Three

My body didn't want to move as I stood shaking in front of the seemingly indestructible man if I could call him that. His pure black eyes did not allude to him being human. His large build was both intimidating and alluring.

It also prevented me from being able to squeeze by him as he blocked the doorway. As he had just threatened to kill me, escaping was my only option. There was no way I would be able to fight a man of his size off.

"What are you doing in my house? How did you get in here? My security system has already alerted the police, and they will be here any second." I took a step back, giving in to the terror that was swimming through my bloodstream.

He chuckled again, my eyes widened in surprise at the way my body reacted. The noise sent a jolt of warmth and dampness straight to my core.

"You have no idea, do you, my little witch?" He pushed off the doorframe and stepped into my room, closing in on me and causing my breathing to pick up. I glanced at the open doorway behind him, knowing that he was still too close to it for me to make it through. "I am here because you brought me here."

He reached out and ran a finger along the edge of the dresser, the woodturning black as his finger moved over it. I tried not to finch at the dirt he was leaving behind. It was irrelevant as I would be dead soon anyway, but it was still rude.

"I did not bring you here! You need to leave." The man pulled his hand back to his side as he tipped his head back in annoyance.

"It has been a long time since I was summoned to this realm. The last witch powerful enough to bring me forth had only a fraction of what you possess." He scanned me up and down again as if trying to find something.

I recoiled at his words. He had called me a witch twice now, and with his eyes, the marks on his skin, and the freaky room my parents kept upstairs, I was starting to connect the dots.

"You say that I summoned you? What exactly are you?" The back of my calves hit my bed as I continued to discretely increase the space between us. In response, I moved a step to the side to clear the mattress, his eyes tracking my every move.

"You did. Though I never imagined someone so uneducated would be the one to bring me here. To allow me to roam freely, was not a wise choice." The muscles in his chest and abs tightened as he walked forward. I mirrored his movements, moving backward until I found myself trapped against the wall. "I must admit that I am curious about you, my little witch. You have intrigued and impressed me. Perhaps, I will not end you yet. I may keep you for a while."

I turned my head away from him when he raised his hand and traced the outline of my face without actually touching it. The heat could still be felt radiating off his skin at the close proximity, and I shivered in fear.

"You did not answer my last question." I bravely and stupidly rebutted. My head was still turned away from him, my ponytail pressing uncomfortably against the back of my head from the wall. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see a malevolent smile stretch across his lips. A picture flashed before my eyes, like a transparent overlay between the image and reality.

His teeth were long and pointed, and he had large bat-like black wings that spanned longer than I was tall. The smell of something burning tickled my nose.

It was a terrifying sight. One that I was curious to see in person if I survived the day. As the vision faded, leaving the man before me, I wasn't sure which version of him I feared more.

"They call me Demetri, King of the Second Circle, my little witch. It appears that your abilities far surpass your knowledge of the world you live in." He dropped his hand down, and for a moment I thought he was going to back away. Instead, his hand wrapped around my wrist, the feeling warm but not uncomfortable. He circled the mark on my skin with his other hand, a sneer on his face. "As for your request for me to leave, that will not be possible. It would appear that you have interwoven our fates when you cast your summons."

The words snapped me back to reality. I watched as his finger moved around and around the raised scar tissue, a similar mark on his wrist catching my attention. I stared at it intently, wishing and praying that this was all just one long nightmare.

"How so?" I asked, pulling my arm free from his grip and edging along the wall to get away from Demetri. He allowed me to move away from him, but I did not bother making a run for it. After what I had just seen, it would be pointless. I would be no match for a King of Hell.

"How so?" He repeated, humor-laced in his voice. "You have bound us together for eternity. The fact that you did it without realizing it or exerting any effort or energy…" He trailed off, and I raised my forearm in front of me, my thumbs moving to press down on the new mark. The unrealistic hope that if I just pushed the raised skin back into my flesh, it would go away vanished when I released my hold and the mark remained.

I needed to get my phone and get back upstairs to start translating everything. I had to begin searching for a solution to break the connection as soon as possible if what he was saying was true. The last thing I needed was to have a demon attached to me for the rest of my life, even if he was sinfully sexy.