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“Remind me to kill your family,” Theo says.
“If yours don’t kill you first.” My breath catches in my throat, my eyes burn, and sadness rushes over me. “Don’t let them.”
“I won’t. I swear it.”
I believehebelieves it, but can a man who has spent his life serving the kingdom for his family actually kill one of the few people he cares for if it came down to it? Each of my heartbeats echoes with a hollow ache, and hopelessness drowns out my earlier euphoria. The high of Theo’s venom spirals and spins through me in waves, crashing against the poison until I worry I might break. “I’ll keep you safe,” I tell him.
“Okay, Vicious.” Theo makes my nickname sound sweet, cherished.
“Not to interrupt this fated mates bonding time,” Nic says, “but here’s the healing potion complete with a sedative to help your body rest so you can recover faster.”
I look to Theo. “But the mating magic?—”
“Won’t be enough to undo what I’ve done to you. Not alone, anyway.” Now, he sounds like the sad one, and I can’t stand it.
I reach toward Nic. “Gimme.” When the potion hits my palm, I tip it up and knock it back as if it’s the smoothest shot of whiskey instead of a nasty-tasting spell.
“Good girl,” Theo says, and I’m pretty sure I could heal fast enough to still do something about being horny off demon venom.
Monty lands in my lap, cuddling the toy unicorn. The sight of my little dragon and his pony gives off cozy vibes more potent than any sleep drug.
Oh, all right.
MaybeI could use a nap before I seduce my mate. Besides, his sister is outside the wards—alone. “You’re going after Gilly?”
He hesitates so long that his silence is an answer in itself.
My mate brought his sisters here to protect them. Hell, he let Dupree stay at Shadowvale, no matter how much he detests his cousin. My demon has a savior streak a hell dimension wide when it comes to his family.
“Go,” I tell him.
“I’ll be back before you wake,” he says.
“You better.” I stretch the words on a yawn. “’Cause I plan to have my wicked, dirty way with you. Or maybe just to make sure I don’t finish blowing up your castle. You pick your reason.”
“I’ve got my every reason right here.” He hugs me close. “Let me drag my sister back to Shadowvale, and we’ll give them more than enough to talk about for the next century.”
“Promise?”
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
Theo
Teleporting away from Val tears at the ache already burning through my chest.
Ipoisonedmy mate.
What kind of failure have I become? It took such a short time for the universe to plummet me into the long fall from crown prince with the world at my claw-tips to the disinherited disappointment with a giant target that might as well be a neonkill shotsign above my horns.
Now, I may have lost the fated mate who took a chance on me when I had nothing to offer her. Why would she forgive me for turning my own magic against her, whether accidental or not?
I’ll fix this fuck up first. Then I can figure out how to beg my mate’s forgiveness. Perhaps with a venom-fueled sex marathon.
I land outside the wrought iron gates of Gilly’s home. Unlike the fortress where I live, my sister opted for manor-style poshness.
Shadowvale celebrates the site where my ancestors defeated the shadow monsters who used to lead these dimensions in anarchy and chaos. Its tower serves as a bastion of strength and power, a reminder of our family’s defeat over the literal shadows.
Gilly prefers luxury and beauty, and her manor reflects her preferences with a gothic flair. Its dark stone façade looms tall against the eerie crimson sky of this part of the realm. Stained glass windows stretch high like sinister eyes peering into the abyss. The wrought iron gates she warded against teleportation twist toward the heavens, adorned with horned figures instead of lions or crests.
