Page 46 of Dancing With Demons

I’m stunned as I listen to him gush. “You-you’re not mad at me?”

“No.” He reaches up as if he’s going to touch my face and then he drops his hand, brushing the back of my hand instead. “I couldn’t be mad at you, Piper. You are so talented. I’m in awe just being able to witness you grow into these powers. Your strength was unbelievable.”

“But I hurt you.” I gesture around us to the infirmary.

He waves that off. “It’s not like you had a choice. Neither of us did. And I used to be down here once a week. I’ve been in worse shape and still made it. I hate to tell you this, but you’re going to be stuck with me a while longer.”

My heart stumbles at his smirk. “I’m glad you’re okay.”

“Okay?” He shifts over, pulling me up onto the bed beside him. I lean back, and we stare up at the ceiling like we do in the garden a lot. “I’m better than okay. I got an audience with the King! Piper, you don’t understand what a big deal that is.”

“But he wanted me to hurt you.” What kind of King does something like that?

Ulstrath shrugs. “He gave us a chance to exhibit our powers. It’s the first time he’s seen what I can do, and I think I performed well. I want to move up, and to do that, I have to be seen by those in power.” His hand brushes the back of my arm, and I fight a shiver. “You gave me the chance to do that. Thank you.”

I want to argue with him, but he’s in such high spirits that I just say, “You’re welcome.”

I curl up against his side, and he tells me about how much attention he’s been getting since our performance. That’s what he keeps calling it.

It strikes me how upbeat Ulstrath is for a demon. He’s so approachable, unlike Tolmond or even Eth’tak. They’ve both been good to me, but I’ve seen the way others react to them.

What I can’t understand is why Ulstrath is shunned the way he is. He’s driven and funny and an incredible friend… In fact, I think he’d be incredible as more than a friend someday. Maybe my demon lovers have spoiled me, but I hope that he will want that, though he does tend to shy away from me.

I roll on my side as he turns to look at me, and I take in how handsome he is. Just like Tolmond and Eth’tak, he’s different but I find those differences enhance our relationship.

“You’ve heard me ramble long enough,” he says with a grin. “What’s on your mind?” I start to ask him how he knew, but he shakes his head. “You’ve got that look on your face. Come on.” He squeezes me around the waist where his arm is still looped beneath me. “Talk to me.”

Before I can answer, though, a commotion in the hallway pulls both of our attention away. There’s shouting and loud footsteps, and we both sit up in time to see Tolmond round the corner and spot us both in bed together.

And the demon from earlier was right.

He’s pissed.

22

Tolmond

My magic is summoned without a thought. As soon as I spot her in the bed with thatnobodyI absolutely lose it.

I’ve been out of my mind with worry since I came back to apologize and she wasn’t there. I didn’t know where she would have gone or how she would’ve slipped out without anyone else seeing her.

And then it hit me. If there is one demon that would want her–that would be angry enough to steal her–it would be Ulstrath. She humiliated him. An insult, he had called her foolishly. Well, she showed him what kind of threat she posed.

I hate that I was right, though. I wish I had just found her in the gardens, getting some air. Instead, she’s here, looking guilty with wide, fearful eyes.

“How dare you!”

The lights in the room flicker, and I have a hard time reining in my magic. It needs an outlet, and my eyes narrow in on the one that deserves it as he scrambles back from Piper, already trying to sputter out an explanation.

“You should have never messed with her!”

Sometimes, even I forget how powerful I am. I just have to want something, and it flickers into existence, like the cage that has formed around the volvath. It’s magical, sending harsh sparks skittering across his skin as he tries to shrink away from the steadily enclosing walls.

I grin smugly, watching as he has to fold in on himself to avoid the evaporating space. In a matter of minutes, he’ll be dead.

And then Piper will see what a nobody he really is.

“Tolmond!” she shrieks as she leaps from the bed, her eyes going between me and him. “What are you doing?!”