Chapter Seventeen
Skye pressed her forehead to the closed dressing room door after Remi left and tried to catch her breath.
Something foreign and unpleasant worked through her, congealing into a sickness that had her sliding down to the floor.
She wrapped her arms around her torso and sat on the ground, resting the side of her head on the wooden frame of the door.
What the hell was happening to her?
She bit her tongue until the iron taste of blood flooded her mouth. She’d never felt whatever this was inside her. It had the same contours as the way she experienced losing her mother, but it was sharper, barbed wire grinding through her organs.
Anger. It was just another facet of anger. And Remi hurt her pride. He knew she was going back on her word by fucking him. That’s all it was.
So she fucked a soulless. Oh well. Literally every demon did at some point. It didn’t mean anything. She had to do it to distract Remi to rebind the magic of the bargain to his soul.
A warmth began to grow at the base of her throat. The heat grew so quickly that her neck started burning. She yanked at the black lace choker until it untied and tossed the wretched thing across the room.
Her fingers smoothed over the blistered, marred skin where the black diamond had been lying.
Not black anymore.
Skye’s eyes widened as she crawled across the floor to stare at the marbled gem. Shining ice-blue swirls danced among the shadows.
It’s working!
Zara was right. The devil magic she stole to fortify Remi’s bargain needed his acceptance. Another bargain or two and she’d probably have his soul entirely.
She picked up her necklace and hissed as the gem burnt her hand. “Stupid thing.”
Shadows seeped out and soothed the burn on her fingers and at the base of her neck before returning to the gem.
She furrowed her brows. The shadows coated the blue within the necklace and swallowed it.
She flicked her finger over the diamond, and the shadows parted to show her the blue soul underneath.
“Okay,” she said, elongating the word. “Thanks, shadows.” They were protecting her. They healed her before she bothered to use her own magic to do so, and by covering the blue of Remi’s soul, they were keeping it from trying to burn through the bargain.
She relaced the ties to her necklace.
Laurie had said Remi wasn’t human. When Zara had pressed him for his theories, he’d reminded them that while the only magical beings on Earth were demons and angels and witches, others had existed, maybe still existed somewhere else in the universe.
Remi probably had an ancestor from a hundred thousand years ago that got mixed up with a magic that wasn’t from here.
Though why only Skye’s powers could interact with Remi’s shadow soul was anyone’s guess.
The steady thump of drums pounded through the room. Remi’s voice came in and out as the boys played and tested the sound on stage. Even with the bargain in place, Skye had a million things to get ready for the show tonight.
She reapplied her lipstick and fixed her clothes and hair in the mirror before leaving the dressing room. On her way to the tour bus to grab her laptop, the scent of smoke caught her attention.
She skittered to a stop, turning to find two demons eyeing her.
Zara’s face brightened. “Naughty, naughty girl!”
Laurie stood beside her. His eyes scanned her from head to toe with a less than amused expression on his face.
“You fucked him!” Zara said.
“I didn’t!” Skye lied automatically.
“We can smell him on you,” Laurie said.
Skye sucked her teeth. “Fine. Yeah, I did. So what?”
“You don’t fuck the soulless,” Zara said.
“I had to distract him to get him to say he wanted the bargain,” Skye said. “And it worked, so that’s all it was.”
“Hmm,” Laurie said.
For a tense moment, Skye crossed her arms over her chest, while Zara’s eyes flicked between her and Laurie.
“Well,” Zara said, breaking the silence. “We brought you two leads. Even simpler than the last one.”
“Really?” Skye said, dropping her defensive stance.
“I’ve been working on someone,” Laurie said. “Run-of-the-mill wannabe rock star.”
“You’re giving up a lead for me?” Skye asked. Zara was only helping because she enjoyed the drama and entertainment. Skye didn’t know what Laurie’s motives were, but he never did anything for free.
Laurie rolled his eyes. “The sooner this bargain is fixed, the sooner things will go back to normal.”
Skye pressed her lips together. Maybe Zara had been right about Laurie. He was just jealous and didn’t like that Skye left him out.
“And I found someone who wants to fuck a demon,” Zara said.
“Great,” Skye said. “Who?”
Zara smirked and pointed.
They all turned and watched the band jump down from the stage, pushing and shoving each other good-naturedly.
Liam’s face lit up when he saw Zara.
Skye grabbed Zara’s arm and dug her fingernails in.
“Ow.”
“No,” Skye hissed. “I told you Liam’s soul is off limits.”
Zara shrugged. “I know. I know. I was just kidding, but you know, now I’ll probably fuck him anyway.”
“No!” Skye said. “I told you all of Tilted Haze was off limits for fucking and souls. That goes for both of you.” She narrowed her eyes in Laurie’s direction. He threw her a dismissive hand.
Zara pouted. “You said they were off limits before you broke your own rules. Why are you the only one who gets to have any fun?”
“Because Tilted Haze is Skye’s band,” Laurie said.
“Hi, Zara! It’s so good to see you,” Liam said. He jostled Skye out of the way to hug Zara.
Zara embraced him back and then Ollie. “Hi, baby. How are my favorite members of Tilted Haze?”
Liam grinned, his eyes crinkling at the sides. “Good, you know, just finished sound check. Hey, you should stay for the show tonight.”
“I’d love to.” Zara grinned. Skye elbowed her, and Zara elbowed her back harder.
“What the hell is going on?” Remi asked, glaring at Skye. “Why are they here?”
“Well, I don’t know what’s going on in Hell right now, but Laurie and I were just visiting,” Zara said.
“No need to get so worked up, pretty boy,” Laurie said. “I’d think you’d be less hostile given the activities you’ve gotten up to lately.”
Remi’s narrowed eyes shifted into a smug glee. Arrogance dripped off him as he mirrored Laurie’s stance, crossing his arms over his chest. “Oh, you mean when I fucked your girlfriend?”
“Oh Devil damn me,” Skye said with an eye roll. Fucking men.
West furrowed his brow, pointing between Skye and Laurie. “You two are dating?”
“No,” Skye said as Laurie gave a flat, “Of course not.”
“You’ll have to let me know how my come tastes when you eat her out later,” Remi said, shoulder-checking Laurie as he went by.
Laurie threw his head back and laughed. He grabbed Remi’s arm. “Or how about you join us and I can get a taste from the source?”
Remi curled his lip and pulled his arm from Laurie’s grasp, walking away.
Laurie’s smirk was in full force as he turned back to the group. His eyes landed on West, who was eyeing him warily. Laurie winked, and West blushed, then looked away, mumbling something about meet-and-greets as he scurried after Remi.
“So you two aren’t together. And where does that leave you, Zara?” Liam asked.
Zara smiled. “Oh, I fuck them both.”
Liam’s face fell.
Ollie narrowed his eyes and scratched his head. “So like a throuple?”
Laurie rolled his eyes. “This is boring. Come find me when something interesting happens.”
Zara shook her head as Laurie walked toward the back hall to sift away out of sight.
“We’re like best friends,” Zara said. “Or even closer, like family.”
“I don’t fuck my friends,” Liam said.
“And definitely not family,” Ollie muttered under his breath.
“Haven’t you ever had someone brush your hair? Or scratch your back?” Zara asked. “It feels good, right? It’s like that. Sex feels good. The three of us like to make each other feel good.”
Liam was nodding, but his eyebrows were still furrowed.
“Sounds complicated,” Ollie said.
Zara’s eyes slid to Skye.
She just sighed. It never used to be.