Unearthed

  Instead, the two women stood about ten feet back from the binding circle, listening to the demon curse, threaten, and fight with the salted rope straps around his wrists. At least his continuous tirade meant he couldn’t overhear their conversation. Keira’s heart was pounding, her fingers tapping her legs to the same rhythm—a seriously unhealthy rhythm, for sure. Thankfully, the salt kept Davyn out of their minds, because if he could get in, he probably wouldn’t be gentle about it.

  “So how agreeable to the plan do you think he’s going to be?” Parker hadn’t taken her eyes off him.

  “Whatever’s less than ‘not at all.’ But it stopped mattering the second Lamere sent him through that portal. Davyn didn’t want to go back to hell or be like this. He made me promise to do whatever I had to.” She ignored the fact that he’d specifically suggested she cut him into pieces and toss him in the ocean. That would never happen, so the only option was to try something that could go fatally wrong.

  It wouldn’t go wrong. This Davyn didn’t want her. But the Davyn he was, the Davyn she loved, did.

  “What will happen?”

  “M said he’d feel his humanity, all the human quirks and qualities his trip to hell stripped away.”

  “When I think about how boring my life was a year ago...” Parker sighed. “It’s a huge risk, and I’m glad I’m not the one who has to take it. You don’t, either. But since nothing I say will change your mind, I’m going to just shut up and be supportive. I learned that from Addison. She’s even worse than you are. Probably. But before I start blindly supporting you, you have to promise me that the binding circle stays complete and the ropes stay tied until you’re one hundred and ten percent positive he’s going to stick around and be who you need him to be.”

  “Okay.”

  “I’m not done. Once you’re sure he’s back to whatever his normal is, you keep him tied up for ten more minutes. Shit like this always gets screwed up in movies because people are impatient and should’ve waited thirty more seconds. Okay, now promise you’ll follow my advice. Should’ve had you promise last time.”

  “Promise.”

  As soon as Keira said the word, Parker hugged her. “Don’t get yourself killed, girl. You’ve made it through too much to be beaten by this.”

  After a burst of air and a loud growl from Davyn, Micah spoke from behind her. “She’s not particularly good at heeding advice.”

  “I will be this time. Ten minutes of good behavior before I untie him. Promise.”

  “Angel!” Davyn called. “Get me out of here. You know this shouldn’t be happening. I should be out doing my job, just like you should be out doing yours. Be a shame if someone heard who you’re hanging out with nowadays, huh?” The threat was so clearly threaded throughout his comment, Keira regretted ever involving Micah at all.

  Micah didn’t look at him, or Parker for that matter. Only at Keira. “I have known Davyn for a long time, seen him move through each tour, each lifetime. That’s why I will never understand what you see in him, hunter.” His grin told otherwise. “However, if you are determined to try this”—

  “Try what?” the demon yelled. “What the fuck is she going to try?”

  —“then I have but one more thing to do.”

  When the angel stepped into the circle, Davyn snarled and yanked at the bindings. “Fuck off, angel. Damn you! Unless you’re going to untie me, you need to back the fuck off. Right. Now.”

  “What are you doing?” Keira asked. He was just getting more riled up.

  “If you touch him now, he will burn you alive. It is the way of demons when they are threatened or overly stressed.”

  Good tip. She hadn’t even thought of that. She’d thought she was sweating because she was terrified, not because it was actually hotter in the room. And she’d almost... Looking at him closer, she could see the heat waves coming off him. Fucking heat waves.

  “Why would she touch me?” Davyn growled. When no one answered, his eyes widened. Every muscle in his body contracted and stayed that way. “You can’t be serious, angel. You’re going to let her? It’s against the law.”

  Micah nodded. “I hold no power over her decision to break it.”

  “You hold no power? Bullshit. Angels can do the same things we can, can’t you? You damn birds just decide you’re too good for it. But don’t tell me you can’t, or I will tell you what a fucking liar you are.”

  Micah didn’t respond or react.

