Due to the closure of Noble Romance Publishing, this title is currently not available

Nakita Branson made a deal with a demon to rescue her best friend. But when things don't go the demon's way, he dumps her off on a derelict spacestation with no money and no way of getting home.

A year later, Nakita is still searching for her friend, but finds trouble instead. And the only thing worse than the possibility of getting killed by a fanatical jerk? A familiar green-eyed demon turning up just in time to save her. Alastor is back with news that the contract they agreed to is still intact and until he can find a way to break it, he is compelled to protect her.

The last thing Nakita wants to do is go anywhere with the demon who has a history of screwing her over. Not only that, but when he looks at her with that emerald gaze, intense enough to burn, she feels something she shouldn't for the gorgeous demon.
With the demon monarchy in chaos and enemies all over the universe, they are forced to rely on each other while unraveling the mystery of two sacred relics, and the contract that still binds them. But, by the time Alastor and Nakita find a way to sever their deal, the idea of being apart may no longer be what either of them wants.

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Excerpt

Chapter One

Eros Quadrant, Coeus Galaxy

Getting killed wasn't her idea of a good outcome for this mission. Oh, she'd known it would be dangerous. Assignments didn't come much more perilous than breaking into a demon's mansion on Ishtar's second moon. Despite the risks, she'd believed they'd get the task done and come out alive.
Nakita Branson tried to shift her cramped legs without moving around too much. Along with her teammate, Gerek, she'd been crouched in this alcove for over an hour, half-hidden behind some kind of bureau. In the hall beyond, six demons were halfway through what smelled like a curry banquet, discussing where to base their next offensive against the angels. For a while, her heart had pounded, and she'd found it hard to breath with her chest so tight from apprehension, but as the minutes went by and they weren't discovered, she'd managed to relax a fraction.
They'd come here to gather intelligence. So far, so good. But they'd cut their timing too close and hadn't been able to set themselves up in an adequate hiding place, hence their last-minute jump behind the carved, wooden cupboard.
Another careful, tiny shift to ease her aching muscles. They'd gone through a whole lotta trouble getting here; she'd hate to get them both killed over cramps in her thighs.
She sighed as she moved again, and Gerek shot her a warning look, his muddy blue eyes narrowing with anger. If they happened to get out of this alive, she just knew he'd have words for her. As a high council member of the Human Counteroffensive against Angels and Demons, Gerek was nothing if not dedicated to the cause. He'd no doubt tell her to practice crouching, so next time she got stuck somewhere, she wouldn't get pains and need to fidget so much.
But then, Gerek was also a fricking asshole.
At the sound of chairs scraping across the stone floor, she turned to peek out into the hall. The demons were on the move at last, leaving for some sort of "entertainment" in another part of the manor house. Gerek held up a hand. What, like she'd jump up right away and stroll out into the dining hall? Yeah, right. She didn't want to go prove to Gerek that she was as bad at this subterfuge stuff as he seemed to think. Another minute went by in silence, and at last, Gerek nodded. He stood, slipping out between the wall and the sideboard.
She followed with a limp, not wanting to think about how Gerek eased through the opening with no problem, while she had to turn to the side a little to fit her hips through. Time to lay off the chocolate cream puffs.
Across the large, cavernous space of the hall, Hyatt and Mira appeared from wherever they'd hidden themselves. Hyatt grimaced as he rubbed his lower back. At least she hadn't been the only one contorted into an uncomfortable position for the last hour.
"Did you get it all recorded?" Gerek asked as they stopped by the large, stone table in the center of the room. Half-empty, delicious-smelling dishes littered the surface. Her stomach rumbled, and she debated how much trouble she might get into from Gerek if she helped herself to a serving. Nah. Probably wouldn't be worth the lecture. Or the indigestion.
Mira nodded and touched the comm-pack in her ear. "Every word."
