Another focused magical thought from her and Oliver’s eyes rolled back into his head. He dropped to the ground unconscious.
Eden cast a dark look at Sandy, who’d crawled away from them into the corner.
“Thanks for the head’s-up,” Eden said.
Sandy just nodded, her eyes filled with fear and apprehension.
Eden left the house, and the black magic continued to swirl around her. Her heart pounded hard, and the rage she felt earlier wasn’t in any hurry to leave.
It scared her. And it also. . excited her.
“Darrak. Are you there?” she asked quietly.
He didn’t respond, but she could feel him under layer after layer of dampening.
Her head felt foggy, cloudy, dazed. She didn’t remember how exactly she got home, but suddenly she was there. Her body trembled. The black magic continued to spark through her, but she felt drained, like an empty glass waiting to be filled.
She let out a shaky breath and looked up at her apartment building through the darkness. Sandy said she’d know how to put up wards. She did. With the magic flowing freely it was easier than she ever would have imagined.
She waved her hand through the air and turned slowly around in a circle.
The area shimmered for a moment before going dark again to indicate that the wards were set.
Eden raised her eyebrows with surprise.
She barely remember traveling up in the elevator. The door to her apartment opened smoothly in front of her. No key required.
The black cat curled on her sofa stood up, stretched, and looked at her curiously.
“Hi, Leena,” she said hollowly, and her throat felt tight.
The cat tilted its head, as if questioning her strange mood.
Despite everything, despite her worries about using her black magic and what it was doing to her soul, she felt. . good. The more she used her power, the better she felt. The stronger she felt. She didn’t want anyone to be able to harm her or Darrak again. Using her black magic had ensured that. She’d escaped. She’d lived.
Thanks to the magic she wasn’t supposed to use.
The thought didn’t make her feel the least bit guilty now, but she was weakened from using it. She needed more power and she needed it now.
Nosy chaperone shapeshifters would only get in the way.
“Go back to sleep, Leena.” Eden flicked a finger in the cat’s direction. The cat lay down and went back to sleep, no questions asked.
Eden walked into her bedroom and touched her chest. “Darrak, I need you. Right now.”
She needed him. She wanted him. And she would have him.
Clarity was a wonderful thing.
Being dampened wasn’t fun.
Especially not when Darrak desperately wanted to know what was happening. It was as if he was held prone and covered by a thousand heavy blankets. Suffocating and impossible to move no matter how hard he struggled.
Golden boy was up to no good. He could see that coming from a mile away. However, he hadn’t seen this. So what had happened? Ben got a witch to dampen Darrak so he could talk some sense into Eden without Darrak being around?
Was Eden at risk? Would Ben hurt her?
He didn’t think so, but he wasn’t certain.
The thought was driving him insane.
Maybe he’d stepped over the line by borrowing her body. Maybe she’d finally see the light and want to get rid of him once and for all.
She had been pissed.
He ignored the twinge of guilt he felt. Seeing Theo had been vital. Not telling Eden about it had been. . well, also vital. The woman could be stubborn.
What was happening? Damn it. He hated being powerless like this.
Hanging out down here in the dampening darkness, he couldn’t do anything but wait and try to remain calm.
There was a time when it would have been much harder to keep him down. Back when he was a full-power archdemon ready to lay waste to the human world as a fun Friday guys’ night out with Theo.
The good old days. Weren’t they? He wasn’t sure anymore; the memories were a bit unclear. But back then at least he knew no one could have defeated him this easily.
Just a little, common witch — not even a full black magic practitioner — was able to bring him to his knees tonight. It was embarrassing.
Worrying wasn’t very demonic of him, but he really couldn’t help it. Stupid humanity.
He didn’t know how long it had been before he felt something — saw something. It was as if a hand had been held out to him. Not a literal hand, but. . it was there.
He grabbed hold of it.
Then, before he could figure out what was happening, he was pulled at lightning speed up through the layers of dampening. He felt the cold air as he exited Eden’s body, and then he concentrated on taking form. It was instinctual but it still required effort. He clothed himself as he became corporeal.
Eden stood in front of him.
He felt an immediate and almost overwhelming wave of relief at the sight of her.
“What the—?” He looked at his hands, his eyes wide. “Eden. . what happened?”
“I did it,” she said. “I wasn’t sure I could.”
He came toward her and took her face between his hands, his brow furrowed. “Are you okay?”
“Very much so.”
“Ben. . he was with a witch.”
“Old news.”
Her hair felt so soft and silky that he couldn’t help but slide his fingers through it. “Where are they now?”
“They’re gone. I took care of them.”
“What time is it?” he asked.
“Quarter after four.”
He frowned at that. “But. . it’s not even sunrise yet.”
“No.”
“Then how. .” He blinked, then looked around to see that they were in Eden’s apartment, in her bedroom. “How is this possible? What happened?”
“Ben’s working for the Malleus now. He introduced me to his boss. His boss tried to kill me. I escaped. That’s a quick overview.”
Darrak shook his head, confused. “What?”
Eden took his hand in hers and brushed her lips against it. He drew in a sharp breath. She wasn’t acting like someone who’d just survived a murder attempt. “Eden. . what did you do to escape?”
She slid her hands up over his chest, her expression serene. “What I had to do.”
It felt good when Eden touched him like this. Too good. She didn’t do it very often — at least not when she was awake. What did this mean?