  “You-motherfucking-godforsaken-winged-piece-of-shit angel,” Davyn screamed when Micah placed his hand on the demon’s chest. Over his heart. “No!” Steam came off him like a cloud. He shivered, but the tension in his body lessened, probably not by choice. “You’re gonna fall, you know that, you bastard? And then I’ll see you in hell. And I’ll watch those pretty wings of yours burn and burn until they’re nothing but ash.”

  Micah gave no indication he’d heard the demon other than a small bow of his head. “Perhaps you are right, old friend. Perhaps someday I will fall. If that is what my future holds, I pray you won’t be there to greet me. I pray your future holds something much better.” He released Davyn from his touch. But the demon kept shivering, the clattering of his teeth louder than someone having been fished out of a frozen lake.

  “What did you do to him?” Keira asked.

  “It is our only defense from his kind. It will last for about an hour. He will be cool but not cold. It’s only the shock that makes him shiver.” He carefully stepped over the line of salt, his head lowered. “You don’t have to do this, Keira. Now or ever. He can stay in that circle for as long as necessary.”

  “I have to try.”

  Micah nodded slowly and came to her. Keira refused to be submissive to supernaturals, but she found herself unable to look the angel in the eyes. He was an angel, for shit’s sake—he was literally better than everyone else.

  “You are still free to change your mind, up until the union begins. But after that moment of commitment, there is no turning back. Were you to retreat, your soul would be torn apart, and you’d be at risk of losing it completely to him. Do you understand?”

  Keira wished he would stop asking her that, because she didn’t want to lie to him. But saying yes was the only way he’d leave her alone to do what she needed to do. It had to be just her and Davyn.

  “I think so,” she said finally. “The important stuff, anyway. So…yeah.”

  Parker got the hint first. She mumbled something about finding Addison, wished Keira luck, hugged her and left.

  The angel cupped Keira’s chin and tilted her head up. “Don’t hide who you are, hunter, from me or anyone else. You have never done anything to be ashamed of. You survived. Because of things you could not control, you stopped believing you are good. But doesn’t the act you are about to do prove otherwise?”

  “He’ll kill me if I don’t.”

  “That is not the reason you want to bring him back. You risk your soul and your eternity”—he looked to Davyn, who was still shivering—“for a being most believe is incapable of love, including his own kind.”

  “Yeah, well…I don’t have much to lose.”

  “You have everything to lose. Both of you do. The last time he and I spoke, I knew something impossible had occurred. That you’d somehow changed him. If you get through this, your bond will be stronger than any other in the world. May you both find peace.” When the angel’s lips touched her forehead, Keira felt its vibrations through her whole body.

  A second later, Davyn growled. Both she and Micah whipped their heads towards him.

  “What the fuck are you two idiots looking at?” he asked, sneering.

  “Jealousy,” Micah said. “Jealousy is a very unpleasant emotion but, in this case, it’s a very good omen. May I test the theory?” As soon as she agreed, he leaned down and lightly kissed her cheek, right next to the corner of her mouth. His lips were unearthly soft and warm. Just in case anyone would ever need to know, being kissed by an angel, even on the cheek, was
n’t an experience easily forgotten or recovered from.

  When he released her, he was smiling. “A very good omen.”

  Keira jerked and stepped back. “What was that for? Good luck?”

  He didn’t answer, only glanced towards the bed again. Davyn was practically levitating, his irises red and searing.

  “What the fuck are you looking at, angel?”

  “Jealousy is a sin, demon. Remember that if you’re still here tomorrow.” Ignoring Davyn’s tirade of denials and insults, Micah turned to Keira. “I cannot remain here to support you. More important than your need for privacy, my presence only increases his agitation. There is also a risk my magic will affect the union.” He didn’t say anything about their ‘union’ potentially affecting his magic. As if it didn’t matter if the magic killed him—he’d stay if he could help. Probably why he was an angel.

  “May you have peace, Keira, regardless of what happens.”

  Right. Peace. As if there was a chance in hell of getting that.

