“I didn’t.”
“You did!” I tried to pull away, but he tightened his arms around me. “I watched you leave.”
I sobbed uncontrollably, slumping into his embrace as all the adrenaline drained from my body. My heart, my muscles, the very fiber of my being ached as if I were about to draw my final breath.
“If I’d left you, you would not be here in my arms right now.” He stroked the back of my head and pressed his lips to my scalp. “I would never leave you, Cinder. Never. You are the light to my darkness, the sound to my silence, the reason for my existence.”
Another sob rolled up from my chest, and I drew in a shaky breath, letting his words wrap around me like a blanket. The conviction in his voice told me everything he said was true. His reassurance eased the ache in my heart, but a pit formed in my stomach as the realization sank in.
I was in love with this demon. No accidental blood bond could fabricate this feeling. It ran too deep—soul deep—for it to be anything other than absolutely authentic.
His heart thudded beneath my ear, the steady rhythm calming my nerves, grounding me. I dragged in another breath, and he finally let me pull away enough to look into his eyes.
“I can’t live without you,” I said.
“Nor I without you.” He brushed the matted hair from my forehead. “You must believe I did not leave you. Our bond is too strong for a little labyrinth to keep us apart.”
“The blood bond.” I swallowed the thickness from my throat and nodded.
“Our soul bond.” He brushed his lips over mine, tentatively at first. When I didn’t pull away, he crushed his mouth to mine, kissing me like I was the final breath he would ever take.
Cradling the back of my head, he slowed the kiss, inhaling deeply as he pulled away and pressed his lips to my forehead. He gave me one more squeeze before releasing his hold and stepping back, concern furrowing his brow.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
I checked in with my body. A mild ache still lingered in my muscles, but it was manageable enough. The important thing was that he truly hadn’t left me. That the knife of betrayal he’d jabbed into my heart had been nothing more than a fabrication of my mind. “I will be.”
“When you mentioned our blood bond, I realized you were right. You cannot pledge yourself to Lucifer when you belong to me.” He brushed his thumb over my cheek. “We are one. The maze could not eject me without sending you too. I should have realized it from the start.”
“Well, I’m glad we cleared that up.” I laughed and wiped the tears from my cheeks, finally getting a grip and taking in our surroundings.
We stood outside the maze, a fifty-yard wall of thorny hedges stretching out toward the horizon. The same orange moon still hung stagnant in the sky, and the sweltering heat of Hell clung to my skin, a welcome sensation after the frigid tundra of the maze’s center.
“We must find shelter so we can regroup,” Discord said. “Can you walk?”
“Yeah,” I said, but I stumbled on my first step, my nerves still raw from the tulpa’s magic.
He caught my arm and steadied me. “I can carry you.”
“I’m okay.” I tugged from his grasp. “Where can we go?”
“There’s a gardening shed on the other side of the maze. We can rest there, and you can tell me more about the visions you received before we were attacked.” He jerked his head toward the corner of the hedge in the distance.
“We’re wanted fugitives, and we’re going to hide out in the king’s shed?” I lifted my hands and dropped them at my sides. We’d done crazier things, I supposed. “Why not?”
“Do you have a better plan?” he asked.
“Sure don’t.” I laced my arm around his biceps. “Lead the way.”
We made it halfway to the corner when a high-pitched chitter sounded behind us. I whirled around, knife in hand, and the friggin’ imp, who’d followed us from Hecate’s house, took a flying leap onto my face. He clutched my hair, sliding his gooey body up to the top of my head, leaving a trail of salty slime on my skin.
Don’t ask how I knew it was salty. Gross.
I wiped my mouth with the hem of my shirt. “How the hell did he get out of the maze?”
The imp yanked on my hair. Then he made an om nom nom sound as he chewed my locks. I swatted at the little bugger, but he dodged my hand and chewed faster.
“My hair is not food.” I grabbed him, but his slimy body slipped from my grasp as he kept on munching. I swear I was starting to hate imps more than mosquito fae.
