Demon Marked

know that if Madelyn told me to kill you, I wouldn’t—even though there’s nothing that terrifies me more than the frozen field. But tomorrow, I might kill you rather than be trapped there again. Tomorrow, I might hate you for keeping the truth about Madelyn killing my parents from me. Tomorrow, your life might not be my limit.”
    “I’d give it to you,” he said hoarsely. “Whether you love me or not, and not in exchange for Rachel. Just for you.”
    “You might give it. But if I don’t love you, I’d be taking it to save myself—and I’d become everything you finally believe I’m not.”
    If Ash was capable of becoming that, she wouldn’t give a shit about whether she did. And Nicholas didn’t believe she could be that, no matter how she felt about him. “No—”
    “And you have to rescind the permission you gave me, so that you’re protected by the Rules again.”
    What? She wouldn’t be able to touch him as she wanted. She hated the restrictions the Rules put on her. If there was only one human in the world she didn’t have to check herself with, it would be him.
    Nicholas shook his head. “No.”
    “Yes. Not having to follow the Rules makes it too easy for me; there would be no consequences if I kill you. If Madelyn orders me to do it and my emotions aren’t strong enough to stop me, maybe fear for my own life will.”
    And if her emotions did stop her, she’d end in the frozen field. So they were back to that again. If she loved him, if she was with him, then her soul was in danger.
    Until Madelyn was dead.
    So he had a purpose again—the same purpose he’d always had: destroying Madelyn. But this time, not for revenge. This time, it was for Ash.
    “I’ll find Madelyn,” he vowed. “I’ll kill her, just to release you. Then I’ll find you again.”
    “But—”
    “And I release you from our bargain. I won’t take back the Rules’ protection, but I’ll stay away until she’s dead.”
    “Nicholas,” she whispered brokenly—and finally, she reached for him. He held her close, her body so strong, so warm. “I hope this fades. Because I never want to feel like this again.”
    Neither did Nicholas. Her mouth rose to his, and when she kissed him, Nicholas knew he wouldn’t have a moment’s peace until she kissed him again.
    But it wouldn’t be now. And when she drew back, he let her go.

CHAPTER 15

    The Guardians’ headquarters in San Francisco wasn’t quite the prison Ash had thought it would be. She’d immediately had free range within the facility—and within two weeks, had been allowed to take walks around the neighborhood, with either a Guardian or Sir Pup by her side.
    Today, Ash had chosen Sir Pup. Appearing as happy-golucky as any other dog sitting beneath a café’s sidewalk table on a sunny spring day, he lay at her feet while she read and sipped her coffee. That appearance was deceiving. If Madelyn found her, tried to issue an order, the hellhound would shape-shift and bite off the demon’s head before the second word passed her lips.
    If Madelyn found her here. Ash knew the Guardians didn’t think it was likely, or they’d never have let her outside. Except for changing between her demonic and natural forms, Ash would never be able to shape-shift. Lucifer’s symbols carved into her body prevented any other shifting, probably just for this reason: so she couldn’t hide from Madelyn. But stage makeup to cover her tattoos, scissors, brown hair dye, and a hat to shadow her features all worked well enough to keep attention away from her.
    So did a Guardian named Radha, a master of illusion who was currently in London and posing as a tattooed, miraculously-returned-from-the-presumed-dead Rachel Boyle. The story the Guardians came up with had been easy to follow online, caught in sensationalized headlines: Owing to some still-unknown trauma, Rachel had lost her memory for three years, which she’d spent at Nightingale House until she’d finally remembered her past . . . tragically too late to be reunited with her parents.
    All close enough to the truth to be verified, and the remainder vague enough to mystify or frustrate anyone who tried to dig deeper. After two months, the news had lost interest, police investigations into those still-missing three years between Rachel’s disappearance and Nightingale House were cooling down again, and Madelyn still hadn’t made a move against Radha—she hadn’t even made a psychic probe to confirm Rachel’s