Demon Slave (25 page)

“
He didn’t ask,” she
replied in a flat tone, staring at the fire.

A snarl lifted her gaze back to Rex.

Blood red eyes swirling with outrage stared
back at her. “I will kill him for you.”

“
What? No!”

“
But it is against our
law.” His eyes dimmed back to normal.

Pinching the bridge of her nose, Nadua
sighed. “I don’t want him dead.” Besides, it probably wouldn’t be
Marik who ended up dead, she added to herself. “I need to think.
I’m going to go down to the pool for a little bit. Don’t kill
anyone while I’m gone, okay?”

Down in the warm chamber, Nadua plopped onto
a jutting boulder and leaned her back against the wall. Her mind
swirled at a nearly painful speed, like it was stuck in a twister.
She tried to slow it by focusing on the natural heat and the
mirrored surface of the water.

Demon mating was much more serious than she
could have imagined. How could Marik have done that to her without
her permission? He’d practically wed her against her will, while
distracting her with the most delicious orgasm.

And then he’d regretted it directly
after.

No matter what Rex said, Nadua didn’t
believe there was nothing that could be done. She wasn’t going
surrender her future and allow herself to be tied to a brash demon
forever.

Soft echoing voices interrupted her
thoughts.

Her back went straight as she listened hard.
It didn’t sound like Marik or Rex. Again, a muffled male voice
sounded. A feminine timbre followed. Nadua slowly stood, looking
around for the source.

Then she noticed a tiny hint of light from
behind the boulder she’d been sitting on. Setting the lantern down,
Nadua pulled the hefty rock back, revealing a small opening.
Tentatively, she lowered to the ground to peek inside.

The voices came louder. Definitely a woman
and a male. The male was talking. Nadua could make out a few words.
They were Cyrellian. She leaned in farther.

“
We can keep you safe,
Lidian.”

Lidian!

Surprised, Nadua jerked up and banged her
head on the roof of the small tunnel. “Ow.” She rubbed the sore
spot just as the voices went quiet.

“
What is it?” the female
asked.

“
I thought I heard
something.”

More silence.

“
Let’s go back,” she
pleaded. “Being this far away worries me. What if Jaxsin comes
searching for me?”

“
I would kill him before I
let him near you again.”

Nadua mused, what is it with guys wanting to
kill each other today?

Swift footsteps dimmed into silence.

By the sound of it, the boy who had spoken
was around the same age as Lidian. It seemed they had been alone,
as well. Nadua might not have any weapons, but she was certain she
could take down a couple of Cyrellian kids if she needed to.

Scooting along on her belly, Nadua wormed
her way through the narrow space. It was so tight she had to push
the lantern ahead of her a few feet, move forward, and then push
the lantern again. Loose sand fell from above, coating her hair and
arms. More of it pressed down on her back and legs. After a few
minutes, she had to bite back a growing sense of claustrophobia and
a building panic. She had no idea if the tunnel would ever end, and
she didn’t think she could wiggle her way backwards.

Then the tunnel grew even smaller. To her
horror, the lantern flickered, sucking the light away and then
bursting back to life. She’d almost lost it then, but when the
light had dimmed, she spotted the end of the tunnel only a few more
feet ahead. With renewed enthusiasm, she surged onward.

Nadua had to inch one shoulder forward and
then the other. Back and forth. Sharp rocks scratched her as she
went, but eventually she was out. It wasn’t until she stood that
Nadua realized how fast her heart had been beating.

Entering that hole to return was now a
terrifying thought. Why had she thought that was a good idea? Soft
footstep in the distance reminded her.

She glanced around her surroundings, and
found she was alone in a dark passageway. To her right, ancient
looking rocks fanned out toward her in varied positions, as though
there had been a cave-in long ago. In the other direction, the cave
split in two.

Above were little keyholes in the stony
roof, allowing natural light in and making her lantern unnecessary.
Afraid someone might happen upon it, she stashed it inside the
little tunnel. She then piled a few rocks in front of it.

Nadua crept along the path she believed the
couple had taken, being careful where she stepped. Any small sound
could alert whoever she was following.

A voice echoed from the far end of the cave.
She planted her body in a tight, dark corner. After several moments
passed in silence, she continued forward, stopping often to listen
for sign of others approaching.

The light only seemed to be getting
brighter, yet the air remained moderately comfortable. If she was
approaching an exit, it should be getting colder.

Gradually, the edges of the cave
transitioned from its natural rocky formation into something more
contrived. Intricate pillars carved from the rock stood on either
side of a wide arched opening. Rex had said there was a tribe
living within the caves. She was now sure that she’d found their
lair.

Curiosity tickled the edge of her mind. She
peeked through the doorway and found she was looking over a balcony
carved of rock. Past it lay a huge expanse, like a great hall. Near
the ceiling, surrounding a sleek dome, was a circumference of
windows. From them, light gleamed against perfectly smooth stone
walls that seemed to sparkle.

Making sure she didn’t give herself away,
Nadua leaned out for a better view. Along the inside balcony walls
stood rows of elegant tall doors made of a dark wood, finely etched
and polished. Below, stairs led to an open area for gathering, with
a large table raised on a dais and surrounded by empty chairs that
were neatly tucked in.

