Chapter 3

CHAPTER 3

R ough hands grab my arm and jerk me into the larger chamber. I trip over my own feet. Jacob keeps me upright until he drops me into a chair that's the exact twin of the one I was tied to.

Without another word he turns and walks from of the room and I'm left staring with wide eyes at four other Academy students. Three of them are clearly drunk, judging by the loose-limbed way they'remilling around. Their eyes slide blankly around the room. There's also the fact that at least four dozen empty beer cans litter every horizontal surface.

The summoner hesitates for only a moment before continuing and I can't help but roll my eyes at who it is.

Marcus. Self-proclaimed "lady's man." In reality he's an asshole himbo.

His voice is smooth and cultured as he begins the final stanza of the spell, but his pronunciation is horrendous. You would think after two years of study he would be better at this, but that's what happens when you party all the time and pay others to do your schoolwork.

Marcus isn't even a Summoning student. His talents are more of the ESP variety; although, he has almost zero control over them and they are questionable at best. How he managed to get into the Academy, much less stay, is beyond me.

I shift uncomfortably on the chair, my ass throbbing as I glance up at Marcus and his group of idiot bros. Marcus's voice rises in volume to beseech whatever they are trying to summon to answer their call.

Well, attempting to, anyway. Marcus is such a tool that he doesn't even realize that the spell isn't complete. He and his entourage won't be summoning any female entity to bind into sexual servitude for the night.

I mean, don't get me wrong, there are plenty of creatures that would stand in line to be used and abused by a group of horny guys all night long; I just don't want to see Marcus succeed. The guy is an asshole and a bully and if I can humiliate him then I'm doing it. Yeah, I might get pummeled for it, but it's worth it.

Marcus stumbles over one particularly difficult pronunciation and I snort out a laugh, coughing into my hand when he shoots me a glare from across the room. Yeah, yeah, glare it up, buttercup. Won't change the fact nothing will happen. Granted, I don't say any of that out loud.

Why? Because Marcus is six foot five and easily over two hundred and fifty pounds. That's at least a hundred pounds more than me and at least a foot taller. I may take risks, but I'm not suicidal.

Okay, so the fact that I'm sitting in a rickety chair in a corner room of the Blackstar Academy basement would make my chances of survival on the slimmer side, I also don't think Marcus is homicidal. At least, I really hope he isn't.

Jacob, on the other hand, I'm fairly certain can be.

Sick fear curls through my chest. I mean, seriously, what are the odds of them letting me go after this? I know who they all are and I can easily go to the dean and report them. The only way to keep me from ratting on them will be to kill me. Lord knows, I have nothing they can blackmail me with and I'm stubborn enough that the threat of getting beaten isn't much of a deterrent.

Yes, I'm man enough to admit that.

"Why did you kidnap me?" I demand and Mattie giggles. Fucking giggles. I grit my teeth and tears of frustration make my vision blur but I'm not going to cry.

"Hey, I think Sac is going to cry." I narrow my eyes as I look at the group of guys in front of me. I really hate that nickname, which is the whole reason they call me it every chance they can.

Cody, Marcus's best friend, walks towards me unsteadily. He's in nothing but a pair of black boxers with glitter paint covering his chest and arms.

Did they decide to do this in the middle of a party?

He gives me a lopsided smile, baby blues struggling to focus on me as he reaches out and pats my cheek. It takes everything in me not to snap at his fingers. He's drunk. Of course he's drunk. They wouldn't be stupid enough to do all this if they were sober.

Mattie stumbles over to me, an idiot grin on his face as he practically steamrolls into Cody. He giggles, a high-pitched sound that almost drowns out Marcus's chanting. "S'okay, Sac. No need to cry. Marcus will probs let you get a blowie before we let you go." His speech is so slurred I have a hard time understanding what he's saying. He stumbles forward, one meaty paw landing heavily on my thigh before it slides up, He starts fumbling for the waistband of my sweats.

Hell, no!

