Demon Day (36 page)

My fingertips tingled and my stomach
clenched. He was in the zone, lost in me.

The pleasure took a steep and sudden
accent to the realm of the amazing. Eyes wide my fingers flexed
then my grip on his shoulders tightened even as my muscles
contracted.

He paused and held himself taut,
waiting. He took a series of short sharp breaths and his entire
body quivered as he shifted. That small shift of his hips made
everything urgent.

“
Do it,” I gasped. “I’m
yours.” I leaned forward to bite his bottom lip.

He thrust forward again then roared,
pushing forward and sending my body shunting back. Grazing my cheek
on the wall behind me, I shattered, and my shout was
soundless.

The pressure exploded from under my
skin, leaving my body blissfully weightless and tingly.

Though my eyes were wide, I
saw nothing but a brilliant radiance. A colorful rainbow tinted
with electric blue and purple, a violent explosion of glitter and
sparkles, a rainbow cloud of power that sucked up the air to push
it out in a mighty breath. I gasped. Coming back to myself, enough
air in my lungs to carry the sound, I screamed, the crystalline
sound infused with passion. Light. Heat. Colour.
Sound.
The crushing melody of snapping metal and
crumbling stone was heard under the roar of his heart racing mine.
Shaking, my entire body shook. Everything heaved and churned. The
ground shook in a tumult, the building quaked, the wall behind me
disappeared. A sudden jolt vibrated so forcefully my teeth
chattered. Light exploded in front of my eyes. I swear the earth
moved and groaned beneath us and everything shuddered.

The world fell apart around us and I
did not care. I was warm in his arms – safe in his arms. We were
together, our bodies at peace and entwined together.

I buried my head into Breandan’s
shoulder and rubbed my cheek against the curve as his wings closed
around me.

The light cut out and it was utterly
dark.

Chapter Seven

At first neither of us moved, chests
heaving. The relief in such a reunion was too extraordinary to
bear.

Face rapturous, Breandan clasped my
neck and pulled my head forward to press his forehead to my own. My
hands rested on his chest, balled up into fists at the dishonor.
How easily I had been prepared to give this up in the
cage.

“
Everything you are belongs
to me,” he rasped, enveloping me in his arms to crush me to him.
“You’re mine.”

His wings flexed behind him, and he
glanced over his shoulder, eyeing them thoughtfully. His tail
twisted around then flicked side to side purposefully. “Oh,” he
said and made an amused humming noise low in his throat.

I briefly remembered how I had reacted
when I got my wings and tail. I’d screamed, and it had taken a
sharp slap to calm me down. My fairy simply said, ‘oh’.

He set me down on my feet, keeping a
tight grip on my waist. His gaze was soft, caressing, and had
returned to luminous silver. I gazed up at him, breathless and
dazed.

Then my eyes wandered away from his
face and I balked, my stomach plummeting.

The human Temple would now forever
only be a memory. Devastation. The wall behind me was gone.
Sanctuary was gone. The courtyard was … gone … nothing but piles of
rubble, some chunks no bigger than my fist.

My mouth swung open as I peered
through the settling dust to take in the ruin laid to waste around
us. Is this what our love – our bond – had to offer the world, the
complete annihilation of everything that dared to stand in its
path?

As the haze cleared my actions before
our tryst returned to me. Suddenly, I cared again. With a sickening
flash of clarity I saw myself, wild eyed, and crazed hurling my
magic at Ana as she wavered on her knees, trying to protect people
so they could flee from us.

So, this was it? I was reduced to
nothing more than a battering ram of need and until I got my fix
from the bond. How the hell were we supposed to control something
like this? What would have happened if Ana, Conall, or anyone had
not managed to flee in time?

Oh gods. Such a bond should not be
possible, and wielded by one such as I.

“
We are to destroy
everything,” I whispered.

Breandan breathed in deeply and seemed
almost concerned as he looked out on what remained of the Temple.
“This is not discreet,” he muttered. “We will deal with the
consequences, together.”

His grip on my waist tightened and I
winced. Lochlann would be … mad. Breandan made a sound of
frustration and knelt down to untwist my trousers and help me back
into them. I rested my hands on his shoulders to steady
myself.

I lifted my head, and the small smile
teasing the corners of my mouth at the idea of us, together,
dropped.

Tomas stood on the edge of the
courtyard staring at us. His hands were loose at his sides and had
I not been able to see his face, frozen in an expression of wrath,
I would have thought him relaxed. His eyes were black, brows drawn
together, and lips pulled back to show his fangs. Blood ran down
his chin and his clothes were ripped where he had been fighting. He
had lost the gaunt, starved look, and his cheeks were plump rather
than caved in. He had fed well and looked better for it.

“
He just arrived,” Breandan
murmured as he tugged my trousers over my hips. He pulled me in and
kissed my brow. “He saw nothing.”

“
But enough to cause him
pain,” I replied quietly.

Stepping around Breandan I took a step
toward Tomas, but his look of anger turned to one of anguish and he
shook his head. He briskly walked off until he turned and was
hidden behind a collapsed outer building.

He was still close, I could feel the
darkness comforting him, but his message to me was clear, so I
respected his wishes, and I did not run after him.

I entwined my fingers with my fairy
and leaned my head on his shoulder, enjoying the feel of him. I did
not feel guilty about Tomas, or sorry, but sad it had come to this,
and wretched that he had to see Breandan and me that way so soon
after I had set him straight on the way I felt. I had told him
exactly what Breandan meant to me and my consciousness was clean. I
cared for Tomas deeply, but not enough to ever consider turning my
back on Breandan. Not again. Never in this lifetime would I put him
through that uncertainty again.

From the rubble and smoke came more
demons I knew and I exhaled so sharply my entire body
slumped.

