Page 31 of The Prince of Demons

“Must you insist that I’m the gumiho? It is a vulnerability to admit attraction.”

“Indeed,” he rasped, leaning down to kiss his brand. The shadows thrummed beneath my skin. They were pleased. I’d never felt them so strongly. I’d never felt my heart beat so vividly in my throat, either.

“Indeed,” I repeated, desperately searching for my reasoning abilities. Anger ignited in me with the audacity of his kiss. How dare he return and kiss me again? After locking me into a demonic bargain? Reinvigorating my shadows?

“Blaming me is perhaps the perfect cover for yourself and your own wicked deeds,” I said, voice as resolute as I could make it.

Silence stretched. Then, tenderly, his hand moved to grip my chin between his thumb and forefinger. He held me tightly, like a seal. “You know how I could solve both our problems, bold seraphim? I’ll just take you away,” he threatened, face darkening. “Take you to the other side, permanently. Collaborating this way would be beneficial, don't you think?”

I jerked back but couldn’t move far, not with him holding me in place. Even my magic had died, sputtered out from shock. Like it knew an ancient force had bested it. A primal, dangerous one.

“You couldn’t pull that off with Gaksi defending me,” I stuttered.

“He’s not always around, lonely seraphim.” His hand moved upward. Caressed my face with a soft, inviting touch.

“You wouldn’t dare,” I continued. Heat brushed my skin. Dark, swirled tendrils coiled from his clothes through my hair. Each contact renewed my magic, creating a cloud of static around my head. He smirked.

“I could, and I would.” He brushed the shadows down to my scalp. My head buzzed with energy. “And I would even like to.”

He snapped, and I fell backward.

I shrieked, collapsing into a void, convinced he was taking me to the Beyond.

The place where no mortal was supposed to go.

The place where demons emerged.

The place where no mortal had ever returned.

For a moment, I was suspended in space, seeing nothing, free fall.

THUD.

My behind landed on a soft surface. I opened my eyes. Slowly. Cautiously. Petrified of what I might see.

Gaksi winked at me from the computer screen of my dorm room.

“DEMON!” I screamed into the sky.

ChapterTen

THE ORACLE MUSINGS

There are demons, and there are Demons. Many of you came here to fight demons, low-level creatures that are as easily extinguished as they are forgotten.

But to make an impression? Cavorting with high-level, high-beauty, and high-energy Demons will spell disaster indeed.

Time to make like a siren, fishies: Sink or Swim!

P.S. My long-awaited House Ranking is coming up, don’t worry! Pre-order the next edition to learn which Houses stayed on top!

ONE OF YOUIS AN IMPOSTER.

Professor Ansi, zealous as ever, left that encouraging note on the blackboard.

“I must make amends to the above note.” Her keen gaze combed over the class. “There’s room for multiple of you to fail out, actually. We could always use more janitors.”

“This is coming up in her end-of-year evaluation,” Cordelia whispered. She’d written ‘One of You is an Imposter’ in curly pink handwriting in her notebook. She wrote everything the professor said, even if it sounded ridiculous. “Every fish plays its role in the ocean.”

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