Cassandra brings closed fists in front of her face, getting down into a defensive stance. The sight of her ready for a fight makes my heart skip a beat. I tell myself for the thousandth time there’s no such thing as soulmates for demons—not when we don’t have souls, period. I can’t understand this unstoppable attraction, though. Her gravity pulls me in, and I have no way of staying back. She’s beautiful, and her body makes me want to fuck her in every position imaginable. I want to make her come apart a thousand times before I reach my own climax, and the memory of her coming around my fingers still lives rent-free in my brain.
But Cassandra is so much more. She’s smart, and brave, and I have never seen someone so intent on breaking the rules and making their way back to earth. There’s light inside her, but there are shadows, too, and they are so striking I can’t wait to see more of them. I can’t wait to see all of her, and the only way for me to experience that is to stick around.
I want to stick around her. Shit, I never thought that was possible, but she makes me want tostay.
The reaper aims his sword at her, his face contorted in anger. Cassandra frowns, studying his openings so she can attack back. I admire her for another second, utterly mesmerizing in that red dress, stupidly certain she’ll manage to fistfight a man with a sword. And then I make my move.
Calling my knives from the pocket dimension where I keep my stuff, I curl my fingers around them and bring them up as I pounce on the reaper. His shoulders bunch as if he feels my approach, but he has no time to react. I sink both knives to the hilt, each to one side of his spine. He cries out, a sharp sound that becomes gurgled. His knees buckle and he drops, face-first. Cassandra steps away at the last second, and silence pushes into my ears.
She gapes up at me, opens her mouth, but says nothing. Shock takes her face as her chest heaves, her hands opening as she stares between me and the fallen reaper.
I smirk. “Happy I’m here?”
Cassandra rolls her eyes. “Jerk.” She steps over the reaper, then punches me in the arm. “You scared me to death. I didn’t hear you.”
I use the handle of my knife to scratch my head. “Yeah, about that. These woods are called the Silent Woods. They devour sound. You shouldn’t have come here, you could have gotten lost for real.”
She glances around us, then back at the reaper. “Well. What’s the punishment for a demon that kills a reaper?”
I shrug. “None if you’re not caught.”
Her eyes burn when she glares at me. “And where did these knives come from?”
“Pocket dimension.” I open it for her, the small black hole circling in the fabric of the Abyss right above my shoulder. I snap my fingers to close it. “Really handy. Hard to learn the spell.”
Cassandra blinks. “You had one of those all this time, and you let me walk around with this slutty dress?”
It’s my turn to blink in confusion. “Why would I want you in anything other than a slutty dress?” And I put another smirk on, just to watch her huff.
“You even let me freeze that time in the cave. You could have given me a blanket or something.”
“Or,” and I brush her hair away from her creamy shoulder, “I could have cuddled with you, which is much better.”
She bats my hand away, but her lips curl with amusement. “You’re a jerk, but a useful jerk to have around.” And she looks up at me, a softness in her gaze I don’t think I’ve yet seen. Shit, she’s so beautiful I’m caught in her presence for a solid minute, just staring at her. Did she step closer to me? It feels like it. Cassandra clears her throat and steps away. “So, here’s my plan: run into the woods to lose the reaper.” She makes a checkmark with a hand. “Done. Now, I was going to run back to the road and follow it until I make it to the portal back home.”
“Not the best plan out there,” I tell her, “since there are going to be demons after us in no time, but there’s not much else to do. We have to be fast. Father won’t let you run off this easily. We’ll make it to the portal.” I touch her elbow, guiding her back the way I came.
She nods slowly, her eyes on the place my fingers touch her arm. “Yeah. Let’s hope my mates managed to burn my body.”
CHAPTER27
APOLLO
Pain pulses in my side, but my mind whirls with all the shit going down at the same time. Kayn has jumped out the window, like the fucking coward he is, and the doors to the outside tremble with the threat of a dozen vampires waiting for a piece of us.
Once upon a time, Kayn wouldn’t let them kill us. No, he had a use for us. He wanted us on his side, tough soldiers fighting for his stupid cause. Now? He won’t falter to send them after us. We’ll be lucky if we die fighting before they decide to transform us into blood bags. I’ve dealt with one too many cases of that.
Dealt with. In the past. Images of my life before Cassandra flash before my eyes. Working in Shifter Ops, changing into my dragon and hunting with the rest of my clan. Things have changed. A lesser man could think they’ve changed for the worse, but Cassandra flipped my life upside down in the best of ways. For the first time, I feel like I can make a real difference. The people we released in the Little Palace, fighting Kayn, keeping this realm safe. Cassandra’s influence in my life made me a better man than I could have ever hoped for.
Even if she’s gone. Even if I never see her again.
Another blow to the door. The wood begins to crack. I whirl around to face the others.
“We have to leave,” I tell them, stating the obvious.
“How?” Ren asks, his hands still around Donatello’s shoulders. The vampire is on his knees, scratching his eyes furiously. Whatever Kayn tried to throw my way was shitty. The liquid runs down Donatello’s face in angry red smears, staining his cheeks.
“There’s only one way out,” says Mei, pointing at the broken window. It’s big enough we could jump through it now that Kayn broke the glass. There’s only one problem.