Demon Slave (Shadow Quest Book 2) (26 page)

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.”

“
Calm? Calm! You are alive and you let us think otherwise! You let
me
think otherwise!” She could feel herself becoming hysterical. “Why?” she screamed. Her eyes burned, her throat tightened, and she feared she was about to break down and weep.

The noise she was making drew others, and Nadua registered that five rather common-looking Cyrellians had arrows and swords aimed at her. She didn’t care. She stared at Cyrus, waiting for an explanation.

Cyrus slumped his shoulders and opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted by a familiar, echoing growl.

Oh, gods!

A scream issued behind her. Nadua turned as a couple Cyrellian females rushed passed.

Marik, fully demonized, emerged from a darkened passageway. His muscles strained as burning red eyes promised pain and were fixed on her supposed attackers. She couldn’t help but think he looked...magnificent.

Rex followed behind him, equally aggressive in form.

The weapons that had been on her were now turned toward the demons.

“
Wait!” she called, rushing for Marik, her hands up in a calming gesture. “Marik. Stop.”

He did, looking at her with dim confusion.

What had happened to his face? It was slightly swollen, and his cheek and lip were cut. He scanned the room and let out a terrifying roar that, days ago, would have made her cower.

Now she just snapped her fingers for his attention. “Focus.”

Both he and Rex gaped at her.

Nadua turned back to Cyrus and the armed men. “Cyrus, these are my demons. I mean...not my demons, my friends. I mean, they won’t hurt anyone.” She turned back to Marik and Rex. “Right?”

Both gave halfhearted shrugs.

She looked at Cyrus again. “But your people need to lower their weapons. Now.”

“
Do it,” Cyrus ordered.

The Cyrellians glanced at each other and relaxed their stance.

“
Things have changed,” Cyrus observed. “Have we established a treaty with the demons?”

“
We? What do you mean by
we
? The kingdom? Or are you talking about the living?”

“
Nadua—”

“
No, I need to know.” She gestured to the room. “What happened to you? Are you allied with the rebels now?”

“
Of course not. How could you think that?”

“
Why have you not contacted me? Or Wren?”

Cyrus ducked his gaze at that.

Nadua gasped. “No...Wren knows? For how long?”

“
I wanted news of you, and little Avaline.”

Nadua felt her lip quiver. “I took it all on when your brother died. The kingdom. Raising Ava. You could have been there, this whole time? I needed you!”

Sorrow etched in his features. “From what I hear, you’ve been doing a wonderful job.”

Tears fuzzed her vision. She marched forward, teeth clenched, and slapped him again. His entourage raised their weapons. Before Cyrus could wave them back, Marik had her behind him with a growl.

“
Marik, this is my business,” she snapped.

“
When it concerns your safety, it’s mine.”

She pushed past him, and thankfully he did not try to stop her. “Well?” she said to Cyrus.

Cyrus gave a heavy sigh and replied, “You look tired. And why are you such a mess?”

Nadua looked down at her clothes, which were torn and stained from her travels. “It’s a long story.”

He glanced at Rex and Marik. “Indeed. Well, so is mine. Allow me to provide you with lodgings and proper clothing. And I will have a warm meal prepared for you. Let us talk then.”

Curious faces gazed down at them from the balcony. Most were dressed in the standard aristocratic garb, and held themselves with an elegance that reminded Nadua of the palace.

“
Who else is with you?” Cyrus asked.

“
It’s just us.”

His brows shot up in surprise. “It’s just you three?”

“
Like I said, long story.”

He motioned for a nearby female to approach. “Show them each to a room, please.”

Marik wrapped his arm around Nadua’s waist and pulled her closer to him. “She stays with me.”

Cyrus slanted a gaze at her.

In a tone meant to pierce metal, she said, “He’ll forget he said that in a couple of minutes. Three rooms will be fine.”

Marik gave her confident look that said, “There might be three, but we will be using two.”

We’ll see about that
.

“
Uh, very well then. Please follow Collet. She will show you the way.”

Collet bowed, slipping nervous glances at the demons. “This way, please.” She started up the steps and glanced back as they followed.

Marik was still rigid and giving off I-will-kill-everyone-here vibes. Rex moved cautiously, scanning the large room. He was obviously unnerved by their close proximity to these Cyrellians—some of which had probably fought against his people.

“
Cyrus is an old friend.” Nadua felt she should reassure them.

Collet kept a few feet ahead and walked as though she were prepared to be tackled at any moment.

