Demons of the Sun (18 page)

“Mm-hm.” Persephone picked Turtle off the couch, put him on her lap, and ran her hand down his furry back.

Jax sat next to her. “You’re not going to gloat? We went back and forth on this for days, and when I tell you that you’re right, all you say is ‘mm-hm?’”

“Sorry, I didn’t know I was supposed to have a speech prepared. I’m glad you finally see things my way.” Actually, she kind of wished he still thought Mara was an evil witch.

Then she immediately felt guilty for thinking like that. Mara had never been anything but nice, and she was the only one who knew about Adrastos’s dream visits. She didn’t know that it was the
only
time Persephone had seen him, but she understood the dream connection. In fact, Mara had said he’d have to love Persephone an awful lot in order to pull off connecting with her in dreams.

“She’s cute, too,” Jax said.

Forcing herself to keep her expression neutral, Persephone nodded. “She is.”

“Maybe I’ll ask her out.”

“You should.” Persephone petted Turtle faster and faster, until his fur was a staticky mess. “It’ll be nice for me, too, because I’ll finally get my place to myself for a few hours.”

Jax grabbed her wrist, stopping her hand from its path down Turtle’s back. “You’re cute when you’re jealous.”

She glared at him. “I am
not
jealous.”

“Please! I could see it all over your face the entire time we were there. You were so annoyed that Mara was hitting on me.”

“I was just annoyed. We were there for something important, and you guys were wasting time flirting.”

A smug smile made its way across his lips. “You’re even more jealous than I thought.”

She jerked her hand away. “You’re delusional. And apparently in denial, even though I’ve repeatedly told you I’ve got someone else.”

“You’re the one in denial, babe. I know what I want.” He put his arm on the back of the couch and leaned in. “And I’m wearing you down.”

Persephone shoved him. “You’re right. Your full-of-yourself attitude has worn me down so much I’m exhausted.” She scooped Turtle into her arms and stood. “I’m going to bed, and just to be clear, because you’re so bad at jumping to the wrong conclusion, that’s not an invitation.”

Jax kicked back, putting his hands behind his head and propping his feet on the coffee table. “See you in your dreams. If you want to make them a reality, you know where to find me.”

Then he winked.

Winked!

The blood boiling in her veins made it impossible to respond. She was sure he’d only find something infuriating to say back anyway. So she stormed down the hall, into her room, and kicked the door closed.

She sat on her bed and plunked Turtle back in her lap. “He thinks he knows me. He doesn’t know me. I don’t like him. In fact, I hate him.”

Turtle looked up at her and mewed.

“Exactly.” She scratched behind his ears. “Temporary insanity, that’s why I for some reason felt the tiniest bit jealous. But Mara can have him. I’ve got Adrastos, and I’ve got you. What else could I possibly need?”

Turtle closed his eyes and purred, happy and content, and she was a little jealous of him, too. Cats had life so easy. Of course, she didn’t really want to be a cat. It would be nice to be blissfully unaware of the coming danger, though.

If I’m going to make it through whatever’s happening, I need that annoying, cocky guy in the other room.

Even with his help, she still might fail. After a few minutes of worrying, overanalyzing, and driving herself crazy, she decided everything would seem better after she got some sleep. She changed into her pajamas and crawled into bed.

No matter what, she was absolutely
not
dreaming of Jax tonight.

Persephone stood in the middle of the battlefield, gripping her sword. She wore the same black corset and tiered skirt. Bloodied bodies covered the ground.

“She’s back,” a gruff voice said. “Our queen has returned.”

Blade out, Persephone whipped toward the voice. Red eyes glowed through the darkness. A large demon stood in the middle. In his hand, he held Hades Dagger.

Somehow, she was going to have to get it back, no matter how outnumbered she was.

Trying to hide her fear, she straightened, and lifted her chin. “I am your queen, and I want my dagger back.”

The demon’s lips stretched into an awful, terror-inducing smile. “You’re not our queen yet. But you will be soon.”

He glanced over his shoulder. “Bring the Warrior. We need to start the ceremony.”

Another demon stepped forward. Holding Jax. His hands and feet were bound, and blood poured from gashes on his arms and legs.

“No!” Persephone screamed as sheer black horror gripped her heart.

Jax’s eyes rolled toward her, but there was little life left in them. She stepped toward him, and the demon raised his blade to Jax’s neck. “Stay back.”

Persephone froze.

Demons came forward, carrying boxes, and placed them in front of her. The apparent leader—the one holding Hades Dagger—put his hand on her shoulder. He pushed her forward, toward the boxes. “Six pieces of chalcedony, one from every division in the Order.”