"Good, that leaves one final thing." Gerek brushed past her and walked over to the hearth, ornately carved and big enough to fit them all in standing up, with room to spare. It looked too clean for a fireplace and had nothing in it. Gerek stepped over the grate and went to the back wall, where he depressed a palm-sized stone at shoulder height.
The whole thing shook. Fine dust and old soot peppered the air and fell around Gerek as the entire back section of stone moved with a grating, groaning noise.
Anxiety shot through her, and she glanced toward the end of the room at the large, double doors, sure a whole bunch of demons would appear and smoke them
before she could draw another breath. But the doors stayed closed, and the room fell silent again when the hearth stopped shaking. Beyond the opening, a long, dark tunnel stretched, with a small light visible at the end.
Anger took over her unease. "Gerek, what the fricking hell are you doing? This wasn't part of the plan."
"Not an official part, no. But I had to take the opportunity if I saw it." He walked into the yawning hole, not waiting for any of them to follow. Hyatt glanced at her, shrugged, and stepped over the grate, jogging a bit to catch up with their leader.
Mira stopped next to her, a frown creasing her features. "He better not be doing what I think he's doing."
How come Mira knew about this and she didn't? "And what might that be?"
"Sacred relics. Supposedly, the demon Melchom had two hidden here."
An icy chill slid through her. Oh, hell no. They were not touching those things, not for all the stars in the sky. And she thought she'd be the one who would get them killed.
She jumped over the grate and ran down the shadowed passage, but by the time she reached the end, Gerek and Hyatt were already coming out of the room. She came to a halt and looked in. A very empty-looking room. Two pedestals stood in the middle under dim lights, with nothing displayed atop them.
"Put them back." The words came out short, her breath hard to catch from her run and because of Gerek's utter stupidity.
Gerek glared at her. "Get back to the ship. That's an order."
She stepped into his path. "Put them back, Gerek. You can't begin to imagine the trouble you're asking for."
"Get out of my way." He shoved her in the shoulder, thrusting her into the wall of the tunnel, making her back ache where bone struck stone.
Undaunted, she trailed him along the corridor. A few bruises were nothing compared to what the demons, or hell, even the angels, would do to them when they discovered who had possession of whatever relics Gerek had stolen. She'd already had
the misfortune of getting mixed up in something like this before. And it'd destroyed her life.
"I mean it! If you don't put them back, we'll be hunted to the ends of the—"
Gerek came to a sudden halt right in front of her. She skidded to a stop, managing to not crash into him at the last second.
Beyond Gerek, three forms blocked the tunnel's entrance. In the center of the hearth, Mira lay crumpled at the feet of the nearest demon. Nakita wanted to believe they'd simply knocked Mira out, but if Nakita went on her past experience with demons, it would be wishful thinking.
"Naughty, naughty humans. Don't you know it's rude to sneak into demons' houses and steal their hidden treasures?" The demon who'd spoken had dark green eyes and dark blond hair. Something about him seemed oddly familiar. "What do you think we should do with them, Prince Balan?" the demon asked, his tone sounding pleasant and contradictory to his menacing appearance.
"I don't know, Abaddon, what do you feel like doing?" The prince sounded bored.
The third demon sighed. "Can you just kill them already so we can get back to the meeting? King Asmoday will notice if I'm gone much longer."
"You never want to do anything but work, Malphas." Abaddon flicked a brief glance over at Hyatt, who silently collapsed to the tunnel floor.
An almost overwhelming spurt of terror iced Nakita's limbs. She or Gerek would most definitely be next.
A disappointed expression flitted across Abbadon's face. "Well, that didn't present much of a challenge."
Stepping over Mira, the demon closed in on them, staring at Gerek. "You. Give me the ring and the emerald."
Gerek laughed. "If you can take them from me, you're welcome to them."
Her heart had taken up a furious pound in her chest, leaving her with a weak, dizzy sensation. Gerek was going to get them killed. She guessed she had two, maybe three minutes left to live.
If only it were enough time to fricking kill Gerek herself.
