And then Chaos’s voice was behind them, even as they could still see him in front of them. “And I’ll be righthere.”
There was a choked scream from behind Cooper. Something hot and wet landed on the back of his neck, and the needle pressing against his skin fell away.
Then there were two Chaoses in front of him, melding into one as Cooper blinked in shock.
He tried to smile, the gesture faltering as he heard pained gurgling behind him. It sounded like someone had their throat cut but was still trying to speak. Cooper hated that he knew what that sounded like. “You came for me,” he said, soft as a whisper.
Chaos glared at the ropes tying Cooper down, at the spots along his wrists where they’d rubbed Cooper’s skin raw. “You’re hurt.”
Chaos jerked his head, and there was another scream, and then the gurgling stopped, the smell of burned flesh filling the room. Cooper gagged, glancing out the corner of his eye before he could help himself. There was…a lot of blood. He looked away again.
Flames flared on the thick ropes around him, and they fell away. Cooper wanted to leap up, to hug his menace, but fire was still flickering along Chaos’s skin, and he was still frowning horribly.
“Bracchus,” Cooper soothed. “I’m okay.”
“You’renot,” Chaos told him, uncharacteristically cold. He wasn’t even pouting, which was alarming. “You have rope burns, and you smell like stale fear.”
“But I’m okay.”
Cooper didn’t exactly understand what was happening. He had known Chaos would come for him, that Chaos didn’t want him hurt, but also…shouldn’t this have been a little fun for the demon? He’d killed some men—don’t think about it, don’t look behind you—and he’d gotten to hunt Cooper down through the city.
Wasn’t this his idea of a good time?
“You’re so upset,” Cooper found himself saying.
“Yes!” Chaos’s wings flared, and flames shot up to the ceiling. This time, the fire caught. Cooper watched in horror as it began spreading down the walls, faster than it should have been able to. “Yes, I’m upset!” Chaos cried, ignoring the fire that was circling around them, heating the room. “Hehurtyou. He told me he’dkillyou. You. My mate. My friend. My puppy. My Cooper.” He glared over Cooper’s shoulder. “I let him die much too quickly. I should have made ithurt.”
Smoke was filling the room now but not the yellow campfire smoke of Chaos’s magic. Just ordinary, life-extinguishing smoke. Cooper coughed, gesturing to the flames. “How about you put out the fire?”
Chaos crossed his arms. “No.”
“If it spreads, someone else could get hurt.”
“Let them.”
“You don’t mean that.”
The flames reached the computers and tech behind them. Sparks began showering as Chaos narrowed his fire-filled eyes. “If I killed every human in this realm, there would be no one left to hurt you.”
Holy shit. Cooper’s kidnapping had broken his demon.
Cooper coughed again, his eyes watering. “That would be…extreme, Bracchus.”
“Everyone in the city, then,” Chaos offered, almost flippant. “We could keep Ivan and Nix.”
“That would still beextreme,” Cooper told him, getting desperate now. “And unwelcome. People aren’t too bad. You like them, remember?”
“I like you more.”
Cooper still didn’t know exactly what was happening, but he was getting some idea. He gathered his courage and grabbed Chaos’s fiery hand, trying to exude a calm he wasn’t sure he felt.
“Do you love me, Bracchus?”
Chaos frowned, like Cooper’s question had caught him off guard. The flames on his hand trailed over to Cooper’s skin, but they didn’t burn. They only tingled, a warm caress.
“Love,” Chaos mused, still frowning. “It’s a stupid, human word. A nonsense word. I’myours. You’re mine.”
“But why?”
