Azazel speaks through gritted teeth. “You will allow them the chance to seduce you, but they cannot force you. To do so would qualify as harm.”
It sounds like a sneaky loophole from where I’m sitting. I’m about to say as much when Grace shrugs. “Fine. I agree.”
“Wait!”
“Perfect.” He offers his hand. “We seal it with a kiss.”
“Grace, no.”
But it’s too late. She slips her hand into his. He raises it to his mouth, flips it, and presses a kiss to her wrist. A mark blooms there, black and red, painting itself across her tanned skin in a pattern that seems to shift in a way that defies comprehension.
Azazel glances at me without releasing Grace. “I’ll return to pay my end of the bargain tomorrow. Stay out of trouble until then.”
Darkness surges and I throw up my hand to cover my eyes. One blink and the room is empty except for me, the shadows returning to the normal faded ones from early morning.
Grace is gone.
Fuck.
6
I spend the next twenty-four hours in misery. I still can’t keep anything down and I’m so tired, I don’t bother to leave the motel room. Thankfully, I don’t have to. Grace paid through the end of the week, so at least I don’t have to be worried about being kicked out.
Another price she paid on my behalf.
It doesn’t matter if she said she was doing it for herself, if she went accepted Azazel’s bargain because she was looking for answers about her mother. She never would have had access to the demon in the first place if not for me. If anything horrible happens to her…The fact she just lost seven years…
Everyone is making sacrifices for me. Malachi. Rylan. Wolf. Now Grace, who’s little more than a stranger. Meanwhile, I’m huddled here on a motel bed, waiting to be rescued. Again. It’s enough to make me want to scream.
I feel the change in the air before Azazel materializes in front of me. It’s a strange sort of static electricity, like right before a lightning storm. One moment the room is mundane and ordinary, and the next shadows reign supreme despite the relative early hour.
I won’t say Azazel’s less scary after all these interactions, but I don’t have the energy to cower right now. I just blink up at him as he towers over me. “Took you long enough.” Even my voice sounds wrong. Weak and thready.
He frowns. “What’s the matter with you?”
“Just special, I guess.”
He frowns harder and leans down to coast his hand over my body. He doesn’t touch me, keeping a careful few inches of distance between us, but it still feels too intimate. Especially when he hovers over my midsection and huffs out a laugh. “I suppose that would do it. You’re cooking quite the little beast in there, aren’t you?”
“Don’t call them a little beast.” The words rush out before I can think. I might have more than a little resentment about the pregnancy, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to let this demon talk about the…baby…like that.
“If you insist.” His dark brows draw together, eyes lighting almost red for a moment. “Ah, I see. That would do it.”
“What are you talking about?” I don’t like this. I’m prone and feel particularly helpless, and he hasn’t moved his hand away from my stomach. “Back off.”
“Your shields are abysmal.”
“I’m aware,” I grit out. I can’t sit up because he still hasn’t moved and I don’t want to risk accidentally touching him, but I don’t like this. Not a single bit. “Get away from me. I mean it.” I try to inject as much authority into my voice as possible. I don’t know what I’ll do if he doesn’t listen. I don’t know what I can do.
“I’m feeling generous after meeting my quota so I’ll help you out for free.” He presses a single finger against my lower stomach in the gap between my T-shirt and my jeans. It’s such a tiny touch. A single fingertip. It still goes through me like a giant bell tolling. The room gives a sickening spin and then another and another, before finally settling back into place.
“What the fuck? I told you—” I stop short. I feel different. Lighter. Like I can draw a full breath for the first time in over a week. I’d attributed that claustrophobic feeling to worry about my men, but it was the pregnancy all along? I narrow my eyes at the demon standing over me. “What did you do?”
“Supplemental shield. It won’t stop the beast from growing or gaining the necessary sustenance to survive, but it will stop the constant drain of power.” He considers. “Think of it as a funnel rather than a waterfall. Better for both of you, I imagine.”
“Do you have a lot of experience with seraph pregnancies and the resulting vampire-hybrid babies?” I manage.