I jerk away, slamming my back against the chair as I kick my feet at him. My sneakers slam into his shin, jolting me hard enough that I hear the crack of the chair before I'm falling backwards. I hit the floor with a thump, my breath knocked out of me. My legs are resting on the upturned chair and I stare past the tips of my shoes at the surprised confusion on the idiots' faces.

They don't get a chance to say anything before the spell starts to take hold. The energy ramps up, a tightening pressure that I can feel in my head. Like the beginnings of a migraine, but without the pain.

The thing is, I shouldn't be feeling the spell working at all. It's incomplete, with a mess of intentional mistakes.

I roll to my side, getting to my knees just as the power crescendos. A bright light bursts in my head, a scalp-tingling sensation that feels like a dam disintegrating in my mind and my senses flow outward.

Shuddering, I collapse to all fours, my forehead pressing into my wrists as the energy keeps increasing. This shouldn't be happening. The spell isn't set up to actually work. Unless that jack-brained Marcus messed with the incantation.

Suddenly, the energy disappears and I slump forward, my body slick with sweat and my breath shaky.

"What the fuck are you doing?" I blink quickly before lifting my head to stare at Marcus as he stumbles backward. Mattie, still attempting to recover after I kicked him, falls away and a thick metallic scent hits my nose. My eyes go wide at the scent of blood and I watch. As if in slow motion, as the drunk guy from earlier that I never bothered to remember the name of, collapses to the ground in the limp-limbed fall of the dead.

My heart goes triple-time as fear washes through me. But it's not the all-consuming terror that the situation calls for. I should be pissing myself, but I'm not and I don't know why.

Cody stares at the creature in a drunken stupor, not knowing if he should hightail it from the room or go to the aid of his friend and leader.

I personally would leave Marcus in a heartbeat, but I also hate the fucker. Guess that makes me biased.

The creature isn't massive, standing a good six feet or so. Its lean form is muscled but not bulky and covered in ash gray skin that seems to shimmer with silver in the low light. Silver hair brushes its shoulders, curling slightly at the ends, and the long pointy end of an ear pokes through that fall of hair. There's no way to know what gender it is, even with all the muscles, or if it even has a gender. The muscles of its back are equally powerful and graceful.

Marcus stumbles away from the creature, eyes wide, but he doesn't get very far. The creature is between him and the door. It reaches out, long-fingered hand gripping Marcus's bicep. It isn't a rough touch, but Marcus drops to his knees, his eyes widening in wonderment.

That seems to be the wake-up call Cody needs. Shaking his head, he stumbles backward and dives throughthe door. His thundering footsteps fade quickly as he races to get out of the basement.

I can understand his need to escape. Hell, I should be following him. But I can't tear my gaze from the creature. It steps in front of Marcus, its muscled back facing me. I vaguely appreciate the fact it has a nice ass before zeroing in on the fact it also has a tail.

The tail must be as long as the creature is tall and it looks, for all the world, like the tail of a hairless cat. It sways slightly behind it, curling upward so that it doesn't touch the ground. Watching it is almost hypnotic, which is why my reaction time is slow when it whips out and wraps around one of my wrists.

Just my luck the damn tail is prehensile.

It yanks on my arm and I have no choice but to stumble forward, watching as the kneeling form of Marcus comes into view. I lurch to a halt, my mouth falling open.

Male. The creature is definitely male.

How do I know? Because Marcus is trying to shove as much of its male anatomy into his mouth as possible. His eyes roll back as he bobs his head up and down the length of that monster schlong as if blowing the creature is the best thing he's ever done.

And if I had any doubts that this is a creature, the cock dispels any questions. It isn't a human dick at all. It's well over twelve inches long with a series of bumps running down its length and hard ridges on both the top and underside. At the base are multiple rows of knobs encircling it before the cock enlarges in a bulbous knot covered with. . . . Are those tiny tentacles?

"What the hell are you doing?" I don't know if I'm asking Marcus or the creature. Either way, I can't look away from Marcus. His pink lips are wrapped around the creature's cock, spit dripping down his chin as he hollows his cheeks while he sucks.

