Runes of Truth (A Demon's Fall #1)(26)
“That’s weird, and this place is not what I was expecting,” Connor says behind me, and holds his hand over his eyes as he looks around.
“We need to find shelter for the night, somewhere the others can find us,” I say, and Connor puts his hand on my shoulder, turning me.
“That looks good,” he points at a small section of rocks, one is big enough to have a ledge that casts a shadow, and we can use it for a shelter for the night.
“Let’s go,” I say, walking to the rocks. I keep an eye out, but there would only be demons here, and most will be near the pyramid. I doubt they will bother us. Souls can’t be in here, they disappear once they go through the gate. We get to the rocks, and I instantly pull my bags off, and then my cloak, my jacket and just leaving myself in a vest shirt that is see through. Connor does the same, and I turn just in time to see him pull his shirt over his head. I trace my eyes over his muscular, toned chest, the rune name I can see written over his heart. I move my eyes up to his, seeing him staring at me with just as much desire as his eyes sweep down my body. I walk over, watching how he stays very still, but doesn’t move away. His rune name just looks like symbols to me, all different ones that make no sense. I gently place my hand on them, tracing them with my finger, and making his breath hitch.
“I should push you away,” he whispers as I lock my eyes with his. I smirk, leaning up, so our lips are inches apart.
“You should, but you won’t. It will feel so much better because it’s not allowed,” I tease him, brushing my lips against his. He loses control quickly, grabbing my hips and pulling me into his arms as he harshly kisses me. I didn’t expect his kiss to be like this. Demanding, harsh, controlling, and utterly amazing. It’s always the quiet ones you should watch out for. He walks us backward, pushing my back against the rock wall, breaking away from my lips to kiss down my neck. I open my eyes for only a second, seeing red ones glaring at me from a few feet away. I don’t stop Connor as he sucks on my neck, and Azi’s eyes glow as he storms towards us, grabbing Connor and sending him flying away from me into the sand.
“You. Are. Mine!” Azi demands, stepping into my space, and grabbing my arms, pinning them above my head. I could fight him off, but I don’t when I see how close he is to losing control.
“Like fuck I am! You’re a cheating bastard!” I seethe, not scared of him one bit.
“You never let me explain! You just walked away, you left!” he growls right back.
“I don’t need an explanation, I know what I saw!” I shout back.
“You don’t know fuck. The woman you walked into the room to see in-between my legs was sent as a present from my brother. I didn’t even know she was in my apartment as I walked in and sat down. She practically ran to me as the door was unlocked, and everything happened so fast,” he tells me, and I don’t breathe as I think it through. Could that have happened? I was so angry, so upset that I didn’t give him or her a chance to say anything to me before I called a portal to hell. “You know what I think? You wanted a reason to run . . . you can’t stand the chance that someone is actually on your side. That someone cares about you, and that you’re not alone.”
“You really expect me to believe that?” I eventually say, but my voice comes out in a whisper because I hate how right he might be with his statement, how I usually run from anyone that is close to me because they will leave or die, anyway. I’ve had twenty-five years of people doing that, starting off with my parents who left me. I keep my eyes locked on his, with more emotion than I ever wanted to show this demon.
“I have never lied to you. Never, Vi,” he says firmly, and lets me go, stepping away as Connor runs over to us. I spot Trex and Nix walking over the sand hill in the distance and know I have to focus on the mission. I have to get the princesses back, so Hali is safe, nothing else matters.
“I can’t deal with this, not here, not now. I can only think of Hail, she needs me,” I tell him, trying to make myself forget everything between us for now. I hate the fact he can scare me so easily by being truthful.
“I know, that’s why I’m not pushing you . . . but don’t push me,” he warns.
“Everything okay, Evie?” Connor asks, moving closer as he wipes sand out of his hair, and keeping his eyes on Azi the whole time.
“Yeah, everything is fine. Azi got the stupid notion that I belong to him when I don’t. I don’t belong to anyone, and I can do as I damn well please,” I say, moving away from them all, and going to my bag. I look over my shoulder once at Azi, seeing him watching me as he talks quietly to Connor, who watches me, too. I shake my head as I look back at my bag. I can’t trust him, I can’t believe him, and I can’t risk thinking about my ex while I’m literally in hell.
Evie
“I see something, everyone up!” Nix says, from his look out at the front of the rock. I sit up quickly, grabbing a dagger, and running to his side. I look at what he is pointing at and blow out a sigh of relief as I hold my hand up to pause the others.
“They are traders, nothing that will bother us,” I say loud enough, so the others can hear me. Traders are demons who literally do what their name suggests, they trade. A few years back, a bunch of them decided to try kidnapping humans and trading them to demons here as a new business venture. They were all killed by Protectors, even with the help of some demons who thought they had gone too far. I’m surprised to even see any trader demons alive anymore. These ones must have hidden when everyone went after them. These traders look like they are trading junk, though, and a lot of it. I look at them when they get closer, seeing how they are not good-looking demons at all. They have green skin, covered in bumps, with large round stomachs and beady eyes with long green cloaks on. There are two of them, pulling, what looks like, a couple of stolen supermarket trollies behind them that are overflowing with junk and tied with rope. How they are even getting them moving in the sand is beyond me.