Chapter 31

CHAPTER 31

T he demon stands with Freya in his arms, and the moment her eyes shut, there are screams. The witches stumble back when they see Phrixius and me at the demon's side. Her spell is wearing off.

Moving closer, I lean down to check she is okay. She's exhausted. I don't know how it's possible for so much magic to be in a tiny body, but she was incredible. Watching her destroy a whole army just confirms that I was born to be hers and bear this burden with her.

"Let's get her out of here," Phrixius murmurs to us.

Nodding, we move towards the witches as a unit. They stumble back, bar the one my woman was talking to, who watches us sadly. When we breach their midst, they quickly part, creating a pathway between them. We walk silently, every eye on us.

I warn them with my glare. If anyone so much as dares to touch or attack her, then I will end them. I do not like the energy surrounding them nor the way they are looking at her as if she is their enemy, especially after she almost just died to protect them. Without her, those zombies would have ripped them to pieces, I would not have helped. I only listen to her, I only care for her, but she clearly cares for them.

I felt it in the magic she used to protect them, yet here they stand, as if she is worse than nothing to them.

Phrixius and the demon feel it as well. Both are tense, their eyes scanning the crowd, but they do not seem shocked.

"She's a necromancer," someone whispers. "We have to kill her?—"

Magic lashes towards us. I step before Freya, and it absorbs into me, feeding the beast inside. I tilt my head as the change comes over me.

Gone is the humanoid form I took so as not to frighten my woman, my creator, and now I stand before them as the monster.

There are screams, and I lift one of my long arms to point a black-clawed nail at the pale female who flung the magic. "You attacked." My words are more of a growl, but she understands, scrambling to turn and flee, but the crowd is too thick. In two steps, I am before her, and the other witches scramble away as I lift her into the air with a hand on her tiny throat.

She's so weak and puny.

She kicks and screams, flinging magic at me, but all it does is make me stronger.

I know my witch would not want me to kill her, but she dared to attack my woman so she cannot live. I do spare her a more gruesome death though, since I do not want Freya to be angry at me. I simply snap her neck and drop her as I glare at the others in warning.

"I would heed his warning. He is a beast, and he answers only to Freya. If you so much as follow us or dare to attack us when our backs are turned, then I will not be able to stop him. He will eat you without a care."

Ah, permission. Reaching down, I swallow the witch's body whole, absorbing her magic into me before turning back to my woman.

Phrixius is wide-eyed. "I didn't mean literally," he whispers.

"You said so," I growl as I head over. "We go, yes?"

The demon chuckles, holding her closer. "Oh, you're going to be in trouble. I'm so glad it isn't me. Come on, let's get our witch home to rest."

I follow after them, confused. "Why will I be in trouble?" I force out the words as I shrink back into my other form, feeling too full after the snack.

"You ate someone," Phrixius hisses.

"Yes?" I ask, confused, and the demon chuckles.

"She won't like it. We don't go around eating people," he explains as we walk.

"But she attacked Freya," I rumble.

"Solid logic to me." The demon shrugs, and Phrixius just sighs, pinching his nose.

"How did I even get here?" he mutters, and I answer for him, wanting to be helpful.

"I heard it was a spell . . ." My words fall silent as they turn to me. The demon looks at the god with a knowing grin.

"Note to self, sarcasm is lost on the beast. Come on, Sha, before you have an all-you-can-eat witch buffet."

Ignoring his laughter, I follow them back to her home. No witches dare follow or attack us. Once inside, I watch Phrixius mutter something before the feeling of magic touches me. I follow the demon to her bed, where he lays her down softly and pulls the covers up.

Climbing in, I curl into her side while Phrixius lies beside her, watching her worriedly. His hand covers hers as if to check her life force. I expect the demon to join us, but he watches for a moment, his eyes hard.

Tucking her between us, I meet the others' eyes. I care nothing for them, but she does, so I will accept them. "What will happen now?"

I do not understand the hatred towards what she is, but I have spent the last few days learning as much of her history as I can. It is not good. They slaughter her kind.

If they so much as try to lay a hand on a strand of her hair, I will tear them to pieces. She is mine.

"I don't know," Phrixius admits. "They could tell the other gods or kick her out. No matter what happens, she's out now, and there is no going back."

"You are a god, make them forget," I demand.

"I cannot do that. I cannot interfere in their coven laws and magic, even if I want to," he argues, looking at her. "And I want to. I want to help her, but I cannot. My hands are tied."

"Mine are not," the demon murmurs as he leans down and places a kiss on her head before stepping away.

Phrixius catches him. "What are you doing?" he asks worriedly.

"Do not worry, god. I will not kill them. Look after our girl, and I will be back." He leaves.

DEMON

I know she is safe with them for now, which is the only reason I do what I do next. She will not be safe forever, not now that they know.

I appear in her home, and moments later, she enters like a hurricane, but she stills when she sees me there. I allow her to view me, just like my little witch did earlier without realising it.

"Demon," she hisses, but there's a tremor of fear in her tone. "Is Freya okay?"

I stalk towards her, and she backs into the door as I chuckle. "She is resting. Make it known that if any come after her, we will kill each and every one of them," I tell her. "You knew her truth all along. If you let them hurt her, physically or emotionally by trying to get her to leave, then I will expose you and kill you all. I will laugh in the flames as your whole coven and its lineage dies. I have lived amongst you for as long as she has, but I owe no loyalty to anyone but her." I slam my fist into the wall next to her before conjuring an image of her entire village burning. "Make no mistake, I have been well behaved so far, but if anyone even looks at her wrong, I might decide not to be."

"You truly are evil," she sneers.

"I am." I smirk. "Never forget that or that there is only one person in this entire universe I care about, and it is that little witch. I will do anything to keep her safe." I let her see the true depth of what I am capable of when it comes to Freya.

What I said is true. I have been behaving until now, but that can quickly change. This might have started with a deal, but Freya is my world. She is my reason for living. She is my everything. She is mine, and I will never let anyone hurt her.

She can hate me for eternity for slaughtering her people, but she cannot leave me, especially not in death.

"Is it just because of the deal?" she retorts, lifting her chin in defiance. "Do not tell me, demon, you have come to care for her." I do not speak, and she laughs bitterly. "What do you think she will do when she learns the truth?"

I slam her into the wall in warning, my magic binding her to it. Flames that do not burn crawl across her body. She pants in fear, her eyes wide as she tries to fight me, but she is no match. "Don't threaten me, witch."

"We want the same thing," she hisses. "To keep her safe."

"No, we do not. You would put the coven, your people, before her safety. Me? I will not. Nothing comes before her, and that is where we are different. Remember that." Releasing the flames, I step back into the darkness until I am just a voice as I wrap the shadows around me.

"This coven's lives now lie in your hands. Make sure to keep her safe or you will all die." I go back to my girl, crawling into bed and lying on her.

I need to feel her breathing.

The witch's words haunt me. When she learns the truth, what will Freya do?

Will she try to leave me? Banish me? Break the deal?

I clutch her closer.

No, I won't let that happen.

Freya is mine and has been since the day she was born, and she will continue to be until the day she dies.