For a straight guy, he apparently gives a decent blowjob.

"Do you wish to join, little human?" The deep voice has me jerking to stare up at the creature's face. Crimson eyes stare down at me from one of the most perfectly beautiful faces I've ever seen. Those eyes are filled with boredom, despite the fact that it . . . no, he, he is thrusting lazily in and out of Marcus's mouth.

"What? Hell, no! Why would I want to join? Especially with him?" I'm downright offended, though I can't expect him to know about the ongoing feud between me and Marcus. "What the hell are you even doing? How are you even here?"

He tilts his head, regarding me silently and I can almost pretend to forget the fact that Marcus is at my feet fellating the creature. "It seems obvious what I'm doing." The creature tightens his tail around my wrist. "What I find interesting is that you have no interest in joining. No one has ever been able to refuse once I've touched them."

I blink up at him slowly before my gaze drop to the gray tail still wrapping around my wrist, the tip of it rubbing up and down my forearms. Huh, the tail has little nubs on it too. Wonder why?

Oh. . . that's why.

My face pales and I try to twist my wrist out of its grasp as the tip heats up and begins to vibrate. Bad enough he has a massive cock between his legs, but he's also walking around with a portable sex toy? What gives?

"Tell me, human, why are you not dropping to your knees and offering every hole for my use?" the creature asks, something between annoyance and confusion in his voice. My mind goes blank because, honestly, I can't answer him. He huffs out an exasperated breath. Grunting, he removes himself from the suction of Marcus's mouth with an audible pop so that he can face me completely.

It takes a massive amount of effort to keep my eyes above the creature's waist. Well, no I have to keep my eyes above chest level. Apparently, Marcus had practically swallowed a good portion of the creature's dick because now that it's waving hello to me, the thing looks to reach nearly to his ribs.

Jesus, is the guy half horse or something? He raises one silver brow and I try not to shiver when his tail slides off my wrist.

"Answer my question, human. Why are you not naked and servicing me?"

"Um, because I don't want to?" Honestly, I can't give him any better explanation. At this point, I'm just as confused as he is about the whole situation. Okay, I'm probably more confused.

A whimper draws my attention back to Marcus, who's rubbing his face against the creature's thigh, eyelids fluttering in bliss as he humps against the creature's leg.

"What the hell did you do to him?" The question pops out of my mouth before I can stop myself. But watching Marcus act like that, is mildly disturbing. Marcus is an asshole with an ego as wide as Texas and absolutely hates anything even remotely hinting at homosexuality.

"Ah, I believe your kind call me an incubus?" Oh, well, that explains Marcus's sudden lack of inhibitions.

He tilts his head, eyes narrowing as if he isn't sure that is the correct term. "You may call me Asenath." He gives me a smile, showing off two sets of fangs.

. "Wait, I thought an incubus's power only works on women?"

Asenath huffs out a breath, annoyance flashing across his features. "I forget humans don't know anything about my kind, despite having the power to summon us. Our abilities can work on anyone we choose, but your kind tends to have an abhorrence to same-sex intimacy, so you decided that we only seduce those of the opposite gender."

He gives me a considering look before reaching out to run a hand down my face. I freeze, even going so far as to hold my breath, as his warm fingers caress my body. Is he going to stop? Nope, apparently not. I try to take a step back as his hand goes lower, but I can't convince my body to move, to step away from his touch. I stare straight ahead, refusing to look down, as his large hand palms me through my sweats. I grunt in surprise as he squeezes me gently.

Do demons have any boundaries? Yeah, stupid question, I know.

"Not even a hint of arousal," Asenath comments, his fingers continuing to stroke me. Yeah, well, if he keeps doing that he's going to get a reaction.

"Do you mind?" I squeak out and reach down to grab his wrist and pull him off me. I refuse to look down because he is still very much naked and probably still at full attention. Of course, his arm doesn't move and he doesn't stop fondling me.

