Page 117 of Demon Demands

Adrenaline coursed through me as I turned my back to the drop-off, facing my handsome demon with a coy smile. I fell backward, closing my eyes as the wind rushed by. His voice followed me, shouting my name, but I’d done this dozens of times before.

A few feet from the water, I snapped my wings out to catch myself. My toes touched the warmth first, and then I eased myself down, letting the heat soak through my skin.

Stone landed on the bank of the hot spring. His black eyes narrowed as he glared at me. I loved the swirling darkness of his demonic eyes. But I did miss his navy depths, the lapis gemstones that glistened in his human irises, showing more emotion that he intended.

“You could have hurt yourself,” he admonished.

All I could do was grin at him. “It’s what I do.”

I motioned for him to join me as I floated in the natural hot spring. The endless well was heated by the lava as it flowed freely into the water, hardening and falling straight down.

His lips twitched and his nostrils flared, unsure of whether he wanted to scold me again or laugh at me. He settled on his usual curiosity. “Why?”

I shrugged. “I like the rush. Knowing that it’s going to hurt but trying to stop myself before it happens. Knowing that it hurts but pushing through it, anyway, having the pain clear my vision.”

“That’s not a fun type of pain,” he commented, sitting on a boulder as he took his shoes off.

“Fun-pain clouds my vision,” I confessed, tracking the zipper on his pants as he tugged it down. “Some pain makes you hyper-aware of your surroundings, gives you strength that you never knew you had, makes disastrous moments survivable.”

Stone furrowed his brows, glancing at me to ask, “Like the mothers who lift cars off of children?”

I hummed in agreement. “Something like that.”

“But,” he pushed, knowing there was more.

I shrugged again. “It wakes a primal part of me, let’s me see things that I would normally overlook. After a hefty dose of pain, I can feel the slightest shift in the wind’s direction, hear someone’s quickening breath from hundreds of feet away, and feel complete tranquility.”

“That’s why you didn’t dodge Satan’s attack?”

“Part of it.”

He dove into the water, his long, black hair swirling around him as he surfaced. “And the other part?”

Sighing, I pulled my legs up to float on my back. “I needed him to waste as much of his power as possible so that he was weakened when he fought Lil. I couldn’t bear it if something happened to her.”

“My parents used to talk about her all the time, like she hung the stars and the moon.”

I chuckled, turning my head to gaze at him. “I want to be just like her when I grow up. She’s been my most profound teacher, and I’ve had tons of them, but none like her.”

He nodded, completely understanding what I meant. “Lilith taught my mother, too. She used to say the same thing.”

Raising both of my eyebrows in surprise, I righted myself so that I could face him. “Dara? Was she your mother?”

Stone smiled at me. “Yes.”

I tugged at my bottom lip. “So Jin was your father?”

He swam closer to me, tilting his head as I beamed at him.

“I met Jin in Lucifer’s office one day,” I murmured, grinning at the memory. “The archdemon made quite the impression on me.”

He snorted. “Because he was a smartass?”

I shook my head, trying to figure out the best way to answer him. “Because he had a very simple way of thinking through complex problems.”

“He helped you?” My mate sounded like he was stunned by the news.

“With my homework, yes. But it was more of a life lesson than a history lesson. He taught me about over-strategizing, thinking too hard about things that I couldn’t control.”