I wish I could argue, prove him wrong, but the brutal truth of his words is too great.
His lips expand with a grin. “You know that, too, don’t you?”
Pressing my lips together, I move to turn my head. Surprisingly, he allows me to, but only so he can position his lips beside my ear.
“Don’t worry, my little rainbow trout; one day, you’ll realize you aren’t as different as you think,” he breathes hotly into my ear. “You’ve just been hanging out with the wrong crowd.”
I restrain the shiver wanting to course through my body, but lose control when he kisses the tip of my earlobe. My reaction makes my stomach churn with nausea and guilt. How can I possibly react to him this way when the love of my life is only standing a few feet away, trying to save me! And to a demon, of all creatures. A demon who, underneath the sexy guy façade, looks like an ugly troll.
I really am messed up.
“Let me go,” I say as I writhe my body in a desperate attempt to get away from him.
The numbness that was consuming my limbs has thawed, except for my knees down. The sensation is disconcerting, like my legs have turned into ice sculptures. At least I have most of my mobility back, though.
“Relax.” He reclines back and positions his face in front of mine again. “I’ll let you go, but not before I show you something.” He cups my chin and angles my head in the direction of the cage’s far back wall where a short, rounded figure with wrinkly grey skin and beady yellow eyes is tapping his foot impatiently.
Behind him, Hunter and Evan are trapped on the other side of the cage. Or, well, Hunter is. Evan is currently MIA.
“We’re going to get you out of here,” Hunter promises me with his palms lined up against the invisible wall of the cage. “Evan just went to get something to break down the cage.” He gulps. “Right now, we’re locked out.”
“Okay,” I mouth, trusting him. Then my attention shifts to the ugly, little creature standing inside the cage near the wall.
“I don’t know why we’re still here,” he spits, tapping the gold watch on his wrist. “We were supposed to be underground ten minutes ago.”
Terror lashes through me as my gaze whips back to the demon holding my face. “What the hell is that?”
“A demon.” A smug smile dances at his lips. “The demon who pulled you into this cage.”
Confusion bounces through my mind. “No, you pulled me in here.”
“Did I?” he questions, radiating amusement. “Because, from what I remember, you were already in here when I showed up thirty or so minutes ago, like I said, after being summoned by a shapeshifter demon.”
“I …” My gaze skates from the pissed off troll-ish demon then back to the dangerously sexy demon in front of me. “You tricked me.”
“No, you were just too oblivious to notice. But that’s okay; witches can be pretty self-absorbed. Good thing you’re only half a witch.” He frees my face from his grip then sits back, grinning.
I massage my cheeks with my fingers while wiggling my jaw from side to side. “I don’t know where you got your info, but I’m not a hybrid.”
His head bobbles back as he releases a frustrated groan. “Must we go over this again?”
“Please don’t. I’d rather you just stop lying.”
“I’m not lying.”
“Yes, you are.” My hands ball into fists on my lap as frustration simmers beneath my skin. “If I was part demon, I would have realized it by now.”
“How? Because your self-demon sensors would have told you?” he ridicules. “Trust me, sweetheart; these sorts of things don’t work that way. If someone isn’t born into the demon world, they usually don’t know they belong there. Unless someone tells them. And considering you’re pretty ignorant about all of this, I’m guessing your parents never told you.”
“First of all, quit calling me stupid and ignorant, and definitely don’t ever call me sweetheart again,” I snap while he simply grins. My eyes narrow into slits as I continue, counting down on my fingers. “Second, if my parents knew I was part demon, they would’ve told me. And lastly, if I was some sort of special hybrid that the demons wanted to get their hands on, why wouldn’t they just take me instead of using my sister to get to me? I mean, you were right by me in the park, and I was petrified. You could have taken me then, but instead, all you did was threaten to—”
“I wasn’t quite sure what you were then,” he cuts me off sharply, his eyes blazing with a silent warning to keep quiet.
Why? Why would I even trust him?
I open my mouth to finish the rest of my statement and prove I’m not going to listen to him, but I snap my jaw shut as the walls begin to bow, making an ear-splitting noise.
Cringing, I raise my hands to cover my ears, when he snags ahold of my wrist, stopping me.
“As long as you keep your mouth shut about what you are, I can arrange to get your sister back,” he whispers. “But under no circumstances are you to go anywhere near The Illuminating Horror House of Truth, got it?”
My brain rattles in my skull as the cage’s walls bend to and fro. “Why? What is that place even—”
“No questions,” he snaps. “Just a yes or no.”
I sneak a glance over at the ugly troll demon, who is scampering around and squealing with his hands over his ears. “But what about—”
The sexy demon splays his fingers across my cheek and angles my head back toward him. “Don’t worry about him. He won’t say a word; I’ll make sure of it.”
Every single part of
me screams not to make this bargain, that making a deal with a demon is by far the worst decision I could ever make. But so would allowing Ryleigh to remain a demon prisoner, used for trafficking and who knows what other purposes.
“All right, I’ll keep my mouth shut and stay out of The Illuminating Horror House of Truth.” For now, anyway. If I find out he’s lying, though, all deals are off. I also don’t bother mentioning that Hunter and Evan already know, since they overheard the other demon talking to me. If he knew that, he might not have made the deal.
“Good.” He removes his hand from my cheek as he gracefully leaps to his feet. “Now, all we have to do is kiss on it.”
I blink up at him stupidly. “Heck to the no way am I kissing you!”
His eyes glimmer mischievously. “One little kiss on the lips to seal the deal, or no deal at all.”
“You’re a sick, twisted, demon, perv freak!”
“And you’re about to kiss me, so what does that make you?” His brow pops up, his lips tugging upward into a cocky grin.
“I’m not that great of a kisser,” I continue to protest. Which is sort of the truth, I guess. I mean, I’ve never kissed anyone, so I don’t really know …
My gaze roams over toward Hunter, who’s distracted by the ugly demon sticking his tongue out at him. Relief washes over me that he’s not listening to this embarrassing and kind of disgusting conversation going down.
“I’ll be the judge of that.” The sexy demon kneels in front of me. “So, do we have a deal? Or, should I take off and let your sister continue to rot in the underground tunnels?”
Grr … Curse all demons and their evil tricks!
“Fine. One peck on the cheek.” I fold my arms and cross my legs, refusing to act as if I’m enjoying it.
“Nope.” He shakes his head. “It has to be on the lips.”
“Says who?”
“Says the person you’re making the deal with.”
My hands once again ball into fists. “Fine.” Then, to make things really unpleasant, I pucker my lips like a fish.