"No, of course I don't mind," he replies, his silver brows furrowing in confusion. "I prefer to see those around me in a continuous state of arousal." Of course, he takes it literally. He uses his agile fingers to stroke me faster and I can feel myself swelling. My dick doesn't care who's giving it attention, just that it's getting it. I grit my teeth as I try to force my hand between Asenath's and my quickly thickening dick.

"You also haven't answered my question," Asenath states, ignoring my struggles. I blink up at him, my mind going blank and my hand stilling.

"What question?"

"Why are you able to resist me?"

"I told you, because I don't want to do anything with you. You weren't even supposed to have been summoned," I snap back, tugging on his arm. A very well-defined arm I might add. He's not budging so I throw my hands up in frustration. "How did you even get here? That spell was incomplete. It shouldn't have worked!"

Asenath's hand stills and he tilts his head to regard me. "You wrote the summoning spell?"

"I was correcting the spell until Marcus and his cronies stole it," I retort, giving him a scathing look. Finally, he removes his hand from my very happy dick, ignoring the fact that I am uncomfortably hard. He regards me silently, arms crossing the swell of his chest, like he isn't sure if he believes me or not.

And, let's not forget, he's standing in front of me, bare-ass naked with one of my fellow students dry humping his leg as if we are simply conversing about the weather. The incubus opens his mouth to say something, but a deep moan from Marcus interrupts him, and we both glance down as Marcus stills against Asenath's leg.

Oh my God, he just humped himself to an orgasm.

Annoyance flashes in Asenath's eyes before he snaps his fingers. Marcus shudders and falls backward, blinking up at the ceiling in confusion. He jerks upright, eyes wide and chest heaving, with a very prominent wet spot down his leg.

"Oh, look, he's back," I say dryly and stare down at him. Honestly, I'm not all that sympathetic, since he kidnapped me and all.

"What the fuck happened? What the fuck did you do to me? And you're in league with him? A demon?" Marcus's voice gets louder with each question until I feel like I need to cover my ears to drown out his shouting.

"The spell was incomplete and was never supposed to work, which means you changed the spell when you took it."

I shake my head at him before heading over to the makeshift altar he was using, which is nothing more than some milk crates stacked up on a block of wood. I grab the parchment, staring down at the complex spellwork, which was supposed to be nothing but a half-complete spell and partially corrected mistakes. But my attention is immediately drawn to the changes that were made and my heart damn near stops.

That stupid motherfucker.

I storm back over to where Marcus is still cowering on the floor, Asenath standing over him menacingly. Well, okay, so to Marcus he probably looks menacing but to me he's just a dude with a semi smirking down at my bully, tail swaying gently behind himself.

"Are you freaking kidding me? Why the hell would you add those sigils and the additional verbiage? Not to mention erasing an entire section that's dedicated to protection? Are you asking to get dragged into the Rift?" I yell at him.

I'm so beyond pissed off that I'm panting as I wave the parchment in his face. Not only did he summon a demon without any bindings, he came so close to fucking all of us over by ignorantly tampering with my spellwork. So close that even looking at the changes brings an icy chill over my body.

Asenath looks over at me, those silver brows furrowing again as he grabs the spell and inspects it. It takes him seconds to see what I saw and when he does, he throws his head back and lets out a booming laugh.

Glad he finds it hilarious.

"What the hell were you thinking?"

Marcus blinks up at me before anger clouds his face and he struggles to his feet. "You're the one who fucked up the spellwork. I was trying to correct it." He pokes a finger into my chest as he bares his teeth like some enraged dog. Of course he tries to blame me for his fuckup.

"The spell wasn't complete, you dumb fuck! This was a correctional assignment for one of my classes. You almost opened a one-way portal to the Rift. And then you summon a demon without any binding!" I growl out.

"Oh, there's a binding."

I turn to face Asenath, to find him glaring down at Marcus. Uh-oh . Don't tell me the dumbass bound the demon to himself. That would be nine kinds of stupid. And more than likely get him kicked out of the Academy.

