Chapter 3 #2
I kick my other leg up at him, and he catches my ankle. He begins the uncomfortable process of removing the glass and cleaning the wounds. His lips twitch into a wider smile whenever I wince, and I have to look away so I don’t kick that smile right off his face.
“Where will we do this hunting game?” I ask.
This is another way they can put me at a disadvantage. If we do it here, they have every demon on their side. It won’t be a hunt of four against one, because every person around will have it out for me. I need to convince them to take me somewhere else.
“We’ll go to your hometown,” Damek says.
I blink at him. “My… hometown?”
“Yes, wherever you came from. The place you know best.” His cocky smirk has me searching his words for some underlying point that makes this a disadvantage to me.
I come from a mid-sized city in Washington state, surrounded by mountains and forests. There are a thousand places to hide—unlike this castle—and I know my way around better than them.
“You’re giving me an advantage like that?” I ask cautiously.
He shrugs. “Why wouldn’t I? I’m confident I can win the bet either way, but I want you to feel like you have a fighting chance. It’s more fun that way.”
Grinding my teeth together, I yelp when Izoran’s tongue suddenly strokes my sole again. This time I’m paying enough attention to feel the gentle pull of my wounds healing. Neither foot hurts anymore, leaving only the gash in my arm.
I hold my forearm out to Iz. “Heal this, too.”
He stands up and grabs my arm gently, his long fingers caressing down. His nails scrape at me, but he never uses enough force to break the skin. “Happy to,” he says.
His eyes meet mine when he darts his tongue out, and he holds my gaze as he licks up my arm. It’s surreal to watch the skin heal behind his touch, acting like it had never been broken at all.
Brellan clears his throat, dropping a hand on Izoran’s shoulder when the demon tries to continue running his tongue up my arm, far past the site of the injury. “Do you have any more complaints or questions, or are we set to go?” he asks.
My body feels more alert and prepared than it has for anything in months. The healing might not have been limited to the physical wounds—my general aches and pains have vanished, and I have enough energy to feel ready for anything.
They’re going to regret healing me. It’s given me a chance to win.
“How do I know you aren’t going to go back on your word when I escape you at dawn?” I ask Damek.
He brings his hand to his mouth, puncturing the pad of his thumb with one sharp tooth. “A bloodbinding pact, of course. Give Brellan your hand.”
Izoran moves out of the way, and I place my hand in Brellan’s rough palm. His hands are almost twice the size of mine, rough and calloused from excessive use. He brings my thumb to his lips and bites down to create the same injury Damek gave himself. Then he leads my hand over to Damek’s.
Our thumbs press together, blood mixing, droplets dripping down to the floor.
Something hangs in the air around us, a weighted veil that muffles the sounds outside me and him. The demon king repeats the terms we’ve gone over, before ending the spoken contract with a mantra. “By Nuvelia, it is done.”
Damek watches me, the veil not yet lifted. I swallow, realizing it’s up to me to seal the deal now. I run back through everything he said while his hand rests warm against mine, trying to make sure he didn’t slip in any trickery.
He only said everything we’d already discussed. That’s not to say there aren’t loopholes remaining, but it’s as good as I’ll get on a deal with a demon.
“By Nuvelia, it is done,” I repeat.
The heavy air falls away in an instant, and I drop Damek’s hand and wipe my blood on the sullied cloth. “Want me to heal that one too?” Izoran asks.
I shake my head. “No, I’ll keep this one.”
The pinprick has already stopped bleeding, leaving only the red smear against my skin. It throbs as a reminder of the pact I just made. I’ll belong to him if I lose—I just promised myself in a conditional betrothal.
Lorcan hands me a towel and a bundle of clothing. I take them hesitantly, lifting an eyebrow.
“There’s water drawn for a bath. I would hurry and clean up, because your head start is only until the sun sets over your hometown,” he says.
There are no windows in here, so I can’t tell how bright the light still is. We might be in a completely different time zone than Washington anyway. They didn’t exactly tell me where my new home was located when I was stolen away to make good on my soul contract.
“I’ll just change, then,” I say.
The clothes in my hands are the same grey cotton as the ones all prisoners wear, but they’re clean and far less frayed than my set. Plus, there’s a thick coat that I’ll need if I’m going to be out overnight.
“Bathing isn’t optional,” Lorcan says.
“I want the extra time.”
Reaching out, he plucks the coat from the pile of clothes. “Take the time to scrub the filth off, and you’ll get the jacket and the shoes we’ve gathered for you. If not, you’ll play the game barefoot and freezing.”
I clench my jaw, glancing at Damek. He’s grinning and obviously isn’t going to step in. I’m burning daylight by arguing, and I have to admit a bath might make me feel more alive.
Seeing my feet scrubbed clean of dirt has made it clear how dirty the rest of me still is.
I snatch the coat back from Lorcan. “Fine. All of you stay out.”
The bathroom is lit by candlelight, and I storm toward it and slam the door. I rip off my clothes as fast as possible. The warm water soothes and relaxes me as I slip into the tub, but I only let myself have a moment of peace.
Then I grab the cloth and scrub myself until my skin is pink and clean, before getting out and putting on the fresh outfit. When I leave the bathroom all four men are waiting and watching the door, but I head over to Lorcan who has a pair of grey sneakers in his hand.
I take them and put them on, despite how foreign it feels to have something on my feet.
“Let’s go, then,” I say.
“Impatient,” Lorcan snickers.
I only glare at him.
“Lorcan will take you to where we’ll play the game,” Brellan instructs. “Your head start will be until the sun sets, and then the hunt begins.”
“And I hope you know what happens when we catch you, Nova.” Damek comes up behind me, his hand resting on my hip, dangerously close to the curve of my ass.
Heat rises to my cheeks. “Won’t you just be dragging me to the Underworld?”
He chuckles. “Not without fucking you first.”
I squeeze my thighs together, my core tensing in anticipation. “I didn’t know that was part of the deal.”
“My apologies, I thought it was implied. It’s no fun if I drag you kicking and shouting back to my palace. I’ll make sure you’re impaled on my cock, screaming in pleasure when I introduce you to your new home.”
This is the caveat that I was waiting for.
I’ve already agreed—I can’t take it back now. I don’t know if I would, considering this is still my only chance.
But it’s far different knowing they’ll pin me down and fuck me if I’m caught in this game of chase. I step away from him and clear my throat. “Fine. Hurry up, I don’t want to lose any more of my head start.”
I watch all four men exchange a hungry look. Then Lorcan reaches out to grab my arm. “Come on then. You’ll just have to tell me where we’re going.”