She sat on Aidan chest and leaned down low to hiss in his face. His eyes darted to her mouth. He didn’t look scared. He looked...pleased. She planned to rectify that in two seconds.
With a quick move, she grabbed his long hair in her hand and slammed his head back down. Then she did it again and again. She put every ounce of strength inside her into it and when she pulled back, breathing hard, she saw his eyes closed but the pulse still beating at his neck. Unconscious, but not dead.
Her head slowly turned to her left. Alrik lay on the ground, clenching his ribs and looking like he was fighting the urge to curl into a ball. His face was busted from his eyes to his nose to his mouth. Yet, she swore she saw his lips lifting into a smile.
The two other demons stood now looking warily between her and Aidan.
“Get her off the field so we can finish this,” her next target said. He planted his foot on Alrik’s neck and pushed hard. She heard Alrik’s gasps for air a second before he pressed his hand back against the foot. Abby shook with rage. She felt close to how Carrie felt in that Stephen King movie after pig’s blood had dropped on her. She’d reached the last straw.
All at once she called her magic. Her skin warmed, fingertips turned hot, and she swiped one hand at the two demons towering over her demon. They flew back as if a missile hurled into them.
She didn’t stop there. Demons charged in after her but she could have been floating above them on a cloud with how much power surged inside her. There was no trying to conjure her magic or learn how to utilize it. She just did it.
Her hands pressed out in a ‘stop’ motion and all the demons, every single one of them, froze in mid-step. She didn’t realize that what she’d just done was incredible and took so much power to do. All she focused on was getting Alrik and her out of here.
She held her hand out to Alrik and he looked at her with an odd look on his face. Still, he took her hand but wouldn’t let her pull him up. Instead, he jumped up and somehow managed not to sway. His knees started to buckle so she wrapped one arm around his waist to help steady him. He looked at her with that strange look again...almost like she was the crazy one. As if.
Then, without further ado, she and Alrik walked out of the arena with her power keeping the men in check. She didn’t even look back. She had everything she wanted right in her arms--a crazy ass demon who wanted her to commit murder. It wasn’t normal, it might not even be right, but she wanted him something fierce.
In the great hall, she let Alrik go so he could grab a sack of supplies. With a harsh groan, he slung the bag over his back, grabbed his two swords lying in a pile of weapons, and then grabbed her hand. Warmth swelled inside her, but this time not from the magic still coursing through her body like wine.
Hand in hand, they walked out of there.
Abby couldn’t hide the goofy smile on her face. Looking up at Alrik, she blasted him with that happy smile. He blinked and she swore his lips twitched though she couldn’t be sure with all the swelling and blood caked around his mouth.
“I win this round.”
This time she couldn’t mistake the sound of his laughter; deep, low, and sexy. She laughed with him and together they left the castle and headed south once more.
Chapter Thirteen
“Let’s stop here for the night.”
Alrik hid his pained wince by turning his head to the side. He didn’t want to appear weak to her. His body felt like it’d been pummeled with hammers. It took every bit of his willpower not to collapse to the ground and pass out. But he couldn’t do that. She’d done the impossible back in the rogue demons’ castle and gotten them out of there. The magical power she’d shown was incredible. For the first time since stealing her, he finally knew she could kill his mother if she harnessed her power. If anyone could do it, it was the human witch Abbigail.
“Here, sit down,” she said, her face drawn in worry.
He shot a dark look at her command but she only rolled her eyes. If she thought that helping them out of a tight spot one time would put her in charge she was sorely mistaken. Although, something did change back there. Maybe it’d been between them the whole time, but when she stood up for him with her eyes glowing, her body ready to fight, he’d felt...good. He’d even felt proud of her.
“Don’t think just because you helped out back there that you can order me around, Abbigail.”
She got in his face or tried to the best she could considering he had at least a foot of height on her. Suddenly her hands shot up to his hair and she brought his face down. So surprised was he at the action that he didn’t pull back. He just stood there stunned waiting to see what she would do. Her gaze softened searching over his face, and then she leaned in, wrapping her body against his with a sigh.
The ache in his chest became too much to bear. Not even he had the strength to turn away from her when she was in his arms.
Alrik leaned down and crushed his lips against hers. The pressure hurt his lips but he couldn’t have passed up the moment for anything in the world.
His heart felt too tight in his chest as if it were expanding. Why didn’t she pull away? He’d kissed her once before but he’d hardly left her any choice. Besides, she had been so surprised by the first kiss that she just accepted it. But not now; now she knew better and still her wet tongue darted out to lick at his lips. He’d seen the desire in her eyes before. She actually wanted him.
Her lips were soft and warm beneath his. A breathy sigh fell across his lips as she licked her tongue across his bottom lip.
Even as his cock leaped to attention, he pulled back suddenly, his hand wiping his mouth. This couldn’t happen for too many reasons to count.
She watched the motion and hurt flashed in her eyes. “You don’t have to wipe my kiss off you! I’m not that disgusting.” She turned around and stalked away.
He took a step towards her then stopped himself. He started to call her back and explain himself but didn’t. He ended the kiss because he’d been sitting in a dungeon so he surely smelled foul, and blood still covered his mouth where his lips had cracked from the beating. He didn’t need her licking at that filth.
But he said none of those things. “I’ll be at the lake.”
She went deeper into the woods until he lost sight of her. Funny but he didn’t worry at all that she’d try to leave him, not after she’d rescued him. They had a bond now, and it wouldn’t easily break. Still, his gut tightened until he heard her reply.
“Fine!” came the snappy retort.
Alrik chuckled then grabbed his ribs as they jostled with the action. He hadn’t told her but they didn’t travel as far south as he’d have liked to. If Aidan and the other rogues wanted to, they could probably reach them within a matter of hours. But he’d needed to stop before he fell on his face.
They’d managed to find an open path of grass with tall vibrant green trees scattered on either side. Down the path over boulders and loose rocks rested a dark lake. He couldn’t remember the name of this lake or if it was a fallout from Deco lake. It’d been too long since he had a geography lesson.
Down at the water he pulled off his shirt. He moved slowly because as he lifted his arms his muscles tightened, burning. He panted at the pain. The wind blew, splashing ankle-high waves into the rocky shore. He didn’t sit down to pull off his boots because he wasn’t quite sure he’d be able to get back up if he did. So, he toed them off then dropped his pants. They needed to be washed but they’d have to wait for another day. His energy level was running on fumes as it was. Every time he closed his eyes it became harder and harder to open them again. He left the clothes and slowly treaded into the water.