Demon Slave (26 page)

“
Calm? Calm! You are alive
and you let us think otherwise! You let
me
think otherwise!” She could feel
herself becoming hysterical. “Why?” she screamed. Her eyes burned,
her throat tightened, and she feared she was about to break down
and weep.

The noise she was making drew others, and
Nadua registered that five rather common-looking Cyrellians had
arrows and swords aimed at her. She didn’t care. She stared at
Cyrus, waiting for an explanation.

Cyrus slumped his shoulders and opened his
mouth to speak, but was interrupted by a familiar, echoing
growl.

Oh, gods!

A scream issued behind her. Nadua turned as
a couple Cyrellian females rushed passed.

Marik, fully demonized, emerged from a
darkened passageway. His muscles strained as burning red eyes
promised pain and were fixed on her supposed attackers. She
couldn’t help but think he looked...magnificent.

Rex followed behind him, equally aggressive
in form.

The weapons that had been on her were now
turned toward the demons.

“
Wait!” she called, rushing
for Marik, her hands up in a calming gesture. “Marik.
Stop.”

He did, looking at her with dim
confusion.

What had happened to his face? It was
slightly swollen, and his cheek and lip were cut. He scanned the
room and let out a terrifying roar that, days ago, would have made
her cower.

Now she just snapped her fingers for his
attention. “Focus.”

Both he and Rex gaped at her.

Nadua turned back to Cyrus and the armed
men. “Cyrus, these are my demons. I mean...not my demons, my
friends. I mean, they won’t hurt anyone.” She turned back to Marik
and Rex. “Right?”

Both gave halfhearted shrugs.

She looked at Cyrus again. “But your people
need to lower their weapons. Now.”

“
Do it,” Cyrus
ordered.

The Cyrellians glanced at each other and
relaxed their stance.

“
Things have changed,”
Cyrus observed. “Have we established a treaty with the
demons?”

“
We? What do you mean
by
we
? The
kingdom? Or are you talking about the living?”

“
Nadua—”

“
No, I need to know.” She
gestured to the room. “What happened to you? Are you allied with
the rebels now?”

“
Of course not. How could
you think that?”

“
Why have you not contacted
me? Or Wren?”

Cyrus ducked his gaze at that.

Nadua gasped. “No...Wren knows? For how
long?”

“
I wanted news of you, and
little Avaline.”

Nadua felt her lip quiver. “I took it all on
when your brother died. The kingdom. Raising Ava. You could have
been there, this whole time? I needed you!”

Sorrow etched in his features. “From what I
hear, you’ve been doing a wonderful job.”

Tears fuzzed her vision. She marched
forward, teeth clenched, and slapped him again. His entourage
raised their weapons. Before Cyrus could wave them back, Marik had
her behind him with a growl.

“
Marik, this is my
business,” she snapped.

“
When it concerns your
safety, it’s mine.”

She pushed past him, and thankfully he did
not try to stop her. “Well?” she said to Cyrus.

Cyrus gave a heavy sigh and replied, “You
look tired. And why are you such a mess?”

Nadua looked down at her clothes, which were
torn and stained from her travels. “It’s a long story.”

He glanced at Rex and Marik. “Indeed. Well,
so is mine. Allow me to provide you with lodgings and proper
clothing. And I will have a warm meal prepared for you. Let us talk
then.”

Curious faces gazed down at them from the
balcony. Most were dressed in the standard aristocratic garb, and
held themselves with an elegance that reminded Nadua of the
palace.

“
Who else is with you?”
Cyrus asked.

“
It’s just us.”

His brows shot up in surprise. “It’s just
you three?”

“
Like I said, long
story.”

He motioned for a nearby female to approach.
“Show them each to a room, please.”

Marik wrapped his arm around Nadua’s waist
and pulled her closer to him. “She stays with me.”

Cyrus slanted a gaze at her.

In a tone meant to pierce metal, she said,
“He’ll forget he said that in a couple of minutes. Three rooms will
be fine.”

Marik gave her confident look that said,
“There might be three, but we will be using two.”

We’ll see about
that
.

“
Uh, very well then. Please
follow Collet. She will show you the way.”

Collet bowed, slipping nervous glances at
the demons. “This way, please.” She started up the steps and
glanced back as they followed.

Marik was still rigid and giving off
I-will-kill-everyone-here vibes. Rex moved cautiously, scanning the
large room. He was obviously unnerved by their close proximity to
these Cyrellians—some of which had probably fought against his
people.

“
Cyrus is an old friend.”
Nadua felt she should reassure them.

Collet kept a few feet ahead and walked as
though she were prepared to be tackled at any moment.

“
You trust him?” Marik
sneered.

“
Yes, I do.”

I did
.

She hoped he was still the person she once
knew, but she couldn’t be sure. It had been such a long time since
she’d seen his beautiful, crystal eyes.

Questions pounded inside her head. Why did
he leave so long ago and let her believe he had died? What was his
purpose here?

Please don’t let him be
involved with the rebels
.

Seeing Cyrus had been more than a shock—it
had jarred her to the core, rendering her breathless. She had
rushed forward without thinking. Now she prayed she hadn’t just
walked them into danger.

Collet paused, gesturing to a door. “For the
lady.” She moved to turn the heavy knob but jumped back when Marik
approached. He burst through the door as if expecting an ambush on
the other side.

“
Uh, thank you, Collet. You
can just point to the other two if they are nearby.”

Collet let out a relieved breath and
indicated doors at the end of the hall. Nadua dismissed her.

She turned to the demons and sighed. “Try
not to scare the locals, boys. Oh, and Marik, your room is over
there.”

He snorted, ignoring where she pointed and
advanced into her room. Nadua gave Rex a look beseeching him for
help, but he shook his head.

