Angie Fox - The Last of the Demon Slayers

People left. That was life. There was always a reason. I’d left my friends and my co-workers in Atlanta without a word, not a single goodbye, when I became a demon slayer. It was simply part of the price. My adoptive family dropped me to an every-other-Sunday obligation as soon as they realized I’d never turn into the perfect country-club daughter. My biological dad hadn’t even stuck around to see me come into this world before he’d bolted. Even if I could save him, I had no idea what that meant for my dad and me. No matter how much they were supposed to love you or how much they should be there – everyone left eventually.

Dimitri touched my arm. “Look, I’m not your dad.”

“Don’t pull that b.s. psycho-babble on me. Like this is my dad’s fault.” He did the best he could, which admittedly stunk, but at least he belonged here. We could try to build something. Dimitri was committed elsewhere, whether he wanted to admit it or not.

His eyes blazed. “It is your dad’s fault.”

“How can you blame my poor sick father for your issues with the griffins?”

“I told you, I’m handling it.”

“Well, you’re doing a super job.”

Dimitri dropped his head. After a moment, he raised it, his eyes a blaze of green.

“I’m not blaming your father. I’m only saying you weren’t like this until your dad showed up. You keep thinking I’m going to leave when to the best of my recollection, you took off on me.”

Oh, so he should be the one who was mad. Okay, well maybe he did have a point. Still, one night away on a mission he couldn’t join me on vs. griffins delivering armor at all hours of the day and night. “You’re at war, for heaven’s sake!”

“War?”

“You’re the leader of your clan!”

He blinked. “No. Dyonne is the leader of our clan.”

“You left poor Dyonne in charge?”

“She’d have your tonsils for breakfast if she heard you say that.”

Okay, so maybe Dimitri’s oldest sister was no shrinking violet, but, “She can’t run the Helios clan.” The other leaders would tear her up.

“Sexist much?”

“Of course not.”

He shot me a superior look. “I don’t know what assumptions you made while we were in Greece, but if you think I’m leader of our clan, you’re dead wrong. In griffin society, power is passed down through the females. They hold our magic. They chart a clan’s destiny. And they rule.”

“Get out.” It was almost too much to absorb. “They still need you, though.” Even if it was just to have somebody to rule. Dimitri’s clan had nearly died out. It was down to him and his two sisters.

“They need me to sort out their love lives,” he groused. The corners of his mouth tipped up. “You should see yourself right now.”

Gaping, no doubt. “Explain, please.”

“I’m the last of the Helios clan besides my sisters, right? So I’m the only one available to meet with suitors.”

“Suitors?” I repeated. “As in boyfriends?”

“Yes. A formality – and a pain in the butt. I understand that after a lifetime under a demon’s curse, my sisters are going to want to go out and have some fun. That is acceptable. But these potential mates are about to drive me off a cliff.”

Off a cliff? Not too tragic for a griffin. He’d just shift and fly away.

“What? Are these guys not good enough?” Dimitri’s sisters were smart and beautiful and independent – the whole package.

“Alexandro that you met earlier tonight? He breeds horses.”

“Diana would love that.”

“He paints their hooves and gives them horsey manicures.”

“Diana would really love that.”

Dimitri wasn’t amused. “He and his brother Nicoli used to slip mermaids into the family pool. They hung out with the priests of Bacchus. And now they want to date my sisters?”

“What about the guy out in the desert?”

Dimitri sighed. “Kryptos is an admirer of Dyonne’s. He’s convinced he can win her over by replacing the family arsenal.”

“Girls do like shiny things.” Although if I saw Kryptos again, I might tell him to focus on jewelry.

“Do not let him hear you say that or I’ll never get rid of him.”

He stood tall, the moonlight playing off his hardened features. “Griffin society is small. Unfortunately not so small that I don’t have a battalion of horny goats following me.” He sighed. “I suppose it has to be done.”

“We’re talking about dating, right?”

He nodded, hand to his head.

“I don’t know. It sounds like fun to me.” He needed to lighten up. “It’s not like your sisters have to marry any of these guys,” I said. “Right?”

“They will eventually,” he said with such brotherly despair that I smiled despite myself.

“I think it’s sweet that these guys are willing to travel halfway around the world to ask your permission.” Especially when some human guys thought email was an appropriate way to ask a girl out.

“Yes, well, remember how Diana and Dyonne sucked up all that power form the altar in Greece?”

“I was there.” A bit beat up at the time but present nonetheless.

He tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. “Power is very attractive to griffins.”

No kidding.

The realization bloomed. “Wait, so you’re saying your sisters are two of the hottest women going in the griffin world?”

“You are painfully correct.”

I couldn’t help smiling. Go Diana and Dyonne! They deserved it.

His fingers brushed my cheek and my insides went gooey. “Hmm…now if power is incredibly sexy to griffins,” I began as he ran his fingers through my hair. “How do you feel about demon slayer power?”

His lips skimmed my ear. “Delicious. As is the particularly delectable demon slayer behind it.”

I felt my toes curl. “You’re just saying that because you want to get into my pants.”

He tipped his head toward mine. “Is it working?”

“Maybe.”

“I’ve known it from the beginning, Lizzie,” he said, caressing my cheek. “You’re powerful not because you’ve learned how to throw a switch star. It’s because of what’s in here.” He touched the place above my heart. “What’s inside of you, who you are.”

“I could never lead a clan.”

“But you led Roxie on a quest to find Zatar. You led Rachmort out of purgatory.”

“Dad got me in there.”

“It’s okay to ask for help. That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you.”

“I don’t know what’s going to happen in a few hours.” Nobody could help me create the portal to fling the dreg out of Roxie and if I couldn’t save her, I’d be even more alone when Zatar showed up.”

Dimitri burned with intensity. “You have more power than you know. And you can do this.”

“I can’t even keep my hair from turning purple.”

The side of his mouth tugged into a wry grin. “Your new hair is hot.”

Ha. “It’s awful.”

My heart sped up as pulled me toward him, slowly – deliberately. “It’s such a turn-on.”

Impossible.

His kiss drove straight through me. I gripped his shoulders, knowing exactly what this man meant to me. And how it would hurt to let him go. I tipped my mouth up to his again and again as his arms closed around me. When we came together like this, without trying to plan or worry or think about tomorrow, it made everything seem possible.

“Wait, stop,” I pulled back. “We have to find the soul flower.” I ducked out of his embrace, grabbing his hand. “Come on. It’s a gift from a visiting spirit.”

“Then the spirits need to give us a break,” he said, running his fingers through my hair.

“I can’t believe you actually like my violet hair,” I said, bending to look at the base of a fallen wooden marker.