“
You trust him?” Marik sneered.

“
Yes, I do.”

I did
.

She hoped he was still the person she once knew, but she couldn’t be sure. It had been such a long time since she’d seen his beautiful, crystal eyes.

Questions pounded inside her head. Why did he leave so long ago and let her believe he had died? What was his purpose here?

Please don’t let him be involved with the rebels
.

Seeing Cyrus had been more than a shock—it had jarred her to the core, rendering her breathless. She had rushed forward without thinking. Now she prayed she hadn’t just walked them into danger.

Collet paused, gesturing to a door. “For the lady.” She moved to turn the heavy knob but jumped back when Marik approached. He burst through the door as if expecting an ambush on the other side.

“
Uh, thank you, Collet. You can just point to the other two if they are nearby.”

Collet let out a relieved breath and indicated doors at the end of the hall. Nadua dismissed her.

She turned to the demons and sighed. “Try not to scare the locals, boys. Oh, and Marik, your room is over there.”

He snorted, ignoring where she pointed and advanced into her room. Nadua gave Rex a look beseeching him for help, but he shook his head.

“
There’s nothing that can make him leave your side right now, short of killing him.”

“
I suppose we should talk. Will you be alright by yourself?”

Rex nodded. “These people have never hunted me like the others.”

“
Nice blanket!” Marik call from inside her room.

Nadua poked in her head. A familiar looking blanket lay neatly across a high bed. She raised a dubious brow at Rex. His guilty smile nearly made her laugh. “You thieving demon.”

After watching Rex enter his own room, Nadua took a calming breath and shut the door behind her. Small windows against the wall let soft light in, making the space surprisingly bright. The room was magnificent.

Marik sprawled out on the bed, arms bent behind his head and a wicked grin on his face. His legs were crossed and his dirty boots hung off the edge of the mattress. He looked too sexy and, for a split second, she imagined straddling him there. Then her sanity returned.

She crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes. “What happened to your face?”

“
Rex.”

The way he was looking at her made her feel like she was in the den of a prowling beast, and she wished it didn’t send a small thrill through her.

I am angry with him
, she reminded herself.

“
Rex told me what you did to me was against your people’s law.”

He frowned. “Aye.”

“
And irreversible?”

Losing all resemblance of humor, he repeated, “Aye.”

After everything that had happened to her: being attacked, abducted, forced to travel the countryside on foot. Having the most erotic experience of her life, followed directly by the most devastating. Finding out that she’d been lied to by a dear old friend, as well as her oh-so-loyal captain of the guard. Nadua’s emotions were held together by a frayed thread of sheer determination.

“
How could you?”

Marik’s lips thinned but he watched her with eyes full of regret.

“
Say something.”

“
I have no excuse. It was a huge mistake that I cannot undo.”

“
A mistake! No, this is a disaster!”

He raked a hand down his face and mumbled, “Aye.”

“
Stop saying that!”

“
I don’t know what else to say. I never thought I would find my mate this way.”

“
I am
not
your mate.” She pointed to her neck that was now fully healed. “Orgasmic bite does not equal binding commitment.”

“
Orgasmic?”

She pinned him with a hard glare.

“
I wish I could dismiss it as easily as you. But I can’t. Every fiber in me says you are my life now.”

Nadua frowned. She opened her mouth to respond, but for a moment nothing would come out. Finally, she said, “I didn’t agree to this. You don’t own me, and I can be with anyone else if I want.”

His features twisted with a mix of agony and anger. “You’d be risking the life of anyone that you show interest in. I won’t be able to help it.” His voice turned into a rumble. “To me, and to all other demons, you are mine.”

Rendered speechless once more, Nadua began to pace. “There has to be a way to reverse this. The Serakians are old allies of my father, and their magic is great. I have no doubt that they can work a spell to fix this.”

* * *

Marik shot to his feet, alarmed by her words. Fix this? Like they were broken?

“
Is that really what you want?”

She stilled. “Isn’t it what you want? You yourself said it was a mistake.”

He did, but he meant the way it had happened. He’d bungled the claiming, but he couldn’t be more satisfied with his mate. She was powerful and sexy as hell. He enjoyed talking with her, and her lovely eyes commanded the beating of his heart.

The Serakians are a secretive race, and little was known of them other than they were not borne. They were recruited from remarkable individuals found all over the universe. What Marik did know was that Nadua was right, they were renowned for their prowess with magic. If there was any way to affect the finality of demon mating, they would know if it.