“
There’s nothing that can
make him leave your side right now, short of killing
him.”

“
I suppose we should talk.
Will you be alright by yourself?”

Rex nodded. “These people have never hunted
me like the others.”

“
Nice blanket!” Marik call
from inside her room.

Nadua poked in her head. A familiar looking
blanket lay neatly across a high bed. She raised a dubious brow at
Rex. His guilty smile nearly made her laugh. “You thieving
demon.”

After watching Rex enter his own room, Nadua
took a calming breath and shut the door behind her. Small windows
against the wall let soft light in, making the space surprisingly
bright. The room was magnificent.

Marik sprawled out on the bed, arms bent
behind his head and a wicked grin on his face. His legs were
crossed and his dirty boots hung off the edge of the mattress. He
looked too sexy and, for a split second, she imagined straddling
him there. Then her sanity returned.

She crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes.
“What happened to your face?”

“
Rex.”

The way he was looking at her made her feel
like she was in the den of a prowling beast, and she wished it
didn’t send a small thrill through her.

I am angry with
him
, she reminded herself.

“
Rex told me what you did
to me was against your people’s law.”

He frowned. “Aye.”

“
And
irreversible?”

Losing all resemblance of humor, he
repeated, “Aye.”

After everything that had happened to her:
being attacked, abducted, forced to travel the countryside on foot.
Having the most erotic experience of her life, followed directly by
the most devastating. Finding out that she’d been lied to by a dear
old friend, as well as her oh-so-loyal captain of the guard.
Nadua’s emotions were held together by a frayed thread of sheer
determination.

“
How could you?”

Marik’s lips thinned but he watched her with
eyes full of regret.

“
Say something.”

“
I have no excuse. It was a
huge mistake that I cannot undo.”

“
A mistake! No, this is a
disaster!”

He raked a hand down his face and mumbled,
“Aye.”

“
Stop saying
that!”

“
I don’t know what else to
say. I never thought I would find my mate this way.”

“
I am
not
your mate.” She pointed to her
neck that was now fully healed. “Orgasmic bite does not equal
binding commitment.”

“
Orgasmic?”

She pinned him with a hard glare.

“
I wish I could dismiss it
as easily as you. But I can’t. Every fiber in me says you are my
life now.”

Nadua frowned. She opened her mouth to
respond, but for a moment nothing would come out. Finally, she
said, “I didn’t agree to this. You don’t own me, and I can be with
anyone else if I want.”

His features twisted with a mix of agony and
anger. “You’d be risking the life of anyone that you show interest
in. I won’t be able to help it.” His voice turned into a rumble.
“To me, and to all other demons, you are mine.”

Rendered speechless once more, Nadua began
to pace. “There has to be a way to reverse this. The Serakians are
old allies of my father, and their magic is great. I have no doubt
that they can work a spell to fix this.”

* * *

Marik shot to his feet, alarmed by her
words. Fix this? Like they were broken?

“
Is that really what you
want?”

She stilled. “Isn’t it what you want? You
yourself said it was a mistake.”

He did, but he meant the way it had
happened. He’d bungled the claiming, but he couldn’t be more
satisfied with his mate. She was powerful and sexy as hell. He
enjoyed talking with her, and her lovely eyes commanded the beating
of his heart.

The Serakians are a secretive race, and
little was known of them other than they were not borne. They were
recruited from remarkable individuals found all over the universe.
What Marik did know was that Nadua was right, they were renowned
for their prowess with magic. If there was any way to affect the
finality of demon mating, they would know if it.

“
Right?” She prompted. “You
don’t actually...want me? Forever?”

Keeping his voice steady,
he replied, “Of course not.” Marik’s heart sank the moment her
shoulders relaxed. Up until he had claimed her, Marik had been
looking forward to the time they would spend together, not just on
Undewla, but on
Marada
. Even though he hadn’t realized she was his mate, he’d been
excited to have her to himself for as long as he could.

Had she been imaging the opposite? Being
away from him? With other males? Ethanule?

Feeling himself slip toward the Edge, Marik
lowered his eyes so she wouldn’t see them change and worked to pull
himself under control. He should have realized early on that he was
falling for her. Perhaps things would have gone differently if he
had. Now he would need to woo her.

But there were two problems. First, he’d
never wooed anyone in his life. The second was his little problem
of blacking out at the worst possible times. If he was going to
make love to her again, he needed to be fully conscious.

A knock sounded at the door.

Nadua called, “Come in.”

Collet eased the door open and peeked in.
“Hello miss, I have clothing for you and your...male.”

“
He’s not my male,” she
grumbled.

Marik stifled a protest.

“
I can help you dress if
you require assistance.” She held out a formal gown. The fabric
looked beautiful and elegant, just like everything else in this
place.

At the woman’s question, Marik thought he
noticed Nadua cringe and recalled that female garments could be
difficult to get into, requiring a lot of touching. She had
probably been burned many times by those who helped her in the
past.

“
I’ll assist her.” He
crossed to accept the clothes, forgetting that his eyes had
reddened.

The frightened girl backed up so fast she
knocked into the wall.

Nadua moved between them. “I’ll take the
clothes. Thank you for—”

Before Nadua had finished the sentence, the
girl thrust the bundle at her and darted into the hallway.

“
You’re real good at making
friends, aren’t you?” She separated the gown from the rest and
tossed Marik his clothing. Then she ducked into the bathing room.
“And I won’t be needing your help.”

She slammed the door.

* * *

The gown was nice, but a bit old fashioned
with its low cut and crisscross laces on the back of the bodice.
She contorted her body for what felt like eternity, first trying to
reach over her shoulder, then behind her back while bending
forward. With a huff, Nadua admitted defeat.