The Sweetest Burn. Jeaniene Frost
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the spot on the beach where Iâd grappled with the minion, I gestured in the general vicinity of where Iâd spotted the demon realm. I didnât see anything now, but that wasnât a huge surprise. My lineage meant that I was most attuned to hallowed objects, so at best, I only caught random glimpses of dark ones even when I was right on top of them. Adrianâs lineage meant that he was most attuned to dark objects, and a demon realm gateway was about as dark as something could get.
âThe realm gateway was over there. Do you see it?â
He walked to the spot Iâd indicated. Then he held out his hands as if feeling for a doorway, which, in essence, he was.
âItâs strange,â he said after a pause. âI see the realm and I do feel something, but itâs not as strong as a normal gateway would be. Instead of a door, it feels more like...a crack.â
âThatâs what Iâm worried about,â I said with a fresh sense of dismay. âWith the walls between demon realms and our world weakening, cracks are probably turning up all over the place. If it gets worse, those cracks will turn into gaping holes and realms will spill out into this world. And then...â
I stopped speaking because I didnât want to say what would happen next. The only thing worse than knowing was being the only person who could do something to stop it. Thatâs why Iâd spent the past two months splitting my time between training and trying to get my sister, Jasmine, through the post-traumatic stress of being a former demon captive. Youâd think with all that, I wouldnât have had the energy to focus on Adrian, yet I had. A broken heart was the slowest wound to heal, it appeared.
âI think weâre safe for the moment,â Adrian said, not addressing my unfinished sentence. âThe crack doesnât feel strong enough to let anyone else through. Maybe the sunlight is weakening it.â
For now. I rubbed my right hand where the outline of a braided rope ran from my finger all the way up to my elbow. The remains of the ancient, hallowed slingshot no longer burned in that odd way, but touching it was a tangible reminder that Adrian and I had destinies to fulfill: me to possibly save those trapped in the demon realms, and him to probably betray me.
âAll right, well, minions are dead, the demonâs gone, Brutus should be back any second and Iâm almost home, so you can leave. Now,â I added.
A scoff preceded his response and the silver rings around his dark blue eyes seemed to gleam.
âIâm not going anywhere, Ivy. Ready or not, Iâm back in your life and Iâm here to stay.â
âBut I donât want you to,â I said, fighting the urge to thump him over the head so the words would sink in.
He only smiled, dazzling and so arrogant that I spun around so I didnât have to look at him anymore. âYes, I heard you, but while you might not want meâyetâyou do need me.â
Then, with his lightning quickness, he appeared in front of me, shoving a small box into my hands. âSpeaking of things I didnât get to do before, happy birthday, although one day late.â
Shock made me stand still and stare at the box. Twenty-one was a milestone, but no one else had remembered. Not my sister, who was also my best friend, or Costa, my roommate whoâd become as close as a brother to me, or Zach, the Archon who sorta mentored me and had supernatural knowledge of just about everything. Only Adrian, and Iâd never told him when it was.
I couldnât stop myself from opening the unexpected gift. Then I let out a little gasp when I saw the round stone suspended at the end of a long gold chain. The jewel reflected the first rays of sunlight back at me in a rainbow of colors that were so bright, I had to squint while looking at it. Unless it was the most sparkly piece of glass ever, Adrian had just given me a diamond the size of a large marble.
âThereâs no way I can accept this,â I almost stuttered, adding, âDid you steal it?â because how else could he have gotten something that cost as much as several high-end cars?
Hints of darkness colored his laughter. âFormer demon prince, remember? I might have left all that behind me, but I didnât leave empty-handed.â
âYouâre not a demon, you were just raised by them,â I muttered.
He shrugged. âHonorary demon prince, then. Either way, I can afford it. Besides, you lost your other necklace because of me, so donât say you canât accept this one to replace it.â
The necklace was so beautiful, a shallow part of me wanted nothing more than to put it on and run to the nearest mirror. I couldnât, of course. For starters, I hadnât looked into a mirror since the night I found out the hard way that some demons use mirrors as portals into our world. Plus...
âThis feels like a bribe,â I said, holding the necklace out to him. âAnd you canât make up for everything thatâs happened with a shiny, expensive gift. Things arenât good between us, Adrian. Not even close, and if I accepted this, Iâd be implying that they were.â
He crossed his arms, his posture taking on a very familiar stubbornness. âIâm not trying to bribe you, Iâm giving you a birthday gift. Throw it into the surf if you want, but itâs yours, so I am not taking it back.â
My jaw clenched. He might have been raised in an environment where money was no object, but I could no more toss this diamond into the ocean than I could burn a stack of hundred-dollar bills for warmth, and from the challenging curl to his mouth, he knew that. Still, that didnât mean he was getting his way.
I folded the necklace into my hand and resumed walking. It didnât take my enhanced peripheral vision to see Adrianâs smirk as he followed. He thought heâd won this round. Think again, I silently told him.
âSo, if youâre rich, why did we only stay in crappy motels when we first met?â I asked as I kept walking toward Costaâs house.
He let out a laugh that managed to combine the lure of ecstasy along with the dangers of addiction.
âBecause I was doing everything I could to kill the mood, not that it worked. Even in the ugliest surroundings, I wanted you so much that it almost killed me not to take you in every dingy room those crappy motels had to offer.â
âStop it,â I muttered. Thankfully, Brutus picked that moment to fly past us and land in the tallest section of beach shrubs. I ran after the gargoyle, trying to soothe him as he attempted to cover himself with beach brush to avoid the sun.
âItâs okay,â I was saying when Adrian said, âCarparata!â loud enough to snap Brutusâs head up.
The Demonish word turned Brutus from a cringing creature into his usual, formidable self. The gargoyle might be my pet now, but to the bone, he still belonged to Adrian. After all, Adrian was the one whoâd given Brutus to me as my protector. The fact that heâd done so when Adrian had thought he was sacrificing his life to save mine was yet another reason why he was so hard to evict from my heart.
Still, I wasnât about to give up trying. âHere you go, my good Brutus,â I said, pulling out the necklace and latching it around his leathery wrist. Because of his size, it fit like a bracelet. âSomething shiny for you.â
The gargoyle held up his arm, looking at the diamond next to his grayish-blue skin. Then he chuffed as if in approval.
âSee?â I said, with a wide grin at Adrian. âHe loves it.â
The glare Adrian gave me was priceless. Then, with a smile that was far too confident for my liking, he waved in the direction of Costaâs house.
âYou can give my gift to Brutus and you can keep stomping off to Costaâs, but no matter