Epilogue
Three Months Later
“There it is,” I grumble, pointing toward the horizon.
Mari’s nose crinkles and she glances around. “I don’t think the volcano would bother me as much as the smell.”
“Well, when your skin is being burned off while your eyeballs melt, it definitely bothers you.”
She gives me a side-eye. “Except none of that happens to demons when they’re thrown into fire.”
“How do you know that? Thought you weren’t that well-versed in demon-y things.”
She shrugs. “I may have been doing some reading. And I may have been talking to Clara. She’s a lot more competent when it comes to witchy things. She’s also been teaching me about being soulbound to a demon. Apparently, it makes demons grumpier. At least, that’s the conclusion we came to.”
“Is that so?” I murmur, and she nods, a smirk playing on her lips.
I lunge for her and she shrieks, taking off down the barren rocky hill.
There’s nowhere for her to run, but I chase after her, anyway.
Better than her tumbling headlong down the whole damn mountain.
When I catch her around the waist, she shrieks again.
I spin us straight into the void, then step into a dense forest.
“Shh. You’ll wake them,” I whisper in her ear.
She freezes and I point over our heads. Crows nest above us, sleepy and silent.
They won’t hurt me, and I’m banking on them leaving her alone.
They’re more likely to follow her around like lost puppies, begging for a bit of her attention.
I befriended them centuries ago when I was a very young demon.
For a while, they were my only companions besides Karma. Until Omen came along, that is.
“Where are we?” she breathes, glancing around at the dense trees. Fog weaves its way through the trunks as if it’s sentient. Hell, it might be. I always found it the calm to my volatile nature.
I carry her into a clearing and plop her onto the trunk in the dead center. “Welcome to the woods, spitfire. I used to come here a lot.”
“Are we topside? We’re not, right? This is some…ancient dimension or something?” She can’t seem to stop scanning the area, her head swiveling back and forth.
“Probably. It was old when I was young. I’ve never seen anyone else here, but that doesn’t mean others don’t know about it. I also haven’t found anything truly scary hidden in the trees.”
“So I don’t have to worry about anything eating me?”
I tap her on the nose, and she fixes her gaze on me. “Only me.”
She rolls her eyes. “It’s really calming here.”
“I think so. While I did want you to see it, I also figured this was the best place,” I say nonchalantly.
“Best place for what?”
“Well, you want to run from me…this is safer than a world riddled with volcanic activity.” I cross my arms and see the moment my words click into place.
She slips off the trunk and holds her hands up. “Whoa there, demon. I thought we were going to have like a picnic or something. Not a chase scene where you give me a minute head start, then chase after me.”
“Then fuck you against a tree. And then again on a bed of soft needles. And once more in the cave just to the north.” I tip my chin toward the mountain rising over the trees behind her, then obscured by wispy white clouds.
She glances over her shoulder, then back at me. “Except I don’t know where I’m going and you do. Doesn’t that seem like I’m at a disadvantage?”
“I’m a demon, spitfire. You’re always at a disadvantage in these cases.” I smirk at her scowl.
“And what do we do about that?” She points behind me, and I follow the direction.
I search the trees, trying to peer through the fog at whatever she spotted. All while she attempts to sneak away. She probably would have gotten away with it if she hadn’t stepped on a twig. I grin, pretending I’m still focused on her imaginary sighting.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Marigold. There’s nothing there.”
Her giggle, quickly cut off, comes from the west, and I sigh before settling on the worn-down trunk.
I count silently in my head to a hundred.
She still isn’t far enough away to truly make this a chase, but she’s not ready for one of those yet.
Eventually, we’ll explore more. For now, this is perfect. She’s perfect. At least for me.
The last few months have been an upheaval in both our lives.
With Ludo suitably punished, they have yet to find a replacement.
Triton took off to fuck-knows-where, and I’ve been stepping in for him.
It doesn’t give me quite as much free time as I want with Mari.
Apparently she’s been putting that extra time to good use.
She’s still not ready to give up her life topside.
Providence and Karma have been planning something, but they won’t tell me what.
I suspect it’s a way for us to travel freely through the dimensions.
I don’t really give a fuck where we end up, as long as it’s wherever Mari is.
I still haven’t fully come to grips with the fact she chose me.
Whenever I say that, though, she gives me a look and tells me to pull my head out of my ass.
A smile creeps to my lips as I remember when she shoved me out the window for telling her she could do better.
Granted, she didn’t know the window was open, but still. Funny as hell.
I push to my feet and close my eyes. It only takes me a few seconds to pinpoint her location. She’s practically screaming where she is with how she’s crashing through the underbrush. I clear my throat and tip my head back.
“Ready or not, witch,” I call.
I’m met with another giggle, then take off for the tree line.
I don’t even need to use any of my magic to weave my way through the trunks, the fog clearing a path for me.
Mari stops half a mile ahead, and her harsh breaths ring around me.
Grinning, I stalk toward her. Within minutes I spot her purple hair peeking from behind a trunk.
I’m pretty sure she was trying to climb the thing, then gave up.
“Better run, witch,” I say softly, and the fog carries my words to her.
She gasps, then sprints deeper into the woods.
She glances over her shoulder, her face a mixture of panic and desire.
I launch over a fallen log and her eyes widen.
The stream winding its way through the forest should stop her.
It’s not far ahead. And if she falls in, well, it’ll be a good reason to get her naked. As if I need one.