In all the cases we've been told about where a summoner has bound a demon to themselves, it is lifelong and only broken with death. Incidentally, the death of the summoner is generally caused by the demon itself. I mean, the demon doesn't outright kill the summoner, but rather the demon puts the summoner into situations that incidentally cause their death. Or they just don't tell the summoner if something is about to kill them.

After all, there are plenty of ways to kill someone without getting your hands dirty. Semantics, and all.

Asenath thrusts the spell into my hands upside down and points to a reddish-brown stain overlying a portion of the summoning.

"The blood isn't his," the incubus states. But I'm not really listening. I'm focusing on the sigils the blood is partially obscuring. Instead of the gibberish that was originally there, Marcus added more to it, changing it to where it summons. . . .

My face pales, the room spinning as my heart starts beating chaotically. Asmodai? As in Asmodeus, one of the original fallen angels and a Demon Lord of Lust? No, not even a simple Demon Lord, he's the Demon Lord of Lust.

Sweat beads across my body as my knees weaken, I know I'm about to faint like some Victorian lady in a romance novel. Which is honestly rather embarrassing, but I've never been one for bravery. I glance up at the demon, who's gone back to glaring at Marcus, and I have to grab the milk crates to keep myself on my feet.

"You're," I clear my throat, which is so dry right now that it almost hurts to talk. "You're Asmodeus?"

Asenath glances over at me, his lips curling up in a grimace. "I really hate the name you humans have given me. It leaves a foul taste in my mouth."

"Did you mean to do this?" I squeak, directing my question to Marcus. He shakes his head frantically, his face looking a little green at this point.

"Your spell didn't look right, so Jacob added what I thought were the sigils for a nymph," he gasps out.

He did what?

I don't know which is worse, the fact he unintentionally summoned a Demon Lord or the fact that he was attempting to summon a nymph. The punishment for that blunder is just shy of a death sentence because they are almost extinct.

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't go straight to the dean and tell him how your idiocy got you bound to a fucking Demon Lord and got two of your buddies kill?—"

I stopped talking, remembering that yes, there are in fact two bodies cooling on the other side of Asenath. Bile rises in my throat and I fight to keep it down, only now realizing that I can smell just a hint of copper in the small room.

"I already told you, it isn't his blood on the spell." Asenath huffs out.

"Then whose blood. . ." Dizziness sweeps over me again as realization hits. It's my blood. My blood from when Jacob assaulted me. When he. . . .

Nausea makes my head swim at the implications. Marcus needed blood, but was too much of a coward to get it himself. That left Jacob and he took the opportunity to hurt me in one of the worst ways possible in order to get it.

Without thinking, I stride over to him and throw a punch. The shock of the hit sends pain shooting up my arm, but Marcus crashes to the floor. I stand over him, panting, my hand tingling and hurting like crazy as he looks up at me. Blood coats his bottom lip and I can't help but feel a sense of satisfaction.

I'm not a physical person. I don't go out of my way to start fights and I don't exactly work out, but apparently rage is a great way to put a little extra force into a punch.

"You used my blood? Why the fuck would you use blood at all?" I scream at him.

He stays silent, curling in on himself. He knows he fucked up. He has to know. He got two students killed for crying out loud. I step towards him, maybe to kick him. I honestly don't know what I plan to do.

Either way, I don't get very far. Gray muscular arms wrap around me and the warm body of Asenath presses against my back. He rubs his chin against the top of my head.

"Now, now human. As much as I know killing him will bring satisfaction, I have a better idea on how he can be used," Asenath purrs. I roll my eyes at his suggestion, then grimace as he moves his hips against me, thrusting his still very hard dick against my back.

"I'm not fucking him!" I squirm against the demon, attempting to wiggle out of his arms. All I manage to do is wiggle my butt against him, which elicits a soft sigh. He draws his hips back, before rolling them forward again and I freeze. Looking down my body I see his flared cockhead emerge from between my legs, slick with precum. My mouth gapes open in outrage as he thrusts again, his cock angling upward so that it rubs against my crotch.

