Mate to the Demon Kings by Lacey Carter Andersen
13
Sharen turnedand watched in horror as hundreds of demons came running over the hills toward them. She began to fire her weapon at random. Where she struck, a ball of fire blasted a deep black hole into the earth, taking out dozens of demons with every blast.
But no matter how many she killed, there were always more.
As they got closer, she pushed Elaina behind her and clenched her weapon more closely. They would not survive this, but she’d be damned if she didn’t take as many of the fuckers out as she could before she died.
Time seemed to slow as they grew closer.
I gambled on love, and I lost.
I was wrong.
They always meant to betray me.
I was a fool.
The words seemed to circle around in her mind, and suddenly, a strong hand pulled her back. Ryder stood before her, his red skin glistening in the light.
His roar came like a thousand angry lions, and the demons stopped in their pursuit.
“Go through the portal! Now!” he ordered them. “This isn’t my horde. They won’t listen for long.”
Sharen grabbed Elaina, but Ryder shoved Sharen through first. She went tumbling into the waves, the awful feeling of being stretched and pulled, of being too hot and too cold came and went in a flash, and then she was crashing into the chairs in the room. A few seconds later, Elaina barreled straight into her.
She helped her friend up, then turned to wait for Ryder to come flying through.
But everything happened faster than she could comprehend. One moment the portal was there, the next, Elaina was erasing the address above the door.
The portal closed.
“What the hell?” Sharen shoved her back, and Elaina hit the floor.
“He’s still in there! What are you doing?”
Elaina caught her hand, which she promptly pulled free. “He told me to.”
“Who told you to?” Sharen asked, grabbing the chalk with hands that shook and praying she remembered the right address.
“Your demon,” Elaina said quietly. “He said he didn’t have enough power to come back, so I should close the portal as soon as I got through, and then he shoved me in.”
Sharen froze, feeling tears prickle her eyes. Did he sacrifice his freedom for me? “That can’t be true.”
Elaina stared. “It takes demons years and years to gather enough power to cross over.”
“So… so how do we get him back?”
Her friend was quiet for too long. “We don’t.”
