My Big Fat Demon Slayer Wedding

still trying to wrap my head around it.

Dimitri flinched. “That’s impossible.”

He knew better than to say things like that.

He advanced on me as soon as he’d recovered from his surprise. “I can’t believe you took it off.”

Yeah, he was hurt. I would have been, too. But dammit. “Stay back.” I moved to the other side of the open drawer. “I mean it.” He didn’t look possessed. His eyes were deep green, his voice clear. But it was the easiest explanation for my missing emerald. I needed time to think.

He kept coming. A purple bruise had formed at his collarbone. His face was raw from where the curses had streaked across his skin. His mouth was tight. “What the hell is wrong?”

Hades.

If he knew what I’d seen in the Cave of Visions, would he attack?

Oh my God. I loved him. I needed him. I couldn’t put a switch star through his heart simply because he was possessed.

Grandma moved in right behind him. “Tell us what happened,” she said, grim, as if she were afraid of the answer. She tried to move in on the side of me, but Dimitri blocked her. “We have a right to know what’s going on,” she added.

“I can’t.” I bit back.

Even if I wanted to show my cards to my potentially possessed fiance, it would still be hard to accurately describe what kind of shit we were in.

And I’d burned through my one big idea: Grab the necklace. Use the grave dirt and the ghost to power down the marks.

Now, I had nothing.

I was on my own.

And Zatar was coming.

Grandma’s mouth set in a hard line. “I told you we shouldn’t have let you go into the Cave of Visions.”

“You what?” Dimitri roared.

“It was a last minute thing,” I said quickly, retreating to the window. Hell. “You should be more upset about the necklace anyway.”

If he was in his right mind.

His eyes narrowed. “We’ll make a list,” he said, still blocking Grandma. “What kind of trouble are we in?”

“It’s complicated,” I said. And getting worse all the time.

Ant Eater and Creely joined the crowd behind Grandma.

My hand drifted to my switch stars. No. There had to be a better way.

If I could only see him clearly, if I knew he was on my side, then I’d have something to go on. A partner I could trust. But I couldn’t let down my guard for anyone, not even Dimitri. Rachmort had warned me of this very thing.

Another unpleasant thought intruded. There was a way to see inside him. If I was willing to bet my life he wasn’t compromised.

Truth be told, it wasn’t even up for debate at that point. For Dimitri, I’d do it.

“New plan,” I said to the assembled biker witches. “I need everybody to leave Dimitri and me by ourselves in here.”

Grandma balked. “Because leaving you alone has worked out so well for us.”

Dimitri glared at the witches. “I can remove every last one of you if I want.”

They grumbled, but they retreated. Score one for Dimitri. He’d tamed the biker witches. For the time being.

Now I was alone with my potentially possessed fiance.

He didn’t look too happy about it, either. “How the hell did the emerald even leave your body?”

It hurt to say it. “I had to renounce our bond in order to get the emerald off.”

He brought a hand up, running it through his hair until it stood up in spiky clumps. A lesser man would have questioned my devotion, but not Dimitri.

“I didn’t have a choice,” I said quickly. “I was afraid of it.” I’d leave the part out about trying to toss it. At least for now. “I kept it safe upstairs. You didn’t even notice I’d taken it off.”

He frowned at that.

It was a difficult thing to explain, but, “I’m trying to save your life, maybe even your soul. And mine.” And everyone else’s.

His hand dropped. “Wait. Back up. Are you protecting me or are you afraid I won’t understand what you’re facing?” His expression tightened. “Either way, you’re pissing me off. Now, calm down and start from the beginning.”

I couldn’t. Not unless I knew who was with me. “You have to trust me. I have to trust you.” I reached out, taking his hands in mine. He was hard with tension. Rawness burned in his expression, shaking me to the core. “It’s the only way.” My hands trembled, and my mouth was dry. “I need to see inside you.”

He watched me for a long, slow moment. “Lizzie, you’re not making any sense.”

I snorted, out of pure desperation, or maybe I didn’t know what else to do. “Trust me,” I told him.

When it came right down to it, I was more in tune with Dimitri than I was with anyone in heaven or on Earth. He was the most important person in my life.

He had a sliver of me inside of him. I was in his soul.

We were connected, ever since I’d saved his life by giving him a part of my demon slayer essence. Now that I had my instincts back, my power, I’d use that bond to look into his heart and soul. If he’d let me.

“Please,” I said. I understood his hesitation. Truth be told, I didn’t want to see every deep dark corner of his soul any more than I wanted him to see mine. There are some things we should be allowed to keep separate and whole, even from those we love. Now, we had to strip that away and lay us both bare. He’d see my insecurities, my failings, and I’d see if he had any doubt whether or not I was the one he truly wanted for the rest of his life.

Yes, the fight ahead would be brutal. Now, at least, we had what we needed right here.

His eyes shone with frustration, fear, hurt, and love.

“You know I trust you,” he said quietly. “With my life.”

He gave himself over to me, his emotions naked, his spirit willing. He didn’t ask for any other explanation. At that moment, if it was even possible, I loved him more.

I clutched his hands, at the same time, opening up my demon slayer senses. It was all or nothing. If he were possessed, it would enter me as well.

For better or for worse…

I embraced our connection and his true intentions washed over me.

His heart beat raw against his chest. The evil water nymph had escaped. He cursed under his breath, and it came out as a lion’s snarl. It had attacked the demon slayer. Its orders were to kill.

Lizzie Brown is mine. 

The demon slayer stood in the clearing, her hair damp, her breaths coming hard. She watched him warily, but she didn’t back down to a griffin. 

Impressive.

She looked so small, so vulnerable, but there was steel underneath. He’d followed her for weeks, but he’d never been this close. And now, as her gaze locked with his, he felt something in him shift. 

He wanted to say it was how she’d fought. She was brave. But, no, it was more than that. She inspired loyalty.

The biker witch beside her didn’t work well with others. Not since her own daughter had betrayed her. Yet the witch believed in this slayer. Trusted her.

Then there was the annoying little dog. It had bit him without the least bit of provocation. The foul creature had even seemed to enjoy it. Yet it had been willing to die for her.