Ties That Bind: A Muse Urban Fantasy (The Veil Series Book 5) by Pippa DaCosta

Stefan didn’t wake. What if, when he opened his eyes, he lunged for me? What if I’d destroyed our love? What if the damage had buried it deep inside him? What if—what if—what if.
    I picked up the key and fumbled. Li’el plucked it from my hand, crouched beside Stefan, and opened the manacles. Stefan’s eyes flickered but didn’t open.
    “I could transport him elsewhere,” Li’el offered.
    “No,” I growled. “I don’t know you. I don’t trust you. If you so much as glance at him wrong, I’ll chargrill your wings.”
    Li’el purred as if the idea actually appealed to him. It was more likely the threat warmed him in that soft spot he had for bloody violence. Goddamn demons.
    “I have a proposition for you, Muse,” Li’el began.
    “Not now.” I crouched in front of Stefan but couldn’t bring myself to touch him. His eyes moved beneath closed lids. Please don’t hate me. He didn’t deserve any of this. All he’d ever wanted was to be left to get on with a normal life. Demon hunter, mechanic, brother. It wasn’t fair. I reached out but didn’t touch him. The heat of my hand pushed against the ice sparkling in his hair.
    “I will take Stefan away from here.” Li’el’s voice had tightened with urgency. “You must tell Asmodeus this was my doing. He’s unlikely to pursue me. It will strengthen his belief you are his.”
    “I am his.”
    Li’el gave me a dry look through dark lashes. “And I am virtuous.”
    Ooh, sarcasm. Li’el was turning out to be something of an anomaly among demons. “You could just as easily take Stefan to Asmodeus and rat me out.”
    “Yes, I could. But I do not wish for Asmodeus to be king. Chaos and control must be restored. If Asmodeus succeeds in killing Baal, balance will never be restored. As I said, I merely want to be on the prevailing side. I saw you in battle. Your father did not. I have no doubt you are quite capable of destroying an army of demons. I do not wish to be one of those turned to dust.”
    Well, what do y’know? A demon who didn’t underestimate me. “But…the blade, the lessons…”
    “You have no intention of using the blade on Baal.”
    Damn. If Li’el had figured it out, so might my father. “But should you need the blade, call to it. It will come, or it won’t.”
    “Gee, that’s comforting.” To do this, I’d have to trust Li’el, for all intents and purposes, Satan. Trust Satan. Did he think I was born yesterday? “No.”
    “Go.” Stefan growled the word and fluttered his eyes open. He reached out and took Li’el’s offered hand without so much as a sneer. Pride hauled Stefan to his feet. He swayed and clenched his hand around Li’el’s forearm. His gaze skirted mine. I rose to a stand, but still, he wouldn’t look me in the eye.
    “Stefan, I…” All I wanted to do was take Stefan home and pretend this nightmare was over. He rolled his shoulders, and wings of ice grew slowly, each fractal building on the next. The wings—crystal clear and razor sharp—were a good sign, even if they took an age to rebuild.
    “Go,” he said again, this time with force. “I’ll be okay. I’m always okay.”
    “Wrath wants you dead.” I’d no more said the words before Samien produced a dirk and lunged. I’d like to say I hesitated, that a part of me was too human to kill, but I didn’t even blink. With unerring calm, I stepped between Samien and Stefan, knocked the dagger aside, clamped my hands around Samien’s skull and twisted, breaking his neck in one jarring twitch. From thought to execution, it took less than a second. Samien’s body crumpled to the floor at my feet. He’d have told Asmodeus everything. He’d have killed Stefan for Wrath. His death was justified. A snarl rippled across my lips. “I protect those who’ve earned it. You were not worthy.”
    Stefan’s cool element coiled around me, pulling me back from the moment. “Muse. Go.”
    “I…” I didn’t want to go without him.
    “Make this”