Ayden swore to himself under his breath for being too distracted to notice his fragile human following him through the portal he’d made to their reception. Liam was too new to know the protocol for this situation was to clear the area and let Ayden portal the package into a safe location where it could be dealt with. They had all kinds of clients, some with very powerful enemies, but now that they had the contract with the Supernatural Council, it was a whole other level of risk. Mish, their receptionist, had already left his post after locking down the doors.
Reaching for the fiery power deep inside him, Ayden paused for a second as he decided whether to portal the package or Liam away first. The package would take longer because he had to put protections in place to make sure it wouldn’t react to his demon magic. Some magical traps would trigger when they came into contact with another power.
“I don’t get it. It’s just some flowers,” Liam said, stepping up next to him.
“Stay back,” Ayden ordered, eyes fixed on the seemingly innocuous delivery that didn’t smell like it should.
It didn’t smell of anything, a red flag for any supernatural species with advanced senses. That must’ve been what prompted Mish to call him. Maybe it was intended as a happy surprise for someone, but they couldn’t take the risk.
“But they’re so pretty,” Liam said, taking another step forward.
The room disappeared in a flash of white light. Not a power trigger, but a proximity one. That Liam had set off.
Three things happened simultaneously: Ayden tackled Liam to the ground to screen him with his body, the light became agony as it tried to tug apart his every cell, and he screamed like a banshee as he let loose a massive surge of raw demon energy in a desperate attempt to protect the precious man pinned to the cold tile floor beneath him.
It was more power than he’d ever tried to channel as he drew on every demon in the building to shove at the seemingly immovable exploding nexus of magic with everything he had in an effort to force it into another plane, anywhere but where his Liam was. More power than he could safely manage.
As the world turned pitch black, he had no idea if it had been enough.
“What’s wrong with him?” Liam’s voice was a balm to the paralysing fear he’d been feeling.
“Hush, human. Let me work.” That was Lucian. What was Lucian doing there?
“What are you doing?”
“Feeding him energy and breaking into his lair. Then it’s all up to you.”
“Me?”
Ayden groaned as a sharp jolt of power spiked him in the heart, forcing his eyes open. “Asshole.”
“Is that any way to talk to your boss? It’s not my fault you burned yourself out like you’ve got a saviour complex as big as Gabe’s.” Lucian’s voice was tight with concern, but Ayden couldn’t quite bring him into focus.
“What happened?” Ayden asked, reaching for memories that kept slipping from his grasp as his voice slurred.
“I don’t know where you sent it, but whatever it was is gone. It’s going to be a real pain figuring out who was targeting us, and with what, without it.”
“Sorry.”
“Shut up and let me use a drop of your blood in this portal so you can take your human back to your lair.”
“If you leave me alone with him, you know what’s going to happen.”
Lucian just hummed in agreement as he pricked Ayden’s finger with the tip of a dagger he pulled from somewhere.
“Does someone want to clue me in?” Liam asked.
“He’s burned out. He needs a massive influx of energy to replace what he lost,” Lucian said.
“Oh…Ohhhhh,” Liam breathed, finally catching up. Except he hadn’t, not really.
“I won’t be able to control myself once I can move again,” Ayden explained. “If you don’t want to be bonded to a demon for eternity, you need to leave. Now.”
“Don’t leave. He needs you,” Lucian said, making Ayden glare at his boss.
“Of course I won’t leave. He saved me. Now it’s my turn to save him,” Liam said.
“That’s the incubus influence talking. Bonding isn’t something you can take back. It’s forever. Literally. You’ll live an immortal life tied to mine.” Ayden’s words were slow and painful as he fought to make his brain and his mouth work through the fatigue dragging at him.