Free Retribution (Redemption Series) by R.K. Ryals Page B

this
far to fail now. I wasn't the same anymore. I wasn't the same Dayton that had
started out on an absolutely insane journey with a Demon I had been determined
to hate. I was inside his world now, and the world he belonged to was turning
out to be as prejudiced and complicated as my own world. Memories were wearing
me out, guilt was eating me from the inside, and I had fallen in love with the
same person I was supposed to hate. And, despite this, I was surprisingly happy.
    And so I gripped the Demon hard as the
world around us fell apart, torn away until there was nothing more than
darkness. And still I felt him, felt his hot skin against mine as the world
folded in on itself and then began to rebuild. It
wasn't until I felt solid ground beneath my feet, my
stomach a nauseated mass of butterflies that I realized Marcas was no longer with me. It was too much.
    "It
was worth it. Understood?"
    Marcas ' words echoed
through my head as I went down on one knee, my head in my hands. Light was
expanding around me, my arm was searing back together where Marcas '
teeth had cut brutally into the flesh, and I could feel my head begin to quit
spinning. It was too much.
    "Dayton?"
    It was Monroe's voice, and I looked up,
my eyes wide as she searched my face. I was back in the living room I had
started out in, and I let my head fall back down again, too weary to care who
was there to witness my failure.
    A hand settled gently against my
shoulder, and I knew from its size that it was Conor's .
He kneeled next to me.
    "You did it, Red," he
whispered.
    My head shot up.
    "What?" I said hoarsely.
    Conor's eyes met mine,
and he smiled.
    "Look."
    Gently, he lifted my head and turned it,
and I swallowed, the tears coming hard. Keeping them back wasn't an option
anymore.
    There hunched in the corner of the room,
Luther kneeling next to him was Marcas . His head was
bent, one hand dug into the carpet, one knee on the
floor. He was still shirtless, still barefoot, and still burnt in places that
hadn't had time to heal. But the glow around him was no longer white. It was
red. His powers were rushing back, no longer encumbered by the ring, and I
could tell just by watching that the process wasn't an easy one.
    Suddenly, Luther looked up, and his eyes
met mine. He nodded, a new respect in his gaze, and I nodded back. This was Marcas ' brother, and I read the emotions on his face
easily. I had sacrificed myself for the Demon in the corner. What happened now
was still uncertain, but I had built a friendship with the hard men, a pact
that could never be broken now. A life for a life.
    I looked over my shoulder wearily, my
eyes meeting the stoic shapes still standing near the room's entryway — my father, Sophia, and Lucas.
They were all silent, their eyes hard. Only Sophia played for the right team.
She was the only one not straddling shaky ground. I held a palm up to Conor .
    "The Seal," I said quietly.
    Conor didn't hesitate
and when I felt the heavy metal settle into the palm of my hand, I sighed in
relief. I was done with the ring, done with the complications that came with
it.
    I stood up slowly, shakily, and moved
toward Sophia with a purpose built entirely from a hard place I had learned to
cultivate inside of me.
    "It's yours now," I whispered
as I approached her while holding out the ring.
    Sophia's eyes met mine, and I saw
something akin to regret and jealousy in her gaze. She took the Seal.
    "And what happens now?" Sophia
asked as her gaze shifted to Marcas .
    Bezaliel stepped
forward, his gaze also on the Demon still kneeling next to his brother.
    "We recruit," Bezaliel said.
    His words took me by surprise.
    "Recruit?"
    Sophia and I said it together, our
voices raised . This seemed to amuse Lucas, and he
chuckled as he stepped next to his mentor.
    "It's time we finally find a way to
avoid a war on Earth. Lucifer is angry. There will be no more peace,"
Lucas answered.
    Sophia hesitated.
    "And how do you propose to do
that?"
    Bezaliel's gaze met