I would be lying if I said it didn't feel good. His cock bumps against mine, the ridges dragging against my shaft as he humps me from behind. Nope, not going there. Not happening. There will be zero fucking going on here. Especially since my ass is still throbbing in pain.

"Let. Me. Go," I say calmly, gritting my teeth as he ruts against me faster. The friction sends heat flickering along my own junk until I'm, yet again, uncomfortably hard, which makes a tent in my sweatpants that the loose material has no hope of hiding.

If I live through this, I'm going to have the worst case of blue balls ever.

My gaze flicks to Marcus as he blinks up at me in astonishment before scrambling to his feet. I know he's going to bolt. He has that deer in headlights look and keeps licking his lips nervously. Plus, he's a coward. Always has been.

"I still think someone should fuck him," Asenath pants into my ear. His full lips brush against the back of my neck as he tightens his arms around me, one hand snaking down to fondle my crotch.

I clamp my mouth shut hard enough that I know my jaw muscles will be sore, but it's honestly the only thing keeping me from moaning. I clench my hands into fists, fingernails digging into my palms to try and keep myself from thrusting my hips in time to his.

"No one is fucking anyone," I grit out hoarsely. "Besides you would kill him if you tried to fuck him. That thing between your legs is a weapon."

I'm seriously considering trying to punch his dick, but I have the feeling he will like that so I refrain, but it is really, really difficult for me to do that. Especially as his fingers massage my cockhead while the ridges on his cock rub up and down against mine. I'm hard as granite and can feel the precum leaking into my briefs.

"Oh, there are ways that I can fuck without damaging my partner. One of the perks of being a Demon Lord; I can size to fit as they say." He laughs against the back of my neck, a puff of air that sends goosebumps rising across my skin.

Marcus lets out a terrified whimper before he tries to run, but Asenath's tail lashes out and wraps around one of his legs. With a jerk, he flings Marcus back toward his makeshift altar and I can't help but wince as Marcus crashes into it.

"How long do you plan to hump me like this?" I ask, and then yelp when his fingers deftly slip beneath the waistband. My hands jerk down but I'm not fast enough to keep him from sliding into my briefs and wrapping around my aching cock.

Fuuuuuck! My head falls back, eyelids fluttering as he roughly strokes me. I shouldn't be allowing this. I should try to fight him off or maybe command him. Yeah, I should command him to stop. If he's bound to me, maybe he has to do what I say.

With a grimace, I elbow him, though he doesn't pay any attention to me.

"I'm sorry, is my voice on mute? I told you to let me go." With a snarl, I twist away from him, dislodging his hand in the process as I stumble back.

Asenath blinks down at me, crimson eyes narrowing. "Resilient. Even bound humans can't usually resist once they are in my arms."

"Yeah, well, I'm stubborn," I reply, glowering at him. From the corner of my eye, I see Marcus unsteadily get to his feet, clutching one arm that hangs limply at his side. Good, bastard might actually learn his lesson this time.

I focus my full attention back on Asenath. "You've dealt with bound humans before?"

"Not all that uncommon, especially since the human inherits the immortality of the demon. One of the perks. Bindings between demon and human are equally beneficial, though I've never experienced it myself"

Perks? Benefits? To be bound to a demon? I can't wrap my head around that. And what demon would actually want to?

"How is being a leashed dog beneficial?"

The demon's crimson eyes flare brighter and his lips peel back from his fangs in a snarl. "A true pair binding is a sacred joining. What other lies have you humans spread about my kind?" Asenath hisses and I can feel his power thrumming against my body and mind. Except. . . it feels odd.

I focus on that power, letting it wash over me. It isn't beating at me like I assume a pissed off demon's power would, but more like the brush of a butterfly's wing. Powerful but gentle.

What the fuck?

My confusion must be apparent to the demon, since he takes a deep breath, crossing his arms over his chest. "We're not at full power until the binding is completed."

