Rival Demons Read Online Free PDF Page A

king doesn't take well to being
disobeyed."
    "You're saying he would hurt her if he knew she
was home?"
    "No." He bit his lip and ran a hand through his
hair. "I don't know. Maybe? He would definitely punish her,
probably lock her away for a while and never let her leave again.
For her, that would be the same as torture."
    "So why even risk coming back here?" I asked
softly. I knew she hadn't come back because she cared about me. It
was obvious Lea didn't give a crap about me. In fact, I was pretty
sure she hated me. So why risk everything?
    "Because I asked her to," Jackson said.
    His words were simple, but to me they cut like a
knife. All he had to do was ask and she was willing to risk her
entire life's work? Leave her best friends behind in the human
world? Ever since Jackson had first introduced me to Lea, I knew
there was more to their story than just an old friendship. Now,
with him acting weird and pulling away from me, I wondered just how
much there was between them.
    I wanted to ask, but I was too afraid to find
out the answer.
    "Thank you," I said finally. "For coming to get
me. You saved my life back there."
    Hesitating, he took my hand in his and brought
it to his lips, kissing my skin softly. "I was so scared when they
took you away from us. I couldn't bear it if something happened to
you."
    The feel of his lips against my skin felt
amazing, but I was confused. What was really going on between us? I
turned to meet his eyes.
    The sadness that crossed his eyes twisted my
gut. "They held you captive for eight days," he said. "Those were
the worst eight days of my life. I wasn't sure I'd ever see you
again. I'm so sorry, Harper. I told you I would keep you safe, and
I just let them take you."
    I scooted closer to him on the rock and put my
arms around him. He stiffened, then slowly returned my embrace,
hugging me tight.
    "It wasn't your fault," I said. "I never should
have gone wandering around in that field. I never should have left
the camp. I got too confident that we were okay after all that
traveling. I completely underestimated the Order." I looked down at
my tattered dress. "I won't let that happen again."
    Footsteps sounded behind us, and Jackson pulled
away as if I'd burned him.
    "Can I talk to you for a second?" Lea asked,
tension in her voice.
    Jackson sighed, then excused himself.
    Together, they walked back into the cave,
whispering too low for me to hear. Lea seemed to be lecturing him
about something, and whatever it was, Jackson wasn't happy about
it. A dark feeling came over me when Jackson returned, his
expression tight.
    His jaw tensed and he began to fidget. "Harper,
there's something else I brought you out here to talk about."
    The seriousness in his voice made my insides
twist. I shifted on the rock, suddenly feeling very
uncomfortable.
    "We're leaving today to go to this place I was
telling you about earlier," he said. "The Underground."
    "Okay," I said, waiting for the bomb to
drop.
    "I just thought it would be good for you to
understand how things work down there," he said. "As far as rules
and magic and politics."
    I cleared my throat, finding it difficult to
swallow.
    He rubbed his palms against his jeans. "There
are some rules I'm going to need you to follow."
    He pulled a small vial from the pocket of his
jeans. The liquid inside glowed deep purple.
    "What's that?"
    "Joost made potions for you and Mary Anne before
we left the human world. They will make you see all the demons down
here as if they were human. It will also make you hear everything
in English rather than the demon language. He thought it would help
make your transition here smoother."
    "That was nice of him," I said, taking the vial
from Jackson and uncorking it. "How long will it last?"
    "For as long as you're here in the shadow
world," he said.
    I stared down at the liquid. Part of me was
curious to see the demon world exactly as it was. I'd seen Aerden's
true form a couple of times before and even though it was
different,