A frustrated groan echoes back to me as the trees open up.
Instead of stopping, Mari’s feet fly over the ground.
I open my mouth to stop her, but she’s already launching off the bank and sailing through the air.
I rush forward, my wings bursting from my back and ripping my shirt from the sheer force of magic coursing through me.
They’ve gotten stronger over the last few months.
Hopefully enough to carry both of us once I save her sorry ass from drowning.
Her boots hit the soft soil on the opposite bank, and I stutter to a stop. She falls forward and scrambles up the small hill while the soil erodes under her weight. When she’s steady, she glances over her shoulder. A grin plays on her lips, and she blows me a kiss before taking off again.
“Fuck me,” I breathe.
“Will if you catch me, demon,” she yells, and I let out a laugh before I jump, allowing the wind to catch my wings. As fun as it would be to continue prowling after her, my cock is straining against my pants, and I can’t take another mini heart attack.
I land in front of her, and she skitters to a stop. She spins and runs back where we came. Snapping my fingers, I end up in front of her yet again. She glares at me, probably for using magic. She mutters something under her breath, then spins once more.
“I can do this all day, spitfire. You’ll get tired before I will,” I call with a laugh at her retreating back. My mouth drops open when a portal opens in her path and she sprints headlong into it. The last thing I see is her hair streaming behind her and her middle finger lifted over her head.
“Cheater,” I whisper harshly.
I close my eyes, focusing on the thread tying our souls together. It thrums with excitement, anticipation, desire, and something else I haven’t been able to identify. Focusing on the bond, I follow it all the way to her. She hasn’t gone as far as I imagined, albeit in a different dimension.
Stepping into the void, I reorient myself, then step into the garden behind our house.
Our house. The thought sends my heart fluttering.
I’m still not completely convinced she’s here to stay.
We’ve expanded the apartment, the garden, our little slice of Hell.
She’s settled in, her touch in every room.
I wake up every morning, thanking my lucky stars she’s still in my arms.
“Marigold,” I call in a singsong voice. “Where are you?”
“Big scary demon can’t find one little witch?” Her voice echoes around the revamped garden.
“If you wouldn’t have put in an entire hedge maze, it might be easier,” I growl, scanning the area. “You know you’ll get lost if you go in there, spitfire. Then I’ll have to come save you.” I freeze when a foot scuffles behind me.
“Thought you liked saving me,” she murmurs.
Her nails bite into my skin between my wings, and I shudder.
She rips the rest of the fabric from my body, and it flutters to my feet.
I drop my chin to my chest and force myself to stay still while she explores.
She skims her palms along one wing, and my cock hardens.
I swallow down a groan as she plays, tracing the veins.
“You’re not very good at running from me,” I say gruffly.
“I got bored waiting for you.”
A growl rips from me as I spin, snatching her around the waist before she can take off again.
She lets out a shrieking laugh as our clothes disappear into the void.
Dark clouds coalesce behind her a second before I slam her back into a tree.
I plunge into her, and her breath catches in her throat, then dissolves into a moan.
Her legs wind around my waist as I thrust into her hard and fast.
She rests her forehead on mine while she flutters around my shaft. Adrenaline from the chase, from her words, from merely being in her presence courses through my veins.
“You can fuck me harder than that,” she taunts, a smirk playing on her mouth.
My wings curl around us and spear into the trunk on either side of her. She tips her head against the tree, giving me access to her perfect skin. I bite into the top of her tit, and she grabs my hair. A delicious pain echoes through me as she yanks on the strands and I nip at her nipple.
“Yes. More,” she breathes, then moans my name as she crashes into an orgasm. As she floats along, her eyes find mine. “Again.”
“Needy witch,” I snarl, thrusting into her harder. She gasps at the angle, and my magic rumbles within me as if I’m tapping into some unknown well.
My body trembles and lightning races along my skin, skipping to her, then back again.
“Fuck,” she says through gritted teeth, and her gaze drops where I vanish into her again and again.
I concentrate the magic to my cock, and it begins to vibrate. She lets out a choked sob, and I press harder into her until I hit her clit. She collapses into a limp mess in my arms as I roar out my release.
I bury my face in her neck, whispering words I’ve been too scared to say out loud into her skin. They’re safe there, branding her as mine, linking us together.
“That was…”
“Exhilarating,” I murmur. “I love watching you come. I love this.” I thrust into her, and she sucks in a sharp breath.
Her hands cup my cheeks and gazes at me with adoration. “I love this, too.”
“I love you,” I whisper, then tense.
“Good thing I love you, too.” She kisses me softly, then pulls back and unravels her legs from around me.
I set her down gently as I slip from her. My cock bobs, still hard even as her pleasure glistens on my shaft. The longer we’re together, the more I make love to her, the more I crave all of it—all of her. She’s everything I never knew I needed.
She steps away from me when I reach for her, and her lips twitch. “Care to prove how much you love me? How far would you go to convince me of your love?”
I raise an eyebrow. “I’d search through every dimension for you. I’d walk through every world. I’ll always find you, witch. You’re mine. If you run right now, though, I won’t be gentle as I prove how much I care for you.”
She grins. “Do your worst, demon.”
Her peals of laughter trail after her as she takes off into the garden. As she dashes away from me, I grin. She disappears around a corner and I sprint after her. When I catch her, I’ll show her exactly how devoted I am to her.
My soulbound, my spitfire, my witch, my everything.