Page 135 of Knight’s Retribution

He put Willow down and scanned her again to make sure she was okay.

This time Vorena hadn’t given them free passage in, and getting back out had been even more eventful. The demon was bound by her blood vow, but she hadn’t made it easy for them. The bitch was hoping her demons would finish them off. That way she’d get her spoils without having to pay the piper. Well, she’d been shit out of luck and fucking furious when they made it to her chamber in one piece.

Willow handed him her satchel containing the vial of Vorena’s demon blood.

“Not sure how I’ll ever repay you for this,” he said, taking it from her.

She smiled and dragged her forearm across her cheek, trying to wipe away but only smearing the demon blood splattering her skin. “Yeah, you owe me, so make sure you come back.” Then she slid her hand in the bag she’d given him and pulled out something else. “I got you this as well.”

She placed a glossy red stone in his hand. “This bloodstone is from my family’s burial site. From the sacred ground surrounding my ancestors.”

“This was the ritual you did? To get this stone?”

“Yep. Over the centuries, the residual powers of my ancestors have seeped into the ground around them. That thing is like an amplifier for power. Vorena’s blood plus the stone is your best bet… Using them together, you’ll have a way better chance of opening the portal. Kyler’s powers will be new, she’ll need help. And if you can bring Golath’s bone back as well, that would be awesome.”

The bone belonged to Willow and had been stolen. Without it, Diemos’s chances of leaving Hell dramatically dropped. He wouldn’t be able to use a Hell’s gate demi-demon like Kyler—and Eve before she mated with Lazarus—without it. If this worked, Diemos’s only way out of Hell would be during the equinox and solstice when the portal opened on its own, making leaving Hell way too risky. Without control over the portal, if he left, he could get locked out, or someone else could take his place if they were powerful enough.

Though Roc was starting to think the prick was coming one way or another, he was getting desperate, and desperate people did fucked-up things.

“Thank you…for everything.”

She gave his arm a squeeze. “No problem. Now go get your female.”

* * *

Hell

Kyler blinked at the wall and tried not to move, not to scream. Diemos lay against her, his arms wrapped around her so tightly she could barely breathe. His cold, disgusting hands on her body, his clawed fingers alternating between stroking her bare skin and tracing the birthmark on her thigh. Time had crawled by at a snail’s pace while she’d slowly but surely tried to win Diemos’s trust, but she had no idea if she’d succeeded.

“I’m so glad you’re here, my darling. Before you came, I was so…so…”

“Lonely?” she asked.

He pressed his face into the crook of her neck. “Yes. Yes, I think that’s it.” He was silent for several seconds. “It was a lot less…enjoyable.”

She covered his hand with hers. “I’m here now.”

“And you won’t ever leave, will you, Kyler?”

God, there was a vulnerability not just to his words but to his voice as well. Was this actually working? “I won’t leave, but I can’t take being locked in this room every day all day anymore, Diemos.”

Speaking out like that would usually cause him to lose his temper, but she had to push. She was nearly out of time. According to Scarlet, the portal would open in three days—Hell time—it’d only be mere hours on Earth.

She’d broached the subject several times over the last two weeks and he had agreed that she could leave his quarters but kept putting it off.

“Soon,” he said and rolled her to her back, looking down at her. The look in his yellow eyes was one she’d never seen before. “Will you…will you hold me, precious one? I’ve never been held before and I find…I find it’s something I crave more and more. Will you do that for me? Will you put your arms around me?”

Holding back her shudder, she held out her arms. “Of course.”

He smiled, flashing pointed teeth, and came to her, resting his head on her bare breasts and wrapping his arms around her. He sighed, and she released the breath she was holding, keeping it slow and even as she held him in return. He curled his long, lean body against her like a child desperate for love and affection.

“I’m here now,” she said and slowly rubbed his back.

“Yes,” he said, holding her tighter. “And you’ll never leave me?”

“No,” she said. “I’ll never leave.”

“No. Of course you won’t.” His cold lips pressed against the side of her breast and she forced herself not to shove him away. “I’d have to hurt you again if you ever tried.”