There was nothing short of me losing my marbles that would make me pick Alastair over Chase. There was no comparison. Hot, drool-worthy boyfriend with a bangin’ bod or pasty, skin-crawling demon with a dire need for an attitude adjustment? Umm, please. Duh! It was a crystal clear choice.
The sweet corners of his lips lifted. “My thoughts exactly.” But he wasn’t done, not by a longshot. “When his sire took Merci it severed the bond she had to Ives. She was lost to him forever.” His long lashes lowered.
It might sound overly dramatic, but when I thought about losing this link I cursed so much, I knew I would rather die. The idea was like losing an arm or a leg. I would be incomplete without it.
Leaning into him, I rested my forehead on his chest. His hands wound around my waist, looping together. For a few minutes, I listened to the melody of his heartbeat, basking in the warmth we poured into each other. Then he brought up the one thing I had been avoiding. The darkness I didn’t want to admit. All this talk about Merci and Ives and I’d forgotten.
He framed my face, eyes roaming over me. “Something has changed.”
I stiffened. A moment later, I tipped back my head. “I feel it inside me. The darkness…it is spreading on my soul.” I watched his expression turn to uneasiness. “What does it mean?” I asked, looking to him for an explanation.
He pulled away, walking around the room. The longer the silence stretched, the more the nervousness grew. “I don’t know,” he finally said. “But Alastair will come for you—soon.” He flashed to me. “Ives told me that the blemish of darkness on your soul could possibly grow. No one really knows the consequences of each bond, but there is talk that with each tie the shadow grows. And that shadow on your soul brings you closer and closer to Hell and farther from me, which is precisely what Alastair wants. It is rumored that there is a slim chance to stop the darkness—by completing the triforce.”
Hot flash. But this one had nothing to do with being sick and everything to do with the mention of the last link—bodybond. My eyes were captured with his. “We don’t have a choice now. We have to do it, Chase.” No pun intended.
He stuffed his hands into his hair. “I know. If there is even the slightest chance it will stop Hell from claiming you, we have to try.”
I never thought I would be talking about losing my v-card in a strategic manner. Not precisely romantic or dreamy, but then again, nothing about our relationship had been textbook. My soul teetered on the edge of wholly binding myself to Chase or being at the mercy of a higher-demon.
It was a no-brainer.
But the time clock was ticking. I felt the pressure. Waiting until college was out of the question. A lot of crap could happen between finishing senior year and summer vacation. Heck, I might not even make it to college.
And, as if to reinforce that gloomy thought, hellhounds howled in the distance. My entire body went ridged.
Our time had just run out.
Hell was coming.
Chapter 19
Son of a bit—
Another round of tortured howls echoed from behind the house. They were coming from the woods. I jumped, and my eyes widened with fear. Chase’s entire face darkened as he secured an arm around me. “He’s coming for you.”
This cannot be happening. I only just sort of figured out what was happening to me and now a slew of hellish things waited for me just outside the walls of the Winters’ house. I doubted Helms Deep would have kept them out. “I hate uninvited guests,” I grumbled, trying not to freak out, when in actuality I was quaking inside. Time to put Emma’s training to the test.
Travis burst through the door, giving me my second heart attack. Anymore unexpected surprises and my poor heart was going to give out on me. “We have company,” he announced. A touch of topaz speckled the center of his irises.
No shit, Sherlock.
“Do you feeling like entertaining tonight, cuz?” Chase asked, meeting Travis’s gaze over his shoulder.
Travis cracked his knuckles. “I think it’s time we send out the welcoming party.”
A stiff smile formed on Chase’s lips. “Let’s go wipe the ground with demon blood.”
The two of them were so strange.
When they got that glint of anticipation in their eyes, I felt dread. I wish I could have shared their enthusiasm, but I wasn’t ready for a war. There was so much still I hadn’t learned. So I could throw a few punches and swing a dagger, but I wasn’t a ninja, that was for sure. “They are going to attack the house, aren’t they?” Demons didn’t normally expose themselves, but I guess when you lived in the middle of nowhere, it didn’t matter. There was no one around to see.
“I would say yes,” Travis answered with two feet already in motion.
I glanced down at my outfit, which was not exactly battle-ready. Borrowed sweats, a t-shirt, and I was barefoot. “Guess I don’t have time to go home and get my armor,” I muttered.
“What do you need armor for? You have me as your shield.”
I couldn’t suppress the drool look. “Well, last time didn’t go so well.”