Demon Bound: The Camelot Archive - Book One, R Nicole [top romance novels .TXT] 📗

trailed off, not wanting to share my weakness with him.

“Ah,” he murmured, “the echoes. They’ll pass.”

I relaxed a little, knowing I had the human side of him with me. While he was amicable, I wondered if he’d reveal more about who he was, then maybe I wouldn’t feel so stupid about wanting to spend time with him—which was a betrayal to the Naturals.

I studied his profile. “How old are you exactly?”

“Twenty-eight human years,” he replied matter-of-factly.

“I don’t believe you,” I scoffed.

He smirked, his eyes shimmering silver in the moonlight. “If you want the answers you seek, then you have to ask the right questions.”

Fine. “How long have you been twenty-eight?”

“A lot longer than I should have.”

“Now you’re deliberately evading the question.”

His lips quirked and he turned to look at Camelot. I had to tell him the truth—and the perfect time was now, while his demon side was asleep.

“Elijah…they never finished their research,” I told him. “There’s nothing I can give you.”

His shoulders tensed.

“It’ll take time and I’m not sure—”

“I’ve got plenty of time,” he interrupted, jerking on the tether that bound us. “Keep trying. Your cure could be mine.”

I grimaced as a strange pressure wrapped around my chest and squeezed. I imagined it was what a heart attack felt like.

“You don’t have to hurt me,” I hissed and jerked away from him. “I would have helped you without all this binding shite.”

“You forget what I am.” His tone had turned cold. His demon half had roused.

“I forget nothing.”

We were nose-to-nose, within an inch of something more intimate, yet we held steady. I was lost and he was…unknown.

Elijah lowered his gaze before returning it to mine. “You close yourself off from others, yet you give everything to me—the enemy—without a second thought. Why is that?”

I tensed, knowing I was playing with fire, but unable to stop myself. When I was with him, my pain went away.

“I don’t know,” I murmured. “Maybe I am just a stupid little girl after all.”

10

I stood my ground as Thompson glared at me.

The security tent was empty, but the sounds of base camp filtered through the thick canvas.

“Leaving camp boundaries without permission is a punishable offence,” he barked. “And after your ordeal, it baffles me as to why you’d even want to.”

I didn’t reply, though holding my tongue had become difficult.

“I don’t know what to do with you, Madeline,” he said with an exasperated sigh. “You and I both know that this is your last chance. I don’t want to report you to the Regula, but you’re leaving me no choice. Haven’t you got anything to say for yourself?”

The tent flap opened and Aiden strode in, followed by a gust of cool air. Saved by the younger brother.

He looked at his brother, then at me. “I can’t say I’m surprised, but I spoke to Trent this morning. He said you woke up the entire barracks because of an echo.”

I lowered my gaze, but not before catching Thompson’s glare.

“Why didn’t you say?” he demanded.

“Would it have changed your response?” I asked him.

“There’s no need to report anything here.” Aiden stepped between us before Thompson could reply. “I think you’d benefit from helping us on the dig, Madeline. We are always in need extra hands.”

I raised my eyebrows. First it was a demotion to running patrols, now it was down to digging through piles of dirt?

“There’s increased demon activity around the perimeter,” I argued.

“I informed the Regula of your findings,” Thompson said, “and they’re launching an investigation.”

My eyes widened. “You spoke to Wilder?”

“The Inquisitor ordered the scouting of Ben Nevis himself,” he told me.

But they didn’t need me. Wilder hadn’t checked in either, which was another blow I hadn’t expected.

“Given the circumstances, they’ve sent more experienced Naturals,” Aiden said. “We’d rather have you here, Madeline. You’ve been back for three days and Ramona was adamant about the echoes lasting for a week or more.”

“We have removed you from active duty until further notice,” Thompson stated.

“I feel fine,” I said. “I can’t be benched again. I—”

“You’re not losing your status,” Aiden said. “You’ll be able to return to duty when you’re medically cleared.”

“That’s an order.”

I glanced at Thompson and nodded. “Understood.”

“Dismissed.” He waved at his brother as if to say ‘good luck with that’. “Aiden, she’s all yours.”

Outside, Aiden gestured for me to follow him and he led me though base camp towards Camelot. Another new assignment…

I glowered, annoyed I wasn’t going to be part of the investigation of Ben Nevis, though I supposed my report had been enough. Elijah wouldn’t have been happy about me leaving Camelot anyway.

“This isn’t a punishment, Madeleine,” Aiden explained. “This might be good for you.”

Digging up broken and crusty pottery out of the ground would be good for me? What planet was he on?

“I could help Ramona in the infirmary,” I offered, seeing a chance to get myself unbound from a certain demon-hybrid. “I don’t know anything about archeology.”

“It’s easy when you know the basics,” he countered. “Besides, the infirmary doesn’t see much action. You’d just be sitting around all day.”

I narrowed my eyes. There was plenty to do in the infirmary, but I couldn’t tell him that.

“Try it,” Aiden told me. “At least until the echoes subside.”

“Aren’t you afraid I’ll break something?”

“Not at all. I’ll get you started on some basic stuff.”

“Great.”

“I have the perfect place you can start,” he said, ignoring my veiled sarcasm. “Follow me.”

I cleared my mind as we walked, thinking over my situation.

If I was going to have any chance of helping Elijah, I had to make good with everyone. Win some trust, then work my way into the infirmary and science labs and learn some basics so I could diagnose myself—all while trying to subdue my temperamental parasite.

I knew some simple things about my original mutation from when I was sick, but I hadn’t paid a lot of attention. Those early days after Scarlett had saved my soul were a blur. Then I had to deal with the loss of my Light—the very thing that made