Chapter 21

With her dress hitched up around her waist and Caine’s body pressed against her, it took a few moments to register what was happening.

Josiah gripped a can of iron dust, and before anyone could stop him, he unleashed a spray.

With Rosalind wrapped around him, Caine’s muscles tensed. The dust burned the aura off his skin. It must be excruciating pain. His heart beat against her, strong and rhythmic—at least she’d healed him.

Rage contorted Josiah’s face. “You’re not going to control my mind again, incubus. I look forward to watching you burn.”

Rosalind unlocked her legs from Caine as he lowered her to the ground, and she tugged down the hem of her dress. “Josiah. You found us.” She tried to steady her voice.

“Rosalind. I came back to tell you about my progress. I’ve been on the phone all night, begging General Loring to consider your case, and I think he was starting to listen.” His voice cracked. “And then I track you again, and I find you with your legs wrapped around a demon, letting him use you as his plaything. There I was, like an idiot, telling General Loring that you were pure. That you were going to get an exorcism.”

All at once, her encounter with the sybil came flooding back to her. Caine’s kiss had been a distraction, but it didn’t erase the fact that she’d just learned her life was over. There was no way to get the exorcism she so desperately needed.

“Josiah—” she began.

“I told you to stay away from him. I should’ve seen what the other Hunters told me. You’re nothing but a whore.”

The disgust in his voice sent a flash of anger through her. This wasn’t just about Hunters and demons, about good and evil, about fighting for what was right. Caine, for all of his arrogance and obnoxiousness, had been on to something: Josiah wanted control over her body.

She crossed her arms. “The incubus needed healing.”

“He’s a predator, you idiot,” Josiah said. “He’s using you.”

“He’s helping me, and I stabbed him in the chest. Anyway, why do I need to explain myself to you? For one thing, you broke up with me, and for another, you were supposed to be acting as my Guardian—not my stalker.”

“He’s an animal.” Josiah took a step closer, flecks of spittle flying from his lips. “You should never have been anywhere near him, but you couldn’t resist throwing yourself at him.”

“I’ve been stuck with the demons out of necessity.” Fury ignited in her heart. “That’s what happens when the Brotherhood wants to throw you in one of their interrogation rooms. You end up fighting for your life and joining forces with the demons.” Seven hells. She’d just officially declared herself on the side of the demons, to a high-ranking representative of the Brotherhood. Was this really happening? She was still hoping to wake from the world’s longest nightmare.

Josiah stepped closer. “I should have known your softness was something other than compassion. It was merely your repulsive, corrupted soul, drawn to the other abominations like a bitch in heat.”