My heart fluttered when he saidyour angel. It didn’t matter if the demon was right or wrong. It was what he believed, and he would act accordingly. Which would be very bad for me unless I could make it work in my favor.
I swallowed hard and stared the demon down. “How about we make a deal?”
“Laila, don’t—” Joriel’s words were cut off by his moan as one of the demons landed a punch to his gut.
“You have my attention,” Vepar said, his eyes raking over me. “What kind of deal can you offer me, lost little angel?”
He was wrong about me. I wasn’t lost at all. I knew exactly who I was and who my soul belonged to. And I believed that I could survive anything Hell wanted to throw at me. “I’ll take the punishment for one of the humans for four and a half hours, one for every year you’ve been without your friend. After which you’ll let us both leave your land unharmed.”
“I have an additional requirement.”
I raised my brows, waiting for him to elaborate.
“Your angel watches, and if he takes his eyes off you for even a second, he stays.”
I shook my head. “If he looks away, I stay, he still goes. Final offer.”
“Deal.”
It didn’t feel much like a victory, and I knew Joriel was pissed about my counteroffer, but I had a good reason. A reason Joriel wasn’t going to like.
My gaze slid to him, and our eyes connected. His expression was unreadable, but his eyes burned with an array of emotions so intense I had to look away.
I followed Vepar through the fields, wondering what punishment he would choose for me. Was I about to learn what the humans saw that made them look so horrified and desperate?
We stopped at one of the fires, and Vepar nodded for a demon to open the door to a cage set in the center of the blaze.
A human man stumbled out, his eyes widening at the sight of all of us. The lesser demons still had their hold on Joriel, so there was quite an audience waiting for the show I’d signed up for.
I could feel Joriel’s gaze boring into my back as I moved toward the cage.
Lord, give me strength,I prayed as I stepped into the flames.
The burning was unlike anything I could have imagined. I felt my skin and blood sizzle, but the fire didn’t consume me. It didn’t leave so much as a mark. There would be no end to the searing pain. Not until the cage door opened again.
At some point, I heard Joriel beg to take my place, but it was hard to focus on the conversation. I knew Vepar would never agree anyway. He wanted Joriel to suffer, and Joriel’s instinct to protect me told the demon that the best way to hurt Jor was to hurt me.
I knew it was working too. Joriel and I were connected—either because of the blood exchange or simply spending so much time together. We felt each other’s pain. I knew somewhere deep in my soul that watching this was tearing him apart.
What felt like days later, the cage door finally opened. I stumbled out of the fire into the rain that I hadn’t felt at all while I was burning.
My eyes landed on Vepar. “Well?”
He flicked his wrist, and the lesser demons let go of Joriel. “You’re free to go,” he said, not exactly sounding happy about it.
I watched him go before slowly turning toward Joriel. He was still on his knees, his eyes tracking my every movement. He didn’t say a word as I walked over to him. I wasn’t even sure he was really seeing me.
“Jor,” I murmured, cupping his cheeks in my hands. “Close your eyes.”
“I can’t.”
“Yes, you can.” I dropped to my knees in front of him. “Trust me.”
Another second passed before he let his eyes fall shut.
I leaned forward, pressing my forehead to his. “It’s over.” The pain was already a memory. It had hurt, but it hadn’t left any lasting damage.
“I’m sorry,” he rasped. “This was my fault.”
