looked deeply into my eyes. “Devon, you have to promise me. If he comes for me, don’t let me go, even if that means you have to kill me yourself.”
My heart squeezed painfully. I wrapped my arms around her and held her tight, inhaling her sweet cherry scent. “I won’t let him take you. I won’t let him hurt you.”
She pulled back a little and searched my eyes. “Promise me.”
I shook my head. “I can’t.”
“You have to. Promise me.”
I brought a hand to her face and cupped her cheek. “Kenna, I can’t do that, because I love you too much.”
Kenna’s breath caught.
I hadn’t thought before saying those words; I hadn’t even realized my feelings ran that deep until the words were out of my mouth. But now that I had said it, I knew it was true. I loved her. I fucking loved her so much.
She held on to my shoulders. “I love you too,” she whispered.
Those words …
I groaned and fell into her, claiming her mouth with mine. She parted her lips and let me in, her tongue entwining with mine. Holy fuck, she was divine. I didn’t care about her powers. Even if she had pure darkness inside her, it had to be divine. There was no other explanation.
I backed her to the nearest wall, pressing my body against hers. It hadn’t been a handful of hours since the last time we had sex, but I couldn’t help myself. I needed her. I was addicted to her.
I ran my hands up her thigh, and pulled her up, intent on carrying her up to her bedroom, but I quickly dropped her and jumped back when footsteps came from outside.
The door opened and Sabrina and Kevin walking in with big grins.
“What are the two doing here?” Kenna asked, smoothing her hand over her hair. “Did you miss the bus?”
“No,” Sabrina said, opening the door wider. A man appeared behind her. “He was waiting for you outside. He asked us to bring him here. He says he’s your friend.”
Nigel stepped inside the house, but he was different than before. There was an energy around him that wasn’t there before. A heavy darkness. And from the way Kenna went completely rigid beside me, I knew she felt it too.
Past
Devon
“W-what?” Kianna asked. Her hands started shaking.
“What are you talking about?” Ophelia stomped to the window. “Who’s here?” She peered out.
Devon glanced out again, past Ophelia’s form. The hill was illuminated by a hundred torches, maybe more, each of them being held by a man or a demon.
He blew out a long breath. “Kianna, take your mother, take the kids, and hide in the cellar under the manor. I’ll create a diversion so we can escape.” Kianna stared at him, but her eyes were unfocused. He grabbed her shoulders and shook hard. “Kianna!”
She blinked, as if waking up from a daze. “Yes, yes. I’ll do that.”
With stiff movements, Kianna grabbed her mother’s arms. She pulled her mother, who was now in shock after seeing the silhouette of the monsters outside her house.
But, as the women made their way up the stairs, a boom echoed throughout the house. The glass windows shattered as the demons burst in and advanced on them. Kianna pushed her mother to her back, Ophelia screamed, and Selina and Calvin clambered out of their beds, yelling for their mother.
Devon’s outfit changed in the blink of an eye and he drew his sword, walking backward until he was standing before Kianna and her family. It was too hard to curb his rage, his frustration, as the demons surrounded them.
“W-what’s happening?” Selina asked, holding on to Kianna’s and Ophelia’s skirts.
“Just do what I say,” Devon told them in a low voice. “And right now, try not to move too much.”
He closed his eyes for a second and sent a prayer to the gods. I need help. Please, send the warriors.
The demons, with their slick skin and red eyes and sharp teeth, snarled at them. Devon knew that they wanted carnage. If it depended on them, they would have already killed everyone. Devon wasn’t sure he could contain that many demons, but he would sure try.
Something else was at play here. Someone else.
As if he had heard Devon’s thoughts, a human stepped forward and the demons parted, letting him pass.
Noel, the young lord who had asked for Kianna’s hand in marriage, stared at them with an amused grin. “So you’re the warrior assigned to protect the girl. Interesting.”