Free Seducing the Demon Huntress by Victoria Davies Page B

her circle. “Aunt Kerilyn, you’re alive!”
    “Yeah,” Kerilyn said, leaning gratefully back against Arawn. “But the question is, why?” She tilted her head back to see him, waiting for her answers.
    There was no forgetting the battle she’d fought. The wound in her side had been mortal. Not to mention the other injuries she’d received along the way. Without a doubt, she should be dead. Instead, all she felt was a little weak, and even that lingering complaint was fading with every breath. Her body was free of pain and when she glanced down at her left arm, she couldn’t see any of the scratches or bites she knew should be there. Even the blood and grit that should cover her body was gone, leaving her as fresh and whole as if she’d stepped from a shower.
    “What did you do?” she demanded.
    He looked grave. “Saved your life.”
    “How?”
    Reaching out he lifted the hem of her torn shirt. Kerilyn drew a sharp breath when she saw the black handprint now resting where her wound had once been.
    “What the hell is that?” she said, touching the darkened skin.
    “You were dying,” Arawn said. “So I let you, but only a little.”
    “How can a person die a little?”
    He touched her face, tilting her head up to him. “Do you think I cannot control death?”
    A chill washed through her. With gritted teeth, she forced herself to crawl from the comforting warmth of his arms and turned to face him directly.
    “Not human death,” she denied. “It doesn’t work that way.”
    He nodded sharply. “Therefore I had to make you a little less human.”
    Kerilyn gaped at him. Surely she’d misheard. He couldn’t have said what she thought he had. It was ludicrous. It was impossible. It was...terrifying.
    “The mark on your flesh is not just any mark,” Arawn continued. “The black area is now spirit, not human. Since I control spirits, I could heal you once you had one foot in my realm.”
    Kerilyn stared at the black flesh in horror. Gingerly she reached down to touch her side, hesitating only a second before she pressed her fingertips to the darkness tattooing her skin. It felt the same as it ever had. But if she truly was part spirit, then nothing was the same. She was one of the beings she’d feared her whole life. Where did that leave her? She breathed shallowly, trying not to let panic overtake her. How could she live as part spirit?
    “I can explain everything to you,” Arawn told her, no doubt reading the expressions flying across her face. “But your niece has had enough trauma tonight. You should take her home.”
    Kerilyn sucked in a sharp breath, looking at Sarah. He was right. She still had responsibilities. This was no time to let her fears take over.
    Crawling to the circle’s edge, she held out her hand. “Sarah,” she said, trying to summon a reassuring smile. “Everything is ok. Want to go home?”
    “Y-you said not to leave the circle,” Sarah protested.
    “I know, honey, but things are different now. I’m here to make sure you stay safe.”
    Sarah looked past her to Arawn.
    “Don’t worry,” Kerilyn said. “He won’t hurt you. He’s a...friend.”
    “Trust your aunt, child,” Arawn agreed.
    Slowly Sarah unwound her arms from around her knees and shifted closer to Kerilyn.
    “Good girl,” Kerilyn encouraged, pulling the child into her arms and hugging her tight. The little girl wrapped her arms around Kerilyn, holding on for dear life.
    “I’m sorry,” Kerilyn said to her. “I’m so sorry we pulled you into this.”
    “I want to go home,” Sarah whispered.
    Kerilyn nodded. “Okay. Let’s go.”
    She pushed herself to her feet, wobbling only slightly. Taking her niece’s hand, she turned to Arawn.
    “Coming with us?” she asked.
    “Always,” he replied as he moved to her side.
    “Then let’s go.”
    He bowed elegantly, motioning her to lead the way.
    As they left the warehouse where she had technically died, Kerilyn tried not to wonder how she’d