Oh gods, thank you.

It was the crouched figure ambling
behind the shifter twins – who still looked fierce, even naked, and
in human form – that caught my attention first. He had a black eye,
a split lip, and a few bruises across his ribs, but was otherwise
unharmed. He started over to me in that odd lurching amble, but
stopped abruptly when he focused on Breandan standing beside me
holding my hand.

My fairy sighed. “Rae, must you
befriend every stray demon you find?”

I blinked up at him
innocently.

Giving me an exasperated look,
Breandan extended his arm. Runt shied away, scooting around him to
reach me. He touched his head to my shoulder, and I patted his
dusty baldhead fondly. I was so proud of him – he had fought like a
demon.

Breandan swiveled on his heel nimbly
and offered his arm again, managing to send me a disparaging look
even as he softly said, “I won’t hurt you, but if you’re afraid of
me this will not work. I’ll have you sent away.”

I scowled. “He’s just–”

He held up his palm to silence me.
“This is up to you, goblin. Only the strong can stand with
us.”

Runt took Breandan in slowly then his
back straightened and his chin lifted. My eyes got wide when Runt
had reached his full height – my height – and jerked his head in an
odd bow at Breandan. He blinked his huge orb-like eyes at me,
spread his thick lips in an ugly smile before his body curved back
in on itself, and he ambled off to go stand beside
Amelia.

Byron had come to stand behind his
daughters and a placed a hand on their shoulders. Lines of strain
that had been around his mouth had eased somewhat. The scar that
slashed through his eye crinkled as he cracked a brief, but
delighted smile to have his children safe.

Alec and Maeve wandered back next. He
had her safe in his arms, and jumped down off a high pile of
bricks, landing heavily. She giggled, squeezed her eyes closed, and
wrapped her arms round his neck to steady herself, legs kicking
gently.

They both looked okay from what I
could tell. Alec had a dark red sticky spot on the corner of his
temple, and some of his hair, left shoulder was drenched in blood.
Otherwise, he looked okay. Maeve looked better than fine to me,
only flushed and missing some amour plates.

At least Alec had managed to find some
trousers. Byron and the shifter twins were completely bare, and I
had to focus hard on their faces to keep myself from blushing. No
body else seemed bothered. Clearly, the demons did not have the
same issue with nakedness as I did, but I supposed that was down to
my human nurturing.

The Omega’s eyes were wide as they
took in Maeve’s green skin and fiery hair. Her lids slowly
fluttered open and her red irises locked with his amber ones that
shone admiringly.

“
Hell,” I muttered. “How
are we going to explain this to Lochlann?”

Breandan eyed me then his sister. He
shrugged. “I do not understand.”

I waved my hand to where Maeve and
Alec stared at each other – completely absorbed in nothing and no
one, but each other.

Alec smiled and Maeve blushed
prettily.

“
Maeve?” I called and could
not keep the smile from my face. “What are you doing
here?”

She beamed at me and waved back, her
small hand blurring she shook it so fast. “When Breandan and Conall
knew you had been taken they sent Alec to appeal Lochlann for
followers to help rescue you. So here I am.”

I was stunned. “Lochlann sent
you?”

She shrugged and looked
away. “You are important, Rae.” She looked back at me, grinning
evilly. “And you
really
needed rescuing.”

Alec snorted and she elbowed him.
“She’s tricking you all.” Maeve gave a breathy gasp. She scrambled
in his arms and tried to put her hands over his mouth. “I didn’t
make it further than the outskirts before she cornered me and made
me tell why I was on Wyld land.” Alec shifted her about in his arms
then tickled her sides. She squealed and kicked her legs, laughing.
“I was coerced into telling all I knew. When she had what she
needed from me she was off, and I struggled to keep up.” He pulled
her into his chest, smiling, and she hugged him to her in
return.

Nimah narrowed her eyes at them and
moved forward. Amelia caught her shoulder, and the younger twin
froze, pouted.

“
I guessed as much,”
Breandan said. “Lochlann would not have sent our
sister.”

“
I am old enough to make my
own choices,” Maeve said in her high chime abruptly serious. “It
was better this way, Breandan. Lochlann is still upset with you
both.” Her gaze flicked between us, rested on Breandan’s wings.
“And now the bond is sealed he will feel betrayed.” Her small hand
waved at the damage around us. “This is not discreet.”

Alec coughed into her hair, but I saw
the grin he tried to hide.

I frowned. “We did try. I
mean, Lochalnn
has
to accept this now, right? I can understand he hoped I would
choose to stand by his side as his mate, that I would break the
bond. But the simple fact is I didn’t want to.” I looked at
Breandan. “My heart was lost the moment I saw Breandan. Nothing and
no one can change that. It is done.”

And I was happy, content. I had no
doubts this was how it was meant to be.

“
Nothing I do will make him
think well of me.” Breandan sounded so sad I took his hand, and our
bond soothed him.

The fairy-girl was not the slightest
bit swayed by how forlorn he looked. “Gods be damned, brother, you
must swallow your pride and apologize. Always are you stubborn. You
are in the wrong this time, not him.”

Alec gasped, and tickled her again
making Maeve break out into high-pitched giggles mid
lecture.

Breandan’s eyes slitted as he focused
on what flowed between the two young demons. “No,” he said as if
the word was an order to stop the affection growing between them
that would be instantly followed.

He took a step forward and I dug my
heels in to jerk him to a halt. “Uh, too late,” I replied dryly and
caught his hand with both of mine before he could pull away. “We’re
not the only ones stuck on each other.”

I was delighted for them both. No
doubt, Maeve was the mysterious forbidden love Alec had been
referring to. It was easy to see that the Claiming was upon them
both and disrupting that would be wrong.