  Thirty-Nine

  The chattering of Davyn’s teeth broke up his threats into more palatable amounts. Shaking for a different reason, Keira tore off the clothes he hadn’t already burned up, exposing him in yet another way. He was so beautiful, so perfect. Why would a demon be made this way? Why make the inside take fifty years to match the beauty of the outside?

  “Don’t touch me, puppet. The angel was wrong—I can still burn you. Make what I did when I caught you feel like a warm bath.”

  “You remember that?”

  His eyes narrowed. “Don’t do this.”

  “Self-preservation. I have to.” That was the simple answer, the one he might understand.

  He would find her and he would kill her, maybe even play with her a bit just like Lamere had. She’d been seconds away from death countless times, walked into situations she was seventy-five percent sure she wasn’t going to walk out of.

  But the more important reason, the one he wouldn’t understand, was that the thought of the only man she would ever love being the one to kill her was unbearable. Made her life, everything she thought or believed in, meaningless. She couldn’t live neck-deep in fear and distrust anymore. Davyn had taught her that.

  If she was wrong about him, if he left her with half a soul, she’d be no worse off. Beaten and tired until the moment she died. But if he didn’t leave... He won’t leave.

  “You’ll understand why I’m doing this, why I have to do this, soon.”

  “Oh, I understand already. Demons can spot selfishness, evil, and weakness faster than any other race.” The more he insulted her, the more numbed, deafened, and blind to his words she became. None of this was real because this wasn’t who he was. Not who he wanted to be.

  He struggled harder when she touched him. “You’ll die, puppet. Do you want to die? Do you want the last thing you feel to be me burning you inside?”

  “Yes,” she whispered. If that’s what happened, then what she wanted wouldn’t really matter anymore. “Don’t you want to be free? To do whatever you want without his approval?”

  His breath was heavy, his lips clamped together. The temptation overwhelmed him. “Last chance to walk away. Walk away, puppet.”

  She reached out and ran her fingertips across his chest and down his abs. Each muscle tensed as soon as she touched it.

  “Don’t fight me, Davyn.”

  “Then don’t do this. I can’t go back to Nine. You don’t know what it’s like there. You can’t—” His desperation was real, powerful. He wasn’t trying to protect her now, or pretending that Nine wasn’t as awful as it obviously was. This version of Davyn was being honest and was unwilling to sacrifice what the other planned to.

  “You won’t have to go to Nine if you stay with me. Earn a place in the Beyond.”

  “That’s never going to happen.” He clenched his eyes shut, his voice quieter but just as intense, just as furious. “Why can’t you fucking remember I’m a demon? Not a dog. Not your lovesick boyfriend. I won’t stay.”

  “You will once you remember.” She stopped with one knee on the bed, realizing she had to take her clothes off. Undressing was awful. Ignoring his insults and lies was impossible. She focused on how much he used to love seeing and touching her. She hesitated before taking off her tank top, already feeling too exposed. Then she remembered what Micah had said—if she had any doubt in her mind, things could go wrong. With enough potential problems right now, she yanked the shirt over her head, relieved when Davyn’s eyes traveled the length of her, coveting what he saw.

  He sneered when she caught him looking. “There are options the angel didn’t mention, puppet. Get him to hide you somewhere. Keep me in the circle until he does.” Lie. Micah would have mentioned another way if there was one.

  “You told me hiding wouldn’t work.”

  “For the fourteen billionth time, I’m a demon! Demons lie!”

  Only when they care what someone thinks about them. Two weeks ago, he’d decided he would rather spend eternity in Level Nine than hurt her. So he could say anything he wanted now. She knew the truth.

  He pulled against the bindings at his wrists and ankles, glaring. “I don’t want you, puppet.”

  “You do. You always have, and the only reason you stopped was to protect me. I don’t want your protection, Davyn. I want your freedom.” She crawled onto the bed slowly. His body wanted her, who he used to be wanted her, but it was still as scary as hell. Maybe more.

