Mate to the Demon Kings by Lacey Carter Andersen
12
Ryder hidbehind the changing screen in the portal room, trying to keep his breathing even. Sharen was trapped in the demon-realm. She could be in trouble. He needed to open the portal back up and make sure she could escape when she needed to.
But he couldn’t do anything with the two guards chatting casually just feet from him.
If they make me wait too long, I might just have to break their skulls.
He swallowed the growl that built in his chest. But panic was clawing under his skin. In life, all he’d ever wanted was to find a woman who could be his match. Things hadn’t been so easy. His unique relationship with his brothers meant that they’d have to find a woman who not only wanted one of them, but wanted all of them.
And they weren’t exactly easy to love.
They were demanding, harsh at times, and probably a bit too cocky. But with Sharen, he’d just known she was meant for them. He’d always wanted to believe in soulmates and love at first sight. But love after death seemed to be a hell of a lot different.
Their connection felt… like magic. Like something so powerful that none of them could fight it, even if they wanted to.
The guards continued yammering on, fighting about some game, and about who owed who money. Ryder’s stomach sank further.
He’d been in his mid-twenties when he died. The memory of bullets ripping through him had dominated his thoughts of what it meant to be human for so long. But with each level they climbed through the demon realms, more memories came back to him. Now, all he wanted was to taste the crispness of a breeze, to lie on his back in the ocean, to feel the rain on his face.
He didn’t want to be in Hunter-territory. He didn’t want to be near a portal leading to the horrible place he’d fought so hard to escape. But most of all, every part of his being screamed that he shouldn’t have let Sharen go.
What if she gets hurt? What if you lose her?The thoughts clawed viciously at his mind.
He could never forgive himself.
When the guards finally left, he leaped to his feet and hurried to the demon-stone. With his hand shaking, he picked up the Soul Chalk and wrote the name of the correct realm. In the doorway Sharen had drawn, the white and grey waves came swirling into life.
He dropped the chalk and drew back from the stone. Sweat beaded down his back. He hated this place. Hated to see the stone and feel the chalk. They made him think of pain. Of things he struggled to forget.
Come back, Sharen. Please, come back.
But then, a feeling came to him. A new and different kind of fear. It almost felt like… Sharen’s fear.
His heart pounded.
If he entered the portal, he would not be able to return through it. He wouldn’t have the power. It would shred him to pieces, killing him again. Making him return to the darkest, lowest pit of the demon-realms. And without his brothers, he might never get back to earth.
He’d never get to feel the rain. Never get to breathe in the scents of life, green and nourishing. He’d never get to surf, or swim in the ocean. And he’d lose his best friends. His family.
But if I don’t go through, and Sharen’s in trouble, could I really stand here and not save her?
He stood frozen, feeling his eyes sting.
Either way, he’d lose everything.
