Page 79 of Sweet Violence
"I'm at your back, Av," X promised, taking a deep breath and clearing the worry from his expression. He squeezed my hand tight enough that my bones creaked, and then let go."Always."
A knot unwound from my chest. I'd apologise for snapping at him later.
The great hall's big doors came into view, and rage lashed through me like a whip, kicking me faster. My hands started to shake, and I knew X was right that I needed to breathe, to calm down and be clever about this. But brute magic would have to do, because there was no way in Hell, or anywhere else, I was finding my zen right now.
The smells of copper and sex got thicker until I was practically choking on them, and from within I now heard voices speaking in low tones. They didn't know we were here yet.
Good.
I curled my right hand into a tight fist and, ignoring the flash of pain, punched the door off its hinges.
It skidded into the great hall, knocking one of the long tables onto a jaunty angle. I flicked my fingers, and flames ate at the door, devouring it quickly.
"Knock, knock assholes."
27
Oh look, Drill Bastard was here, and a bunch of people I recognised from the training earlier today.AndLou and her buddies.
I met her eyes and watched her shrink away as she read her own death in my eyes. "Who had the grand idea of taking my mate?" I asked with as scary calm as I could muster.
I took a step into the room and watched people flinch back. Others crossed their arms or sneered or merely glared, pissed I hadn't jumped to join their secret book club. I counted heads—twenty-one. Against two, that wasn't great.
"You made it pathetically clear he was your weakness," Drill Bastard sneered, dark green arms bared by a sleeveless shirt and his posture casual. "Him andthat one."
He jerked his chin at X by my side.
"I amsooooglad you're here," I told the asshole, taking another step and smiling cruelly when Melle and Reaven flinched back. Good. I was going to rip them into pieces.
"Why did you ignore the invitation?" Neville asked, frowning at me from his four-foot height. "I thought you were a sure bet."
"I prefer to work on my own timeline," I replied coolly, "instead of being summoned. Where's my mate?"
"We'll give him back soon," Melle said quietly, pale faced and biting her lip. "We won’t kill him; we just want to make sure you join us. You havenoidea how good it would be to have you on board, Freya."
Drill Bastard snorted, giving her a look like she was the shit on his shoe. Kinda rude for him to look at his own buddies that way. I was doing everyone a favour by killing him.1
I took another step, measuring the assholes’ reactions, seeing who would try to run and prove easy pickings. Beside me, X was silent, but I sensed his eagerness to fight, the tiger of his soul flexing its claws in my chest, alongside Joseph's sharp pain.
"This is the last time I'll ask," I warned, holding Drill Bastard's stare. "Where. Is my mate?"
He jerked his chin at Reaven, and the grouchy porcupine demon disappeared into the crowd.
I tapped my foot as we waited, so much restless energy in me that I was fit to burst, and most people avoided my gaze like they could sense I was the more volatile predator.
Reaven appeared right when I was about to start massacring—I was honestly proud of myself for being so patient and composed. She struggled into view from the hallway those sacrificial humans had entered, with Joseph hanging from her hands. She must have been stronger than she looked, because she handled my mate like he was feather-light.
He drooped in her hold, his face swollen, darker than usual, and there was a patch where some of his locs had been burned out of his scalp.
Fury and something deeper, far darker, pulsed in my chest at the sight of him. He was still fully clothed, but I knew the damage continued beneath his clothes with a certainty that scared me.
"We'll give him back to you," Drill Bastard offered, watching me with so much smugness that I wanted to rip his balls off and shove them down his throat.
I breathed fast, violence churning up more magic from Joseph's pain.
"But?" I ground out,barelyholding myself back.
I knew this was a precarious situation, and if I made one false move, they'd kill Joseph like they killed Koa, like they wanted to kill the rest of the infernal family. But I was fighting a losing battle with my restraint.
