Not yet, my power whispered at me, like a passenger sitting on my shoulder and murmuring into my ear. You aren’t complete yet.
I ground my teeth and held on, remaining open. Inviting all the soul-eating power into my body, and allowing it to fill me however it would. When I felt my humanity slipping away, I didn’t flinch back. I didn’t slow it down. I kept going, realizing now all the subtle defenses I’d developed over the years to keep myself safe from this humanity-eroding power. Not anymore. I had to trust in my mom’s heritage. I had to trust that my father’s power wouldn’t destroy me.
“Do my bidding,” the red demon commanded. “Show me your true power!”
Its command drilled into me, but I felt no urge to comply—no, my power coiled, ready to prove my dominance. They thought my father was scary, did they? At least he was sane.
Not yet, my power whispered again, holding back.
The dagger of air twisted into Darius’s skin, leaking blood down his front. He stood still, not thrashing or showing signs of panic, but the tightness in his eyes and his clenched jaw showed just how much pain he was in.
Not yet…
I squeezed my eyes shut and held on.
“What are you waiting for?” the red demon yelled.
“I have no idea.” Stuffed full of violence and the need for retribution, still I listened to that inner call—I let myself remain open for more magic to pour in. That was when I felt it. A rush of love so deep and great that I fluttered my eyes open and looked at Darius.
He was staring at me, in pain, resolute. Waiting for the end and feasting his eyes on my face. The feeling hadn’t come from him.
“Almost,” I said softly, letting my eyes close again. I was almost there. I could feel it.
Another rush pumped into me. Sex. Lust. The need to bang everyone in the room. Which was gross. I would ignore my split personality if it said to do that…
“Do you feel that?” one of the demons asked, its voice grating on my ears.
The emotions and feelings twirled as still more magic filled me, pumping in from somewhere unseen. If I’d had the presence of mind to gasp, I would’ve, because suddenly I could feel where everyone had just been. Whether loitering in the window to watch Darius and I do battle with the five demons we’d fought outside; or in a building across the sect, organizing the fighting effort; or at the dragon paddock, checking in on the momma and its baby.
“They have a baby dragon,” I said without meaning to.
Thoughts flitted around me, not taking shape. Except for Darius’s. I read his loud and clear.
Goodbye, my love.
“Nope.” I shook my head and opened my eyes.
Now, my power whispered.
Chapter Twenty-Six
I rose my hands into the air, feeling my power swell in a sweet, savory, though horribly violent way. Shivers covered my body. Excruciating pain brought me to my knees, surging and boiling my insides and scraping across my skin. All the elements of the underworld—violence, rage, sex, and even love—crashed against one other. Raked across my bones.
I hung my head as the red demon yelled at me. I didn’t catch its words, but it seriously was starting to get on my nerves. Could it not see I was going through something here?
I clenched my teeth and hung on, refusing to stop what was happening.
Heat infused my blood. Then cold. One after the other, flash boiling, then freezing. The two halves of my power coiled around each other, twisting and tightening. The pain from the onslaught of extreme temperatures intensified.
Then, with a final blast of agony, my power fused together.
I grunted and collapsed to the ground, my strength momentarily fleeing. Relief and joy blossomed within me—for the first time ever, I felt balanced. I had always been so afraid of the anger and desire for destruction tied to my powers, I hadn’t recognized or allowed in the good elements. Like any world, there was good and bad here—they were two sides of the same coin—and my powers embodied all aspects of the underworld.
I could marvel later. There was work to be done.
Summoning my strength, I climbed to my feet. Fire exploded out from me, washing over Darius and ripping away the air digging into his body. I thrashed through the magic holding him, hacking it apart. I threw the backpack at him and yelled “healing snake” before batting away a burst of air from the red demon. I could feel the weave of the spell. Understand the intention. It was meant to subdue me.
“Now. Where were we?” I picked up a chair with my power and ripped it across the room. One of the demons threw up a defense. I tore it down before smashing the chair into it. I tried to blast another with hellfire, but a strange weave of the fused magic came out instead. It cut through the sucker like a knife through water, way better than hellfire and impervious to the demon’s attempts to block it.
“Uh oh, the human learned a new trick!” I laughed manically as they started to run. Crazy always freaked people out. Not even demons were immune to that basic life rule.
I bent my newly fused magic into a prison and trapped the red demon inside, even as I chased after the others. “Where ya going?”
I dragged a stream of power across one of the demon’s bodies. The demon fell in two halves on the ground. I grabbed another with a burst of air as it was jumping into the do-it-yourself elevator. I pulled it back as a blur of movement interrupted the pandemonium.
Snake roaming around his monster-form body, Darius joined the fray, moving like a man with a purpose. Or, more accurately, a predator with a vendetta. He had to still be in pain, but he was clearly ignoring it.
He slashed the demon I’d kept from escaping, leaving ragged tracks down its body. When the demon hit him with a solid wall of air, Darius raked his claws through it, sending up sparks, refusing to be pushed back.
Yes, a predator with a vendetta. He was pissed.
I threw up a wall of fire and ice to keep everyone in the room—and anyone else out—and left Darius to it. He needed to take out some frustration, and those demons weren’t nearly as powerful as the red one. An elder was a good match for them.
After turning slowly, I stalked back to the red demon, feeling his attempts to pick through my magic. He was making excellent progress.
“So. Here we are.” I stopped just outside of the cage and spent a moment fortifying the weave. It would be a constant back-and-forth battle, because the demon began picking it apart again almost immediately.
“I am impressed,” it said, its voice grating. “I did not think you had access to this level of power yet. You hid it well.”
“Nah. You were right. But there is no better way to bring out the best in a woman than threatening someone she loves. That was your bad.”
“I am not the most powerful demon in this kingdom, you should know. Many of them have abilities that exceed my own. Should your father not protect you, you will be at odds with those that wish to use you.”
“Which is a great reason to get the hell out of here, am I right?”