Demon’s Artifice Book 2: Dream Fighter

My body burned, and a scream was torn from the very core of my being as the venom raced through my body.

I twisted, fought, and screamed again as my head was yanked back, fangs sinking into my throat.

More of the venom poured into my body as my blood was slowly sucked out of me, and it forced my body to orgasm.

I didn’t have a sense of will anymore or a working brain. All I could feel was the vampire feeding at my neck as he pounded himself deeper and deeper inside of me to the point I thought I would break.

I was startled awake by a cry tearing from my lips, the nightmare fresh. How much of it was a nightmare and not a premonition was yet to be seen.

I sat up in bed, pushed my long hair back from my face, and looked around the room.

The bedding was a deep rich blue color; the walls, a lighter sky blue; and the carpet all around my simple room was black.

I could see the spills of light around the edges of the blackout curtains; just enough to let me know the sun was rising as well.

I rested my chin on my knees as I lifted them to my chest and curled my arms around them. “Another fine night’s sleep.”

It had been two months since I’d met and tricked Seth, or as most people know him, Set, the Egyptian god of chaos and discord.

This action had removed a small part of a curse I’d been given by literally one of the oldest known goddesses in the cosmos, who, did I mention, was also Set’s mother?

The issue was, Set was the captor of two of the seventeen hunters I had been cursed with finding so that Mother could have her revenge on those who had killed her witches.

His mother was the goddess of my witch bloodline, whom we also called Mother.

Does anyone really want to fight the ancient god of chaos and destruction who was so well connected? Nope, not really.

So, despite my victory, I still felt like my life was being played with by the gods and goddesses. Set wanted to trade the lives he was master over for me, so that I might give him children.

I stared at the spills of light around the curtains. This was my life now—hiding parts of myself, my story, away from the people who loved me.

I also knew that this was my choice. I could tell them everything; I knew I should. But I was too afraid of what might happen if I did.

I was terrified that, at some point, the man my soul was now tied to would finally reach a breaking point and walk away from me.

How could Leo accept things about me I couldn’t even think about without feeling like I was breaking all over again?

How would he be able to stand to look at me when I couldn’t look at myself?

How could I stand him if he could accept the parts of me I couldn’t?

All of those questions ran through my mind. I didn’t deserve the love he gave me, the acceptance; the safe space he created for me was almost suffocating.

I was pushing Leo away. I knew it, he knew it. He didn’t know why, and there was no way I could tell him. I felt dirty, unclean, and unworthy of love.

That he continued to give me love was something I both craved and hated.

I felt a single tear roll down my cheek as the depression, confusion, anxiety, and self-hatred ate away at my insides.

I knew I needed to talk to someone. I knew I needed help, but that also meant admitting to someone else that I was wrong inside.

I didn’t want to admit any of it. I didn’t want to face it. Talking about it made it feel more real. I couldn’t let it be more real.

I hugged my legs tighter; more tears fell silently as I stared at the edges of the sunlight and refused to get up, pull back the curtain, and step into it.

I watched the light shift around the edges of the curtains as time passed. How long? I had no idea, nor did I care.

Eventually, the feeling of Leo’s mind seeking mine forced me out of bed, and I rushed to my bathroom. I didn’t let him know anything more than that I was up, awake, and in the shower.

He didn’t press further, and I felt him hide his feelings in the face of the small rejection that had become a steady habit of mine.

He pulled away sometimes from the bond between us, leaving me nearly alone in it. But not fully. After the last time that had happened, he has refused to shut it down completely. And who could blame him?

The shower was a quick one; just enough to scrub the hell out of my face and try to hide the fact that I had been crying.

When I climbed out, I winced after looking in the mirror. I looked like a half-dead zombie.

I’d blame it on another sleepless night; I had nothing else I could use to excuse it, and it was true enough.

Dressing in simple matching underwear, jeans, and a black T-shirt, I headed into the kitchen to find the other dream walkers all sitting around the island.

Everyone was chatting over a large buffet-style breakfast that was spread out over all the kitchen counters.

It was a new habit our little group had started when they had practically moved into Leo’s house with us.

They didn’t want to go back to Pai’s, and who could blame them?

They had been like pets in a zoo for the demon lord, and now that they’d had a small taste of freedom, of the outside world, they wanted to know everything.

Besides, since we were all cursed with something that could kill us all within a year, who was I to tell them no?

Looks were all sent my way, but no one said anything. Leo, too, turned from pulling another bottle of water out of the fridge to look at me.

The smile Leo gave me shook my insides. I didn’t deserve that smile or the love in his eyes. He walked to me and curled his arms around me.

I hesitated.

It was nearly enough to make me cry, but I buried my face into his chest, breathing in the scent of the demon that I didn’t deserve.

When I finally collected my feelings and looked up, the room had silently emptied out, leaving just the two of us.

His fingers traced along my jaw before he lifted my face. His beautiful eyes searched mine, and I saw dark shadows passing through them, a hint of worry in his expression.

He kissed my forehead. “I will always be here.”

Those words made me feel safe, wanted, loved, and part of me absolutely hated them.

The only thing that kept me from having to hide the expression on my face was that he put his chin on the top of my head and just held me.

I was gonna screw this up, and I was going to hurt him. He deserved so much better than this fucked up person he was stuck with. I just had to figure out how to set him free.