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“You’re going to do what?”
Denton tapped his foot against the white tiles and sighed. “I’m going to strap you down.”
Power crackled in the air as the witch continued her spell while panic coiled around me like pythons. Had I known these bastards wanted to restrain me, I wouldn’t have been so willing to participate.
“Why do I need to be held down?” I rose off the table, but Denton laid his hand on my chest to push me back.
Estella appeared on my other side, her face neutral, but glee permeated her gaze as she watched me squirm. “You need to remain still for the incantation. It can be dangerous if you move at the wrong time.”
I tilted my head at Ruin who stood in the corner, his arms crossed and brows furrowed. “I don’t like to be restrained.” Flashes of being tied to the pole in Rena’s closet flashed through my mind and caused a cold sweat to bead across my skin.
Ruin pushed off the wall and closed the distance between us, standing at the table's edge. “Perhaps we can just do her legs.”
Estella frowned. “That’s not enough.”
I was two seconds from kicking every single person in the throat. “No one said anything about having to tie me to a freaking table. I will fight that more than any spell.”
Ruin rubbed the center of his forehead as he considered other options, preferably ones that didn’t involve chains, ropes, or leather straps. “What about a compromise?”
“You guys better figure this out fast.” Nadia waved her hand over the bronze bowl that held her spell mixture. “We’re running out of time.”
“What do you suggest, Lord Ruin?” Denton asked as he tugged on one of the chains.
Ruin gave me a reassuring smile and then pointed to the end of the table. “How about we only strap your legs, and I hold your shoulders to keep you still?”
Sickness churned in my stomach even at the thought of that, but Nadia couldn’t hold the incantation together much longer. Ruin’s eyes softened, and he gnawed on his bottom lip as he waited for my answer.
The demon lord wouldn’t force me, and he wouldn’t be angry if I declined. He could probably feel the panic pulsating off me.
But he needed the Infernal Sol to make Soulvation.
“Okay.” As soon as the word tumbled off my tongue, I wanted to choke it back down.
Denton moved fast, chaining my legs in three different places while Ruin moved behind my head and rested his hands on my upper arms. Estella stepped back, a vein in her forehead throbbing as she watched the demon lord hold me.
“Try not to move your hands.” Nadia placed her bowl on the edge of the table near my right leg.
Ruin leaned down, his lips brushing my ear and his sweet vanilla scent washing over my senses. “It’s going to be fine, Tate. I’ve got you. I’m not going to let anything bad happen, okay?”
I nodded, but his reassuring words didn’t calm me much. Fane was the only person capable of soothing me during something as stressful as this. The Arcaina talisman’s orange stone gleamed under the bright lights. Fane wouldn’t be popping into the lab this time. He hadn’t come when Princess Venna attacked me in Wrath & Ruin the other night, so maybe the talisman really worked.
A knot fisted in my chest, and my lungs tightened, making it hard to breathe. Why did I have to think of Fane? And why did I suddenly wish he was the one holding me down instead of Ruin?
According to Ruin’s intel from the Underworld, the evil princess and her giant minion had returned to Vlehull. Nik also placed spotters throughout Savannah, so if they returned, he’d be immediately alerted.
Of course, Venna could always send a dozen unknown demons to slink through the city to grab me, but she seemed like the type to enjoy the action, and she wouldn’t want to miss capturing me.
Nadia’s chants grew louder, scattering my thoughts of the royal demon and returning them to the lab. She submerged her hand in the bowl and pulled it out, navy liquid dripping from her fingers. “Infinite power, endless and vast. Lend me your strength and carry out this task.”
My heart crashed within my chest cavity as she inched her way up the table, her hand hovering over the exposed tattoo where my shirt had been pushed up. Pain peeked over the horizon and would soon hit me like a storm. It flavored the air, the promise of it lingering on my tongue. Ruin tightened his hold on my arms as if he expected it too.
Thin strands of copper hair that fell out of Nadia’s braid drifted around her shoulders as she lowered her palm to my abdomen. “Pry the claws of the demon amulet from this body. Nullify the grip it keeps.”
Fire exploded through me, and my spine arched off the table as my vision blurred. Ruin shoved me back down, cursing under his breath.
“She’s stronger than I thought,” he muttered.
“It’s probably the Infernal Sol.” Denton stood on the opposite side of the table from the witch, calmly making notes on his tablet like a powerful spell wasn’t blowing through his lab, inflicting chaos on me.
