Claimed by Light by Reese Monroe Read Free Book Online Page A

Regardless, after she got out of here, she was swearing off men forever. Well, not forever, but a good century or two for sure.
    She snatched the blade from his hand and let him go. Backing away, she scrutinized him, trying to crack through that brain of his. “Have they taught you how to block your thoughts?”
    He coughed as he shook his head.
    “I can’t read you. Not a peep.” And it was driving her nuts. “Do you remember how you got in here or where we are? And why not bring me to Hades?”
    “No Hades, because evidently I can’t come and go without being detected.”
    “But Votar can?”
    Slade nodded.
    “Must be old.”
    “He said over a thousand years.”
    “Great.” She smoothed the front of her dirty, blood-splattered shirt and stepped toward the door. “Okay. Nice knowing you.”
    “Wait. Here’s your chance. Hit me good. Cut me up a little.”
    “You’re crazy.” She faced him.
    “If I leave with you—break my contract—Addie’s theirs. I can’t risk them getting to her before you do.” He widened his stance. “So I need it to look like you escaped on your own.”
    She swung, and her fist collided with his cheek. The force of impact sent him crashing into the wall three feet away.
    “Good.” He pushed to his feet. “More.”
    “If a Shomrei hit you any harder, you’d die. Just play like you’re waking up from a devastating blow.”
    “Can your Mavet open the door lock?”
    She faced the doorway, curled her fingers around the bars, and heaved.
    The metal pulled right out of the concrete and bits rained over her, pinging off her bare arms. She tossed the hunk of bars and concrete to the side.
    “Holy shit.”
    “Bye, Slade. Good luck with things.”
    He grabbed her hand. “Thank you, Lena.”
    “Don’t call me that.” Why was he messing with her?
    “I’m so fucking sorry—”
    “Don’t.” She twisted out of his grip. “Just…don’t.”
    Clutching her Mavet, Halena took off down the hall. The door she was running toward burst open, and three demons filed through. These assholes should know they didn’t stand a chance against a pissed-off Shomrei. Especially Halena. Her rage had been building for days.
    No, for centuries.
    Dropping to the floor, she kicked out the first knee she saw. The demon fell forward, and she pierced his gut with her blade. “ Reverto ut Abyssus !” Her throat stung. But the fire her rage gave off burned through the fatigue and soreness of her imprisonment and torture.
    She spun, her hand finding a home in the second demon’s chest. The third one charged, and she kicked him in the throat, his larynx crumbling beneath the force.
    Screaming out the vanquish, she twisted the dagger, and the second demon vaporized. The third clutched his throat. She drove her fists into his gut, then jammed her elbow into his temple. “Low-life, soul-sucking sons of bitches.” Stabbing the blade through his skull, she blurted out the vanquish.
    Two steps brought her to the door they’d come through, and she met a stairwell. Taking the stairs, she bounded up two flights. The lights flickered out, and she stopped. A long, deep breath centered her. Barefoot, she didn’t make a sound as she moved, and with the darkness surrounding her, she was nearly invisible, considering soot and blood covered the once-white shirt.
    Slade’s shirt.
    Enough! She would not think of him. Wouldn’t say his name.
    She crept to the door and peeked through the small window. Quietly, she twisted the knob and cracked open the door.
    Couches along the far wall, facing a massive fireplace, resembled a hotel lobby more than a demonic compound—if that’s where she was. Large revolving doors flanked by windows letting in tons of light were about thirty feet ahead. It’d be pretty hard to sneak out there in broad daylight, especially wearing only a blood-covered shirt.
    Damn it.
    There weren’t any demons roaming around, but they had to know she’d escaped. The three she’d killed would