Chapter 33 #2
He slid her a glass, and this time she took it.
Call her a fool, but she needed one too.
It had been… How would she describe it? The control he had: She wanted it.
She wanted to be able to summon and extinguish like he did.
To know for certain that she wouldn’t harm anyone ever again.
Her magic had been used by reflex, or in a rush of adrenaline or panic.
Never willingly. Not since she’d harmed him.
“How long ago did you manifest?” he asked.
“A few months ago.”
“What happened when you did?”
She sipped her liquor. It burned the entire way down, and she was grateful for it. Sharing this much had never been the plan, but he wasn’t running or killing her. “I burned down a whole village and killed a bunch of innocent humans.”
Sera choked on the lump in her throat, taking a long sip of her drink to push it down.
“Are you okay?”
Time slowed. Sera regarded the demon lord sitting before her.
From his long fingers to the way his shirt stretched over his lean, muscled shoulders, to the patch of chest that showed at his collar, leading up his neck to his blade-sharp jaw.
Why? Why had he chosen to ask her this, out of all the things he could have done or demanded?
Why her magic? And why… why had he asked if she was okay?
No one had asked her that. Not Dominick, not Nora, especially not her mother. But here, this demon lord she had known for less than a day was asking if she was okay, and Shadow help her, she wasn’t.
Her voice cracked. “No, I’m not.”
“Who else knows?”
“My sister,” she rasped. “My mother and my best friend.”
“Not your bodyguard? The Council?”
Sera released a breath that sounded more like a strangled laugh. “He’s not my bodyguard, but no. Alistair doesn’t know.”
“I see.” Vasso swirled the last bit of his drink before swallowing it down. “I took out half the Emerald Glade when mine manifested, and I had the greatest teacher in Gehenna at my side.”
“That was you?” That meant he had to be at least two hundred. Sera regarded him again. Demons aged much slower than witches and warlocks, but he didn’t look much older than Al.
He chuckled and pushed back that strand of hair that seemed to always be flopping on his forehead. “You’ve seen what the magic does. It’s not like I meant to.”
He can teach you.
Sera slumped in her chair and took another swig. This was either the stupidest idea she’d ever come up with or the most brilliant.
“Will you teach me?”
Vasso barked a laugh. “That’s a big fucking ask.
” He crossed his arms. She couldn’t stop herself from admiring the curve of his cheek, the way his eyes danced in the candlelight.
He had a deadly calmness to him. Even the white of his hair was a bright contrast to the dark study around him.
He reminded her of a poisonous plant, made to attract… then kill.
“You’re the only person I’ve ever seen with this power,” she said. “Not just seen but even heard of. I’ve scoured everything I could find in the Citadel library.”
“It will change you.” His tone was serious, those sharp features back in place.
“My life changed the day it escaped from my body.”
A muscle twitched in his cheek. “You possess witch magic as well?”
She nodded. Vasso studied her, tapping the finger with the skull ring on his bicep. Without warning, a burst of ice-cold air shot at her. Sera yelped and snapped her barrier in place. She would kill him. Rip him to shreds, slash more than just that tiny scar on his cheek.
“I’ll help you,” Vasso said with a smirk before she could let out a string of curse words.
“Was that supposed to be a test?”
“You can’t tell your bodyguard.” Vasso held out his hand.
“That’s your price for helping me?” she asked.
“Afraid you’ll fail?”
It seemed too simple. She was missing something. If a bargain was that simple, why would anyone not bargain with a demon? And why didn’t Vasso want Alistair to know he was helping her?
Sera knew why she didn’t want Alistair to know, and Vasso had already confirmed that Al didn’t. There was definitely something missing.
What she didn’t need was for Lord Vasso to consider a harsher price. Something that would get her into worlds of trouble, enslavement—who knew.
Sera glanced at his hand. So unassuming, a simple handshake, but this would be binding until the deal was done. Sera grasped her raven pendant, zipping it back and forth on the string.
It is the only way, her magic hummed at her. Shadow almighty, she hoped this wasn’t a colossal mistake. If she broke it, if Al found out he was teaching her, she’d be bound to him.
Vasso’s hand remained extended. That ruby ring stared at her, and the sly grin on his face dared her to take the deal. She’d never wanted this power, but if there was a chance she could learn to use it, keep it from harming the ones she loved over and over… she had to do it.
Sera grabbed his hand. For a moment, there was nothing. Then his eyes flashed from gray to bloodred, and a searing pain shot through her arm, down her shoulder to the bottom portion of her spine. “Moons, that hurt.”
“Well, I couldn’t brand your hand, now, could I? Someone might see it.”
Fuck.