Page 7 of Tanglewood Legacy (The Three Sisters 3)
Whirling, she looked up into the face of the demon who had haunted her nightmares. His eyes glowed red, and two horns protruded from the sides of a twisted, fang-filled face.
“Asmodeus.” Isis crossed and uncrossed her arms between them. Her spell thrust the demon away from her, blowing her hair forward and over her shoulders with her effort. She reached for her wand but found it wasn’t with her. She wore only her shift, exactly what she’d worn to bed.
“Be gone, demon,” she commanded.
“Isis Tanglewood, do you honestly believe you can command me here in my domain? I know what you’re thinking. You’re wondering if this is a dream, a harmless detour of your mind.”
“Is it?”
“A dream, yes. Harmless, no. You’re here with me, and what happens here is very much real.” His pointed tail flicked behind his obscenely muscled form. “I sense my appearance frightens you. Here, let me fix that.” He snapped his taloned fingers, and his body morphed into the image of a devastatingly handsome man in formal wear. He brushed his hands down the sleeves of his waistcoat and straightened the ruffled cuffs of the shirt beneath. His pale blond hair formed a dashing coif, and a straight nose extended over a pearlescent smile.
Lust rolled through her, like warm velvet along the underside of her skin. Her core ached, and her breasts grew heavy, their peaks tightening and straining against the thin linen of her shift. She shook her head, trying to clear it of the demon’s overtly sexual power.
“What form you take is no matter,” Isis said, swallowing hard against the feelings he evoked in her traitorous body. “I have refused you before, and I will again. I am not yours and never will be.”
“You would dare deny me?” the demon crooned. “After what I did for you?”
She raised her chin defiantly. “You did nothing for me.”
“What a short memory you have, Isis. I allowed you to take your sister Medea from my realm back to the living.” He moved closer to her, his lascivious gaze hot on her skin. “You could not have done it without my assistance.”
Isis bared her teeth. “I did that of my own power.”
He paced, his gaze raking her body as he circled her. “And I allowed it. I could have stopped you, but I didn’t.”
She considered arguing that not stopping someone and assisting someone were two different things but decided not to waste her breath. Instead, she asked, “Why didn’t you stop me?”
“Because I find you… amusing.” His gaze flicked over her again, and he licked his lips.
“Not amusing enough for you to allow Phineas to return with his mother.” Isis ground her teeth.
The corners of Asmodeus’s mouth turned up. “Ah, the babe. I was wondering when you’d ask me about him.” He placed the long, tapered fingers of his right hand to his chest, his blue eyes twinkling as if lit from within. “I cannot take responsibility for the shortcomings of your magic, Isis. You failed to consider the babe when crafting your spell.”
It was true. When she’d raised Medea, pregnant with Phineas, from the dead, she hadn’t considered how to factor in the baby. She’d never raised anything larger than a sheep before that night. It was her fault that Phineas was still dead. A pit opened in her torso, thinking about her sister’s grief. She closed her eyes. Would Medea ever forgive her, truly? How could she, after such a loss?
Asmodeus inhaled and cupped her cheek. “There, there, dear witch. I can offer you a cure for that pesky guilt. Align yourself to me, and I will give you the ultimate power over death. Who knows? With your magic, you might find a way to raise the babe, even now. You might even be able to raise the dragon.”
She opened her eyes and looked up into Asmodeus’s face. Cloaked in illusion, he was stunningly beautiful, his cool blond appearance elevating him to a work of art, godlike and glowing. But when he smiled, she saw only cruelty in it. A genuine smile could not be constructed out of magic any more than true love could be. The demon had never known either, despite his fervor for lust.
Her body thrummed, her breasts growing heavy and the throb between her legs increasing in its intensity. It was all his doing. She was mortified to catch herself stroking a hand over her own chest and down her stomach, desperate for relief from the aching sensation between her thighs.
“No,” she said through her teeth, forcing herself away. “Find someone else. I do not want your power, or the curse that will undoubtedly come with it.”
He growled, his smile sprouting fangs as his illusion broke. She gathered her power about her. It was easy here, where shadows ruled. Asmodeus squinted at the tendrils of darkness that wound around her and scowled.
“This is your last chance,” he said through his teeth. “Accept my offer and become my lover. Together, we will command the night. You’ll be the most powerful witch of your generation.”
She forced herself to meet his eyes and shivered. They’d gone black and slitted, like a snake’s. “No. I refuse your offer.”
“So be it, witch.” He morphed back into his red-skinned, horned, and tailed form. “But know this, I will offer you no more favors. Should you enter my realm again, I will be far less amiable.” He slashed a hand between them.
Shadows swarmed her, blotting out all light, and carried her away.
She opened her eyes to the sound of birds singing and early morning light streaming through the canvas. Beside her, her sisters and Rhys slept peacefully. Her gaze fell on Medea, and the heaviness returned to her chest. Goddess, she didn’t regret resurrecting her sister. She couldn’t. But she might never recover from the guilt. The pain on her sister’s face when she’d learned that she’d lost both her mate and her unborn child had been almost too much to bear. Phineas and Tavyss were gone. Nothing could be done about it but to carry the burden of her choice.
On bare feet, she padded out the tent flap to take a deep breath of fresh morning air. When her eyes fell on the Tanglewood tree, she could not hold back her elation. She raised her hands to her mouth and simply allowed the joy to sweep every dark thought she’d had away.
“It worked! Sisters, it worked!” she cried.
