Demon Hunting with a Dixie Deb by Lexi George Page B

fairies.”
    â€œFairies?”
    â€œThey were in a cage. She was juicing them.” Sassy shook her head as though to purge the memory. “I let them go. I opened a jar and this shiny stuff hit me in the face.”
    â€œAh, you ingested fairy essence. That explains the glow.”
    â€œI did not —Why does everybody keep saying that? I told the witch it was an accident. She’s still ticked.”
    Ticked? Grim processed the strange term.
    Parasitic insects that feed on animals in this world , the Provider said in a monotone . The term can also refer to fabric or animal fur flecked with color, or the material covering a mattress or pillow. Humans sometimes use it to indicate anger or distress.
    â€œThe latter, definitely,” Grim said.
    Sassy blinked at him. “Huh?”
    â€œNothing.” Grim disconnected from the Provider. “I will protect you from the witch.”
    â€œWhy? You don’t know me.”
    â€œAs you so astutely observed, I am responsible for your predicament.” Grim shrugged. “Besides, I am Dalvahni. We are sworn to shield lesser creatures.”
    â€œGee, thanks.” Sassy’s tone was dry as the Provider’s. “You sure know how to flatter a girl.”
    â€œFlattery is but a means of dissemblance. The Dal do not lie.”
    â€œI’m getting that. Bet you’re a hoot and a holler at parties.”
    â€œI would not know. I have never been to a party.”
    â€œNever?” Sassy sounded shocked. “That’s awful. I love parties.”
    â€œSomehow, that does not surprise me.”
    He scooped her up in his arms and got to his feet. The light, flowery scent of her hair tickled his nose. The rest of her smelled warm and earthy, a not unpleasant result of her flight through the woods. Grim breathed her in, committing the scent and feel of her to memory. Her weight was slight, but her lush curves were all woman. His treacherous body responded to her nearness. He bent his head, tempted to lick the salt from the skin of her throat.
    The impulse shocked him to the core.
    â€œWhat are you doing?” Sassy asked.
    A salient and reasonable question; what was he doing?
    â€œI am carrying you.” His voice was gruff. He cleared his throat. “I should think the answer evident.”
    â€œOh.” Was that disappointment in her voice? “For a moment, I thought you were going to kiss me.”
    For a moment, he had thought so, too.
    â€œYou are human,” he said. “Under the Directive, the Dal confine their sexual appetites to the thralls.”
    Some of his brothers may have forgotten their vows, a number that included their captain. He would not.
    Not if it killed him.
    â€œWhat’s a thrall?”
    â€œA species created to serve the Dal. They provide us sexual release. In turn, they feed off our lust and battle rage.”
    â€œAre they beautiful?”
    â€œBeyond compare. The thralvahni are made for pleasure and the delights of the flesh.”
    Sassy stiffened. Pinpoints of light flickered beneath her skin like summer lightning.
    â€œPut me down,” she said. “I’d rather walk.”
    â€œNot until we are off this roof. You are far too breakable for my taste.”
    Taking care to avoid the spell line, Grim leaped off the shed with Sassy in his arms.
    Duncan trotted out of the gloom.
    â€œThere you are, brother,” he said. “Is this your Sassy? Or have you acquired some other random female?”
    â€œIt is she.” Grim lowered Sassy to the ground. “Sassy, this is Duncan. He is not a bad sort, despite a lamentable tendency toward whimsy.”
    â€œGrim does not joke. Grim is known for his unremitting solemnity.” Duncan grinned at Sassy. “The Lord of the Seventh Hell is a jester compared to him.” He looked around him, face tightening with anticipation. “There was a battle here. You slew the Hag?”
    â€œNay, she fled into