I shrieked even louder.
"Let me go!" I thrashed around, trying to dislodge his hold on me, but his grip was iron.
"You have… sssomething of mine."
"I'll give it back!"
"You will." He agreed, but still didn't let go.
His reptilian eyes were back, and the black markings on the arm locked tightly around my waist writhed nauseatingly. Like living things… Or worse, like lost souls trapped beneath his skin, clawing to get free.
Just like me.
The horrid thought took root in my mind and a scream of alarm bubbled up my throat, threatening to tear free—but I held it in.
My breaths turned more heavy and more laboured as I eyed them—those dark markings that looked like they'd just love the chance to transfer to me. Crawl their way up my own skin...
I should look away. Close my eyes—but the sight was already ingrained in my memory.
"Close your eyes, little thief." Hans murmured in my ear, but how could I?
I knew it was bad if he himself was warning me to, but I couldn't tear my gaze away or close my eyes against those devilish markings.
I was… enthralled.
And the more I stared, the wider my eyes popped.
The harder my hands shook.
The hotter my throat burned—until finally, my mind lost the fight, and my body, the ability to hold it back as the scream tore out of my throat, startling even myself.
More panic attacked my senses. More adrenaline flooded my veins.
I was going to cry.
"Put me down," I begged, terror clawing up my throat. "Please… put me down."
My fear had become a living thing—one that was going to consume me, swallow me whole—and I struggled even harder against his hold.
Hans—Zalem—paused.
"You fear me." It wasn't a question. And if I wasn't so traumatized, I'd say he sounded almost… disappointed.
But of course I fucking fear you, you carnage-loving, fear-inciting, blood-spilling demon!
The temperature in the alley dropped several degrees.
I feared he might do something about that knowledge—what? I didn't know—but there were suddenly more shouts. More men.
"Live." Hans shoved me behind him and vanished into their midst.
The relief of his absence made my knees buckle but I quickly scrambled away as some men charged in my direction.
Live? Was that the demon's way of telling me not to die? He needn't tell me twice.
I ran for the opening as the alley burst into motion behind me.
Hans was all teeth and claws, cutting through the men like trees.
He was merciless.
Every strike was meant to either maim or kill. Throats were torn open, ribs cracked—the crunching sounds meeting my ears. Bodies slammed into walls hard enough to dent brick.
Gods.
The markings on his skin looked darker now. Onyx smoke—or maybe shadows—rose from his body, surrounding him like a dark aura.
Holy fuck.
He was… holy shit.
I was so distracted by the sight, I didn't even notice that a man had managed to slash his ribs.
My hands flew to my mouth in horror.
The cut looked fatal—but Hans caught the blade in his bare hands, twisted until it snapped, and then rammed the jagged steel through the man's skull.
I gagged.
Heavens.
Pressing my back flatter against the nearest wall, my heart hammered.
I'd seen violence before. I'd done violence before. But this… this was different.
Savage.
He wasn't just fighting—he was enjoying himself.
The last man standing took one look at the carnage and bolted.
Hans didn't follow. He wiped his hands on a dead man's coat and turned to me.
My feet itched to run from him, but I didn't make it two steps before—
"Stay where you are," he warned.
I took a wary step back in slow retreat as his reptilian gaze swept over me. Their black and lemon-green depths lingered a bit where my hood had slipped off to expose my thick mass of auburn hair, streaked with gold and black in odd places.
His lips curved. "Lovely."
But the gruesome sight of his… long, sharp—now bloody—teeth made me wince. Teeth that had ripped through flesh and torn skin from bones only minutes ago...
He was in front of me now, and I took another step back till my spine was once again pressed against the wall.
"You made a very… very costly mistake, crossing paths with me, little thief. And I don't think you did it alone."
"I don't know what you're talking about—"
"Oh, but you do." He stepped even closer, crowding me against the wall and tracing a clawed finger along my throat.
My pulse jumped.
If I were claustrophobic, I'd be blissfully passed out on the floor by now—and that would be a mercy, except for the thought of what might happen…
The depraved things he might choose to do to my helpless, unconscious body if I blacked out, and… I shuddered, refusing to finish the thought.
"I'm sure you do," he continued. "And in time—" But just like that, normal Hans was back, mid-sentence.
"Are you okay?" he asked, mercury eyes studying my face.
Oh, thank the gods. I nodded once. I never thought I'd be so glad to see my would-be killer.
"Good." He stepped away from me. "Because you're coming with me."
What?
"Why—"
"You'll be working for me until you've paid me back in full." He continued like I hadn't said a word. Or maybe he was answering my question.
"No."
"What?"
"I'm going nowhere with you—"
"You have no choice," he snapped, cutting me off. "You took something from me that I want back, and you owe me your life—just now." His arms were spread apart, in a clear gesture at the carnage around us.
He had a point, but— "That doesn't mean I'll—"
"I think you're struggling to understand here." His voice hardened. "So let me make it clear. You're mine, Witch. Your life that I saved? The one that would've been wasted if I hadn't acted? Belongs to ME."
Sheesh.
Possessive much?
"And you will do only as I please, exactly as I say, until—"
"Over my dead body!" I hissed, suddenly filled with anger and an energy that had been absent when the demon, Zalem, had been in control.
"That can be arranged," Hans said easily. Then with a smile that was anything but pleasant: "Or you can steal for me instead. Kill for me, if I tell you to." His now claw-free fingers caught my chin, tilting it up to meet my eyes. "Either way, you stay where I can see you. Night and day."
"I'm no puppet." I held his silver gaze with a glare. "And I'm definitely no murderer."
"No, but you're a thief. One that's now forever indebted to me."
Fucking prick.
I wanted to jerk away, spit in his face—anything—but I was frozen in place.
"You've wronged me, witch," he reminded me—and gods, I'd regret that single act until the day I die, because it had led to THIS.
"By right, you shouldn't even live to see another day. But I have use for you yet."
"You're insane." I spat, finally tearing my chin from his hold.
The demon flickered in his gaze briefly—as if in warning—but it was gone quickly, mercury eyes snapping back.
Terrifying.
"Gods—Fine. FINE. Just... keep him away from me, okay? Why do you even keep doing that?"
The change in Hans was immediate. His eyes, colder. His jaw, tight.
"I'm not."
What?
Somewhere beyond the alley, more shouts were drawing closer. Whoever had hired the Guild wasn't done yet.
Hans smiled that cruel, far-from-pleasant smile. "Looks like you're coming with me after all."
Without waiting for my answer, his arm hooked around my waist, and in the next breath, the alley, the bodies, the shouting… everything was gone.
The world was blanketed in complete darkness—one that made me fear he'd... taken me into himself, again—but when everything snapped back into place, we were on a rooftop overlooking the alley we'd just been in.
The wind tore at us, slapping my hair into my face and his, and far below, more armed hunters were pushing into the streets.
I staggered back, dizzy from the shift. "What the hell—"
"Shh," Hans crouched low, studying the people below. Then his hand closed around my wrist. "For now, we move. Later, we talk."
"Okay," and I can't believe I was agreeing, "but where are we going?"
He was silent for a second, and I thought he wouldn't reply… but then he spoke and a chill raced down my spine.
"The City of Velour."