Total pages in book: 114
Estimated words: 109033 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 545(@200wpm)___ 436(@250wpm)___ 363(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 109033 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 545(@200wpm)___ 436(@250wpm)___ 363(@300wpm)
None managed to escape the creatures of fire.
They were whipped. Chopped in half. Set alight. Thrown through the portal.
Voices screamed. Begged. Chanted. Swore. Yelled out in anger.
One by one, the number of clerics went down . . . and down . . . and down. Until, finally, none were left.
Naomi’s entity then turned its attention to Luka and the other demons, no hint of recognition in its expression.
Luka reached out psychically. You did good. It’s over now. The threats to you and Naomi are gone. Let her come back to me.
The entity regarded him through narrowed eyes for long moments, then it subsided. Naomi’s gray-green gaze met his, a slight daze there. And then his girl collapsed.
A telepathic voice broke into Naomi’s sleep, the words muffled and rhythmic. She couldn’t make them out, her thoughts too slow and cottony.
Exhaustion pooled in her mind, her limbs, her extremities, everything.
Her senses seemed dull. She was aware of low voices, of soft bedsheets, of a dark, spicy cologne, of a hand holding hers, of a thumb pressed to her pulse. But she felt somehow disconnected from it all. As if the outside world was so very far away.
She felt wiped. Drained. Psychically burned out.
It would be easy to let herself doze back off, but that telepathic voice kept moving through the fog in her brain, the words . . . No, they weren’t mere words, they were lyrics.
The person was singing. And that voice was one she recognized well.
Why are you singing? she asked.
A pause. Because you wouldn’t wake up, and it annoyed me, clipped Lou. I want to hear that you’re fine.
I’m fine, she assured him. Totally out of it, but fine.
Good. Now sleep. You need your rest.
Then why did you wake me?
Because . . . Oh, forget it. His psyche gently bumped hers, and then he was gone. That was right when all sorts of images poured into her mind. Memories of fleeing clerics, of blazing fire, of . . . Ah, shit, her demon had opened a freaking portal to hell.
The entity shrugged, unapologetic. Like Naomi, it was feeling lethargic and mentally numb right now. That display of power had zapped them both of psychic strength.
“Put that down,” Tia barked. “Tobe, I swear to God if you steal anything from this house . . .”
“I said I wouldn’t,” he reminded her.
Tia huffed. “You’re an imp. Forgive me if I don’t trust your word on that.”
“I wouldn’t steal from Naomi’s mate; it would be like stealing from her. But yeah, I’d otherwise totally pocket this watch,” he unashamedly admitted.
“Why? Do you not like your fingers?”
“Belinsky wouldn’t really cut them off. Would you?”
“Yes.” A flat response from Luka—the sound of his voice seemed to bat away the rest of the fog in Naomi’s brain.
“But I’m Naomi’s psi-mate,” said Tobe.
“That doesn’t require you to have fingers,” Luka told him. “You can anchor her just as well without them.”
An inner smile warmed her chest. She forced her heavy eyelids partially open. Her surroundings were a huge blur. She blinked three times, clearing her vision . . . and Luka’s dark gaze immediately locked with hers.
His lips kicked up, relief flaring in his eyes. “There you are.” He gave her hand a little squeeze. “Feeling all right?”
“Mostly,” she replied, her voice low and thick. She cleared her throat as she looked around the room. Tobe, Jolene, Tia, Alfie, Ciaran, and Beck were all staring down at her, looking both relieved and tired. Much like Luka, they had scorch marks and bloodstains on their clothes, but their injuries had either already healed or were healing well, because they seemed otherwise fine.
Alfie lifted a hand in greeting. “Hey, sweetheart.”
“I didn’t expect you to wake so soon,” said Tia, smiling. “You recovered faster than I thought.”
Naomi might have slept longer if Lou hadn’t woken her.
Tobe leaned in and pressed a kiss to her forehead, ignoring the low growl that came from Luka. “It’s good to see you conscious, even if you look half dead.”
Snorting, she forced herself to sit upright, her movements slow and awkward due to the heaviness in her limbs. “How long was I out?”
It was Ciaran who responded. “Only about three hours.”
That really wasn’t long, given how much energy her demon had expended. But she would bet that three hours with these imps and Tia had felt like an eternity for Luka. They could be a trial at times.
“I take it all the clerics are dead.” She couldn’t imagine that her demon would have retreated otherwise.
“Dead and incinerated,” Jolene confirmed. “Just as they deserved.”
“As for that Kushiel guy, it looked as though your demon took care of him,” added Beck.
Yeah, Naomi remembered that part. “How did you guys find me out there in that desert?” It had been in the middle of nowhere.
All eyes drifted to Tobe.