  “Remember how you felt chained up in Lamere’s dungeon?” he growled. “When he bled you and raped you. Relive that now, because you two are exactly the same. Oh puppet, he would be so fucking proud of you right now.”

  “No.” It wasn’t the same. She wasn’t taking anything from Davyn. She wanted to give him a vital part of herself to save both of them. That was the truth. But it still made her sick. In all the times she’d imagined being with him, none were anything like this. Tied down, angry, cursing, not wanting her.

  No, he wanted her. Even now. She’d never seen a more blatant look of desire on a man’s face before.

  His gaze didn’t leave her as she sat next to him with her legs under her. “Damn, why couldn’t you be a vamp, or a demon, or anything that didn’t come with all the baggage humans do?”

  “A lifetime free of hell.” She wrapped her hand around his erection, stroking him the way she’d seen him do to himself. He groaned, his hips pressing up unconsciously, wanting more while trying to control it. “To see the Great Beyond and experience something no demon in all the histories has ever done. That’s what I’m offering.”

  His eyes sparked at the mention of a deal. “In exchange, I lay back and let you fuck me in all sorts of ways, is that it?”

  “No. Well, yes, but just one way. I’m guessing you don’t remember what you told me to do if you ever came back.” Not letting herself cry took some effort. “You wanted me to destroy you. I can’t do that, and there’s no other scenario that ends with both of us free.” Or alive.

  He could deny wanting this, but his body was showing her what to do. The way he stared at her lips and licked his own, pushing his erection through her fist.

  “You want my mouth on you. Like this?” She leaned down and ran her tongue from the base of his cock to the tip, grateful for the taste of him as much as the way he moaned. “I’ll give you whatever you want.” Demons thought in deals and negotiation, so she’d lose if she tried that route. Being tempted was something unfamiliar to them, which made it exactly the right thing to use. Bring him all the way to the event horizon, the moment he couldn’t refuse, and no further. Not yet.

  “The only thing I want is for you to stay with me. Just try.” She knew she sounded like a needy high school girlfriend, but this wasn’t about the prom. What happened here would change their lives—one way or another.

  Without stopping, she looked up at his face and watched him struggle with the pleasure. He’d been so careful not to let her touch him, she expected something aw
ful to happen with every brush of her lips, every stroke of her fist. Since when did anything happen when she expected it—good or bad? But this moment was singular, and she needed to live in it.

  He let out a disappointed breath when she let go of his cock.

  “I’m not going too far, promise.”

  He blinked, trying to focus. “Souls are nothing but pains in the ass. Why would I give up my life for one?”

  “I’m not taking your life. I’m giving you a better one. A better forever.” They stared at each other as she nibbled along his hipbone and used her tongue to trace the lines of the tribal markings on his belly. “Do you remember what we did together? The airplane ride maybe?”

  He flinched, his abs contracting under her lips. His skin was hot, but he shivered as she caressed him the way she’d always wanted.

  “You remember, don’t you?” she asked. “Flying above the clouds. You said it was the best day you’d ever had. Ever.”

  “You must have heard me wrong.” He avoided looking at her, trying to pretend her touch didn’t affect him. “My best day ever was April 18, 1906. My next nine favorites all happened in the eighties—now that was a good decade.” His voice was airy, his bravado so much weaker than usual. “But none of them included any flying, clingy humans, or—”

  “Kissing me because it’s what you wanted, not just to release your heat? Touching me until nothing else existed?” Now she could finally return the favor. “Sleeping next to me? Hunting together, as equals, partners.”

  “Demons don’t have partners. You were bait. Remember?”

  “I remember lots of things.” She traced her fingertips up his arm towards his hand, still too wary to try touch it. If he got hold of her, this would all be over in a very bad way. She leaned closer to his mouth, wanting to feel his lips, how warm they were, how expressive. Not now. He’d hurt her now. “Like when you saved me, or…” A deep breath helped her hold back a torrent of frustration. “You told me if there was a way for us to be together, you’d take it. This is the way, Davyn. The only way.”