Page 118 of White Hot Kiss
The bathroom door swung open before Caym could respond to that, and I immediately caught the scent of a familiar sweet musk. My heart tripped over. Hope, along with something far more powerful, rose like a tide.
Roth stood in the doorway, his golden eyes slowly moving from me to the demon. “Caym, I didn’t expect to find you in the girls’ bathroom.”
23
I almost couldn’t believe that I was seeing him.
“Extreme times call for extreme measures,” Caym replied with an odd smile as he tugged on my leg again and pulled me another inch out from underneath the sink.
I kicked out my free leg, catching him in the knee. Caym let go, stumbled backward and straightened. The anger blew off him in waves of heat.
“That doesn’t look like it’s working,” Roth commented, brows raised.
Caym sighed. “It’s been one of those centuries, brother. I can’t catch a damn break.”
“Roth,” I said, his name coming out a croak. He didn’t take his eyes off the other demon. He was too busy chatting with him. Any hope I had deflated like a balloon.
“I can see that.” His stare lowered and thick lashes fanned his cheeks. A small smile pulled at his lips, and when he spoke, his voice was soft, yet deep and powerful. “You know I can’t let you take her.”
“What?” demanded Caym. “You know what the risk is! She must be dealt with or all of us will die if the Lilin are raised. You can’t stop me.”
Roth shrugged. “But I can.”
His brows furrowed as he stared at him, and then understanding dawned on his face. The air around him started to shimmer, but it was too late. Roth shot forward, and he was just so damn fast. His hands were around the other demon’s neck in a second. He twisted.
The crack was deafening, swallowing Caym’s scream.
A thick black mist exploded, stinging my eyes. And it stank—really stank. I covered my mouth, gagging as the vapors expelled from the demon—or what was left of the demon—blew the window at the back of the bathroom out. Shards of glass clattered off the floor and then the fire alarms went off, ear-piercingly shrill.
The smoke filled the bathroom, turning everything black. Out of the darkness, I felt warm hands touch my cheeks. I jerked back, unable to see past the fire in his eyes.
“It’s all right. It’s me,” Roth said, sliding his hands to my shoulders. “Are you okay?”
I coughed. “I can’t see...anything.”
Roth bent, picking something up off the floor, and then he slid an arm around my waist. “You’re bleeding.”
“I hit my head.”
He lifted me to my feet. “On the sink you were hiding under?”
“Yeah, well, things weren’t going too well in here.” I let him guide me out of the heavy smog and into the hallway. I dragged in a deep breath and soaked up the clean air, but the smoke billowed out into the hall. I was having trouble making sense of the shapes in front of me. “Roth, where have you been? I’ve been so worried.”
“I’ve been around” was all he said.
Kids were rushing out of the classrooms, half-hysterical. I thought I heard someone yell “Bomb!” in the barely controlled chaos.
I felt Roth let go and my hands reached out blindly. “Roth...? I can’t see.”
“I’m here.” Roth wrapped an arm around my waist, half carrying me down the hall.
I stumbled alongside him, dumbfounded by his sudden reappearance and still reeling from my encounter with the demon. The pounding in my head was lessening, but the sting in my eyes made it impossible to see.
His grip tightened. “Hold on. We’re almost outside.”
A burst of bright light caused me to wince as the double doors were opened. Teachers called out, ordering students to cross the street and stay in the park. Chilly air caressed my cheeks and soothed some of the burn.
Roth guided me to the ground. “How are you feeling?”