"I have the feeling a nice handshake and some words of affirmation won't do the trick, will it? Wait, we?"

Asenath rolls his eyes, letting out a huff of annoyance. "Yes, we. Even a parody of a binding such as this will be beneficial for the both of us."

I open my mouth, wanting to know more, but not knowing which question to ask first. All of this is new information. Though if any one of my professors were here, I know they will point out that I can't trust the word of a demon. Demons lie, that's just what they do. But this doesn't feel like a lie.

"And how is this binding completed?"

Asenath's lips curl up in a smile. "I'm a lust demon. How do you think the binding is completed?"

Oh, right. And kissing probably isn't even an option.

Shouting echoes to us and I jump, all my questions dissipating as fear swamps through me. If they see me with a demon, I'm toast. And if they realize I'm bound to him, I'll be imprisoned or outright killed.

Marcus is leaning against the wall, shaking his head. But as soon as he hears the shouting, he stands straighter, shooting me a slimy grin. "Nice knowing you, nerd. You'll probably get kicked out now."

"Oh, shut it you intellectually challenged gorilla. You caused this mess," I seethe.

Marcus's idiotic grin falters when Asenath stalks toward him, but all the demon does is grab the summoning spell and hold it up to one of the candles that is still flickering on the altar. The thick paper catches quickly, flames racing across the spell work and obliterating Asenath's sigil and any proof of our binding. He lets it go and I watch almost hypnotically as the scorched section of spell flutters to the floor.

The shouting is getting louder, running footsteps pounding down the hallway towards us. One of Marcus's cronies must have alerted others. Great, just what I need.

My attention snaps back to Asenath when Marcus makes a choking sound. One of Asenath's hands is cupping Marcus's cheek, thumb rubbing the man's lips. The demon leans forward and whispers into Marcus's ear. Whatever Asenath says has horror flashing over his face before his pupils blow wide with lust.

Asenath grabs my arm and drags me out into the hallway as Marcus stumbles towards one of his fallen friends, a dazed look on his face. I have no idea what the demon said to him, and honestly, I probably don't want to know.

"Because this binding is not only incomplete but…incorrectly done, I am limited with what I can do here. Nor can I simply go back to my home world. To guarantee our safety I need you to trust me enough to let me in."

Possession? He wants to possess me? I shake my head wildly. Demon possessions are rare, but when they do happen it's never pretty and a lot of people end up dead.

"No. No, you can't possess me," I gasp out, batting his hand away.

His brow furrows in confusion and he draws away.

"My kind cannot possess humans. I can use your magic and essence, so to speak, to make myself invisible to others around us. That is it. But I still require your permission. Does your kind truly think you can be possessed by us?" He shakes his head, one pointy ear twitching as the shouting and pounding footsteps gets louder.

I stare up at him, my mind spinning with nothing but a roaring static that almost drowns out my own heartbeat. If I say yes, there's a chance no one will know he's even here. If I say no, guaranteed expulsion from the Academy and possibly jail time. That's if I get out of this tunnel alive.

The beam of a flashlight illuminates the wall farther down the tunnel, and the fear twists tighter inside me. If I say yes, maybe I can get justice for what Jacob did to me.

"Yes." I can barely hear my whisper over the roaring in my head.

Asenath's shoulders slump in . . . relief? Is he relieved that I said yes? Why is a demon lord worrying about anything here? Doesn't matter, that roaring is getting louder and darkness is batting at the edges of my vision.

All I can see is the demon's crimson eyes as he leans over me. Feel the softness of his lips as he presses his mouth against mine. Magic surges around me and my own abilities flare, sending goosebumps over my skin. Tongues of flame and rivers of ice flick across my body as our two separate magics swirl and merge. The pressure in my head and chest swells until I feel like I can't breathe.

The pressure bursts, my vision whiting out as my magic stretches and morphs, almost as if I'm sliding into body temperature water. The last thing I see before darkness swamps me is Ben rushing towards me, screaming my name.