The Lure of the Devil (The Demons' Muse #4) - Auryn Hadley Page 0,94

is the Ayala. The destroyer. That's what Luke thinks, and after what happened, I'm starting to believe he's right, and it kinda makes sense. If she feels stronger, then she'll be more likely to do something about it instead of simply ignoring it!"

I was definitely not keeping up. "Ignoring what?"

"What she feels!" he hissed, struggling to keep his voice down so he didn't scare the unicorns around us. "Bel, she understands emotions. Mine, yours, and a random stranger's. That's what's driving her! She wants to protect Earth because she knows what it feels like to fight a losing battle. She knows what it's like to need help."

"The Ayala will be the destroyer," I quoted. "Who says it has to destroy the good things?"

"Exactly!"

And around us, all six of the unicorns flinched from the sound of his voice, making me laugh. "Sensitive things often react bigger than we expect," I reminded him. "We must speak softly around them."

"Sia's a damned unicorn," he breathed. "Not, I mean..."

"She is also a sensitive thing," I agreed. "I understand."

"Which is why Nick and Luke..." And he groaned. "They tell her only what she's ready for so she won't spook. They push her so gently. They know, don't they?"

I could only shrug. "Sometimes, we know things we do not know. We simply understand. We get a feeling and we trust it. They trusted that too much would scare her, and she trusts that they will not keep secrets that she needs to know. Just like the unicorns trust that I will help them, even though they were recently hurt."

"So what do we do about Sia?" he asked.

I gestured back to the cottage and headed toward Ron. "We protect her and make her feel safe. Safe things do not attack without reason. Not unicorns, and certainly not people." And I wrapped my arm around his wings, guiding him away from the wild animals behind us. "Be scared for her, not of her. She would never hurt us."

"No," Ron agreed, "but how do we tell her about everything that happened? How do we keep her from freaking out because she's some horrible creature from angelic myths?"

"We make it clear that we are not scared of her," I said. "That we will never be scared of her. How can she be bad if we love her?"

In the middle of the forest, Ron stopped and turned to face me. "Because we're not bad people, right?"

"I do not know," I admitted, "but if I am bad, then I do not think I like good."

22

Sienna

I snuggled back into the solid chest behind me, waking myself up in the process. I could feel the leather of someone's wing across my body, and the tail wrapped around my calf told me who it was. Murmuring to myself, I turned, rolling into Nick's naked body, slipping my leg from his tail in the process. I wasn't sure if he'd been asleep before, but by the time I could see his face, a smile had claimed his lips.

"How'd you sleep, dove?" he asked.

"Like a rock," I admitted, reaching up to rub at my eyes. "Did I wake you?"

"No, I was just making sure you were ok." His voice was deep and soft, making me think he'd been close to sleep if he hadn't actually slipped into it. "Dove, do you know what happened?"

"Not really," I said, trying to remember everything that had occurred before I passed out. "Ron said I died?"

"Luke carried you back," Nick told me. "You slipped in the bar, he said, and broke your neck. When you got here, your body was hot. It was like when we burned the seal into your skin, but all of you. Bel picked you up, burning himself in the process, and got you on the table. We all tried to refill you, hoping to heal you before it was too late..." He paused to swallow. "And then you began to pull at the aether of the Vale. Dove, you drained all of us, the plants, and everything within the bubble just like your vortex with the angels."

My heart stopped in my chest, and I felt cold prickles rush across my skin so intensely it was painful. "Is everyone ok?"

He nodded. "We took care of it. The plants are still a little wilted, though."

"I'm so sorry!"

"Shh," he breathed, caressing the side of my head to soothe me. "None of that. This wasn't your fault, and you did nothing wrong, so don't even start to think that way.