The first box held six necklaces, three dainty chains with drops similar to hers, and three thicker chains, obviously male necklaces.

He nudged her toward the next box. “Six hearts for you.”

Four of the hearts were dried and shriveled, one looked like it hadn’t been in as long as the others, and the last one…It was still bloodied, like it had barely been pulled from the victim.

Persephone’s chin quivered. “Please, stop. I don’t want them.”

“You will.” The demon waved his hand, and another one of his men brought the last, biggest box. He set it at her feet. 

She stepped back, holding a hand over her rolling stomach. “I don’t want to see, I don’t want to see.”

The demon grabbed her arm and yanked her forward. He nodded, and the other demon pulled off the lid.

Six heads filled the case. Bits of skin and hair clung to the skulls. The second to last was missing his eyes, but the skin and the light brown hair was still mostly intact. The last one, like the heart, was fresh. Dead eyes stared back at her.

Persephone recognized the dark-haired woman from the night she’d been outside the theater, the same night she’d killed her first demon.

“All that’s left is the blood of a Warrior,” the demon said, his gravelly voice seeping deep into her bones.

Persephone looked across the meadow to Jax. “No,” she whispered. Tears ran down her cheeks. Her sword felt heavy in her arm, and she wanted to drop it, but somewhere in the back of her mind, she knew she needed to hold on to it.

The demons placed the six hearts, six necklaces, and six heads in a pile, then pulled Jax next to them.

Hysteria set in, and Persephone’s mind raced for a way to save him.

Jax’s eyes met hers across the morbid collection. They widened, gradually coming to life.

Persephone gripped her sword. She took a deep breath and lunged for the demon holding Jax. She rammed the blade through his throat, then spun out, keeping herself between Jax and the rest of the army.

Demons closed in on them from all sides.

She cut Jax free and handed him her sword. “I’m going for the dagger.”

She took the sword from the scabbard of her most recent victim and ran toward the demon carrying Hades Dagger. He blocked her first blow. The second.

Persephone stepped back, circling, waiting for her opening.

The demon charged.

She ducked, then brought her blade down, severing the hand holding the dagger.

He yelled, staggering, and gripping his arm. Black blood poured down, coating the ground around him. An awful shriek pierced the air as he rushed toward her.

Persephone drove her sword through his chest. He fell forward, and she kicked him back to the ground. Jax was fighting in the distance, struggling to keep the demons back because of his weakened state. Persephone started toward him.

“Get the dagger,” an ethereal voice whispered. 

She sprinted over and picked it off the ground.

Heat ran up her arm, and she felt the pull. Power coursed through her veins. Dizzying power.

Suddenly, she didn’t care about stopping the demons. She wanted to help them. To control them. Them and the rest of the world.

This could all be mine. This and More.

She was sick of fighting who she was. All she had to do was let go.

Warmth engulfed her, her eyes flashed red.
 

And she finally became the powerful demon queen she was destined to be.

“Persephone. Persephone, wake up.”

Shaking accompanied her name, and she shot up in bed. It took her a moment to realize she was the one making that awful sobbing noise. Afraid of what Jax would see when he looked at her, she dropped her head in her hands.

His arms encircled her and pulled her to him. She didn’t know how long they sat like that, but she finally managed to get the crying semi under control.

Jax’s lips brushed her temple as he spoke. “They’re getting worse.” A statement, not a question. One she couldn’t deny.

Persephone’s stomach lurched as she remembered the hearts, the heads, Jax, bound and bleeding. “It was the worst nightmare yet.”

Jax put his hand on her cheek and looked down at her. She held her breath, waiting for him to say her eyes were different. But he didn’t. In fact, his expression held such tenderness, it made her want to start crying all over again.

“You want to talk about it?” he asked.

Persephone shook her head. She wanted to forget it, not rehash it. They sat there for a moment, then she slowly straightened. “I’m okay,” she said, because it was what you said to make someone else feel better, no matter how untrue it was.

“Okay.” Jax patted her thigh, stood, and started for the door.

With every step he took away from her, her chest squeezed tighter. “Jax.” Her voice came out as a whisper, and she was afraid he didn’t hear her.

He stopped and turned around.

“Can you…?” She almost lost her nerve, but she hadn’t been this scared since she was twelve and had left her family in a demon-filled house. “Stay in the room with me?”

The silence that followed made her heart stop.

His voice sounded husky when he spoke, “Yeah, of course.”

Relief washed over her. She flipped the covers back and scooted to the other side of the bed. Jax walked across the room and crawled in next to her.