Singing with the Devil--A Demon Romance by Cassandra Rose Clarke

Author:Cassandra Rose Clarke
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Carina Press
Published: 2022-03-02T19:37:21+00:00

* * *

Dominic sped down the highway, racing the dawn light creeping up on the horizon behind them. Helena leaned her head into the crook of Aleksi’s shoulder and watched the landscape zipping by the window, the trees ghostly in the gray loam of early morning.

She tried not to think of the danger they were driving toward, the Children of Adrasteia bound up in vines for only a few hours more. Every few moments she surged with a panicked joy: she had just upended her life the way she had when she walked out of her parents’ house eleven years ago.

Dominic’s phone dinged for the fourth time since they’d left New Orleans. He glanced up at the rearview mirror. “That’s Corina. We’re takin’ too damn long.”

“The C.O.A. is still secure, right?” Aleksi asked.

“She says we need to hurry our asses up.”

“We’re almost there.” Aleksi tightened his grip around Helena and peered out the window. “The turnoff is close.”

Dominic hunched over the steering wheel. The engine roared; Helena suspected he was pushing it to its limits. She was glad; she didn’t want Corina to be hurt because they’d spent time doubling back for her.

They arrived at the turnoff for Corina’s house. Dominic parked the van in its spot in the woods, and they climbed out and distributed the packages from their trip. Most were not magical ingredients, but bags from Walmart with food and toilet paper and some new clothes for Helena—they’d stopped there after picking her up at the Runaway Jack. Fortunately, it was a different store from the one where Helena bought her burner phone—no chance that any of the clerks might recognize her.

Helena slid the plastic bags up the crook of her arm. She could smell the magic of the Sleeping Beauty spell: crackling, laced with the metallic scent of blood.

Helena shifted the weight of her bags as they stomped through the thick underbrush, everything wet with dewy moisture. Sweat beaded on her forehead, dripped down her spine. Even this early in the morning, the air was thick and oppressive—with humidity, with the lingering exhalation of Dominic’s blood magic. It was making her tired.

A few minutes later, they stepped into the clearing. Thick, unnatural vines curled around the bodies of the C.O.A., still revealing a few wayward feet or limbs. Muffled cries rang out; there was a faint thrashing up in the trees. A shower of leaves.

Corina stepped out of the shadows.

“Finally,” she said. “The goddamn blood magic is wearing off. I’m not sure how much longer I can hold it.” Her eyes moved over to Helena and she broke into a weary smile. “So you changed your mind. Glad to see it.”

Helena smiled thinly and tried to ignore the weight of the phone in the pocket of her shorts.

One of the C.O.A. let out a piercing shriek. Helena jumped, her bags rattling.

“Shit,” Corina said. “Get back to the ward barrier. I’m not joking. They’re starting to get loose.”

Dominic shot off into the trees. Aleksi glanced back at Helena.

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