The Demon King of Lust

Chapter 45

Victor writhes on the ground, bleeding from multiple wounds I didn't even know he had. He must've injured himself quite a bit throughout this battle, and now he's paying the price.

"Holy shit," I curse under my breath.

I turned Vic human... and now his blood is pooling on the cement floor.

After a moment, his groans stop and he goes limp.

"Victor?" Kieran asks, stepping toward him and looking him over.

"What's happening?"

Kieran looks back at me with a mix of emotions in his eyes.

"Red, I can't hear his heart beating anymore. I think he's gone."

I don't know what I'm supposed to feel. Happiness? Grief? Shock?

But all I feel is relief—relief that I don't have to spend the rest of my life looking over my shoulder.

There's a pang of guilt in my chest.

Maybe I should be mourning the loss of a man I once loved. Maybe that makes me a bad person.

"Are you okay?" Kieran asks, wrapping an arm around my shoulders and pulling me in for a hug.

"I don't know. I think so."

"In the end, he got what he wanted. He wanted you to be safe... and you are now."

He kisses my forehead and hugs me tighter.

The truth is, I don't feel bad for Vic at all. After seeing him hurt Kieran—or, technically, TJ—and then go after me, I don't have any sympathy left.

Wait...

"Oh my god, TJ..." I gasp and look over at the lifeless body on the floor several feet away. It looks like Kieran—the face, the build, even the clothes—but I know it's not him. "Is he...?"

"Dead?" Kieran asks, walking over and kneeling beside him. "No."

Kieran grabs the hilt of the dagger stuck in TJ's chest and tugs it out. A small amount of dark blood coats the blade and seeps out around the wound. It's hard to tell with his black T-shirt, but it's not as much blood as I'd expect for being stabbed through the heart.

"Are you sure?" I ask, still taking in the visual of Kieran hovering over his own dead body.

"I'm sure. I told you it's near impossible to kill an Incubus. Demons can heal from almost anything. In our case, we just need to be topped up on sexual energy. In TJ's case that's rarely an issue, but I can help him along."

He leans in like he's going to kiss him, but stops a few inches from his face. A puff of white smoke snakes from Kieran's mouth to his. I try my best not to laugh at the visual of Kieran almost making out with himself.

"So that will he-"

I'm interrupted by a sharp gasp as TJ lurches upright, clutching his wound. His eyes dart around for a moment like he's scanning the room for threats.

"We're good, man," Kieran says, giving him a pat on the back. "We won."

"Good," he says with a nod. "And Victor?"

Kieran tilts his head in the direction of Victor's body. TJ's brow furrows as he looks over.

"Did you... Is he...?"

"He won't be coming back." Kieran shoots me a quick glance before looking back at TJ.

"Finally," he says, a smirk stretching across his face. "I was really sick of that traitorous son of a bitch."