A painful breath caught in the back of her
throat as her gaze fluttered over an array of elaborate tapestries
that decorated various walls. The designs on them were all too
familiar. If she didn’t know any better, she could easily delude
herself into thinking she’d been teleported back to the palace. Any
second now, Ava could come running out of her room to greet her
with a catching smile.

But it wasn’t until she noticed the symbol
etched directly in the middle of the stone floor that Nadua became
sure that she must be hallucinating.

The Dion family emblem.

* * *

Edisdons were more difficult to hunt than
Marik initially assumed. At first glance, they looked to be the
dimmest sort of creatures, but they had a hidden intellect that
easily thwarted his every attempt.

Even the smallest in the pack of five he’d
been stalking had anticipated his every move. And, by the gods,
were they fast. Their heavy frames were misleading. They should be
slow and sluggish, but no doubt they were ten times swifter than he
on foot.

Among his attempts, he’d waited in the tree
tops, only to be bucked free when he landed on a big male’s back.
After that, he realized they were migrating in a straight line. He
had run ahead of them and buried himself in the deep snow, planning
to burst out and surprise them. Later, when he was positive they
should have passed, their trail showed that the pack had given him
a wide berth and then resumed their track.

Marik had traveled miles, sniffing out their
pungent scent. Nadua needed their fur, and he was determined to get
it for her. Unfortunately, he failed to snatch even a hair and was
forced to return to the cave with nothing to offer his beautiful
mate. Perhaps they could stay in the warm part of the cave until
they were found. They weren’t too far from—

A crack to his jaw sent him reeling to the
ground. Pain erupted and the metallic taste of blood tingled on his
taste buds.

Fists clenched, Rex peered down at him with
a mix of repulsion and disgust.

Marik should have expected this. Nadua would
have questions, and had obviously directed them at the only other
person she could.

Raising his fist again, Rex brought it down
hard on Marik’s skull. Marik didn’t even attempt to avoid it. His
head ricocheted off the hard frozen ground.

Rex was only following the old law, and
rightly so. Nadua deserved better than a miserably dishonored slave
who had unintentionally claimed her. She deserved someone who loved
her, who would die to protect her.

Another hit darkened his vision.

“
Fucker! Fight me!” Rex
yelled.

Marik spit blood and replied, “No.”

A kick to his gut had him gasping, clenching
in agony.

“
Fight me if you think you
deserve her!”

“
What do you care?” Fire
rose in him, thinking Rex wanted her for himself.

She’s mine!

“
She doesn’t deserve what
you’ve done!” Two more swift, heavy kicks to his face.

I know
.

“
She’s the only kind person
I’ve known in centuries!” Rex kicked him again. “Do you think
because she’s not of our kind you can just take her as
yours!”

Burst of pain indicated that Marik’s face
was bloodied and swelling. “I didn’t mean to. I never meant—”

Marik wasn’t sure if it was a kick or a
punch that cut him off, only that it was painful. Was Nadua
watching this carnage? Had she sicced Rex on him? He couldn’t find
her scent.

“
Where is she?”

“
She went to be by herself
in the spring.”

Dread settled in him. Rex swung again, but
Marik seized his fist.

“
Are you sure?” Something
felt off. He didn’t like her being alone down there. When Rex went
silent, Marik shot to his feet. “When did you see her
last?”

“
It has been a few
hours—Where are you going?”

“
We can continue this
conversation after I’m sure she’s safe.” Marik flew down the narrow
passage with Rex right behind him.

Nadua wasn’t there.

The Edge bubbled up.

He slammed Rex against the wall. “Where is
she?”

“
She came down here, I—”
His eyes widened at something past Marik’s shoulder.

Marik tilted his head at a boulder that
looked to have been moved. Behind it was a tiny passageway. Too
small for either of them, but perfect for a Faieara sized female.
Kneeling down, Marik caught Nadua’s scent.

Why would she...?

He peered inside. There was a small amount
light trying to get through, but a lump of something on the far end
was blocking it.

“
Nadua!”

“
Shh,” Rex hushed. “You
don’t want to alert anyone else.”

“
Anyone else? What the fuck
do you mean, anyone else?”

Instinctively, Rex took a step back. “I told
you, there are people living in the caves. I thought there was no
access between here and their territory.”

Marik raked his hands through his hair.
Nadua had to have moved the rock to gain access to the small
opening. Was she running from him again?

He took another desperate peek. Still that
dark lump hadn’t moved. A horrific picture of Nadua passed out or
stuck inside the tiny hole assaulted him. He began frantically
digging, pulling away rock and soil.

“
You could cause a cave in
like that,” Rex warned.

“
I must get to
her!”

“
Come with me. There’s a
larger entrance around the mountain.”

“
If anything happens to
her, I will kill you.”

“
I know."

Nadua stood shocked to her core and looking
up at a shadow of her past—long dead, yet standing before her with
a familiar smile on his face. At first she had raced down the steps
to embrace him on sight, but then reality slammed into her and she
grew furious.

He was supposed to be dead.

Cyrus was obviously surprised to see her,
and his expression morphed into exuberance as though presented with
an old friend.

Abruptly, Nadua slapped him. The sound of it
echoed off the slick curved walls. “What is this, Cyrus? Fineas
told me you died.” She sucked in a devastated breath and looked
around the massive room. “For three hundred years I have mourned
the day!” Her fists clenched. “Have you been here? The whole
time?”

Cyrus rubbed his cheek, reminding Nadua of a
chastised child. “Nadua, girl, calm yourself.”