Abaddon's deep green gaze landed on her, and she felt his energy, his power wrapping around her. But she knew no matter how much he tried, he wouldn't be able to get into her head. She'd discovered through another demon sometime ago that telepathic persuasion techniques didn't work on her.
"Take the relics from him and bring them to me."
She shook her head, her feet telling her to move back, but her stubborn streak kept her right where she stood.
Abaddon closed in on her, a considering expression on his face. "You're closed, I can't access your mind, yet your friend is the one who holds the relics and uses their powers. So what's your story?"
The demon completed a lap around both her and Gerek, like they were some sort of exhibition to study.
The prince sighed and crossed his arms. "As interesting as that apparently is, can we get back to business? I do have other matters to attend to today."
"I heard of a woman once who could resist the mind thrall of a demon." Abaddon's gaze glinted as it swept over her, making her feel like she needed to find a shower and bucket of soap. "And I can't imagine there are so many women in the universe capable of such a feat. So tell me, you wouldn't happen to be Nakita, would you?"
She didn't move a muscle, not wanting to give anything away, but Gerek shot her an accusing glance. There didn't seem to be any point trying to hide her identity when Gerek might as well have waved a banner.
"Nice to know my reputation precedes me." Amazing, but she sounded far more calm and confident than she felt.
Abaddon shook his head. "Not so, my lady. I just happen to know the right demons."
"I don't suppose since you can't do your mind-mojo on me, we could just give the relics back and you'd let us go?"
The demon smiled, but the expression went no farther than his lips. "You, more than anyone, should know we don't work that way."
Gerek's accusing gaze turned into a full, suspicious scowl. The man was an idiot. Did he honestly believe she'd ever work with the demons?
"I'll give you one last chance to hand over the relics." While Abaddon focused on Gerek, she sidled to the side, nearer to the tunnel wall. Not that she thought she'd be able to escape, but standing too close to Gerek when the demon looked at him like that didn't seem like such a smart idea. Adrenaline thrummed through her system, which made her consider trying to run for it. But fear hadn't totally eroded her common sense; if she fled, she wouldn't get far.
Gerek held out both hands like he planned on pushing Abaddon out of the way, but instead, an incredible wave of energy surged outward from him, knocking all the demons flat on their backs and shaking the whole mansion, rumbling like an earth tremor on an unstable planet.
Dust trickled down around her, followed by pebbles, and then larger-sized stones as the quavering at last subsided. A head-sized rock fell between her and Gerek. She didn't need any other warning. She leaped over the fallen demons—and god, poor Mira and Hyatt—ducked her head, and sprinted the short distance to the opening.
Out in the dining hall, the large, stone table had cracked right down the middle. Food and broken dishes splattered across the floor. The oversized wooden doors hung crooked on their hinges, and the one on the left sagged with a splintering crack as she passed between them.
Throughout the house, similar destruction reigned, although the effects lessened the farther she got from the dining hall. The results of Gerek's attack stunned her. It seemed those relics gave the possessor potent powers.
When she reached the side door they'd slipped in through earlier in the day, she realized Gerek followed only a few steps behind her. Not bothering to check for possible threats, she continued her dash across the barren garden of stones and grotesque statues, over the rock wall, and down the pebbled incline that gave extra height to the already imposing manor.
By the time they reached the small, rocky valley where they'd left the ship, her lungs burned and her legs ached from over-exertion.
Gerek had the auto-controller to unlock the ship, so she had to stop and wait for him to get the doors open. She turned, finding Gerek had paused several steps away, the fanatical, unstable glint back in his gaze as he stared at her. How had she never noticed before the guy was fricking insane?
He pointed a finger at her. "You've been working with the demons all along, haven't you? I suppose they know everything, where our base is, how many we've recruited, what our plans are."
She rolled her eyes. "No, Gerek, I haven't. Can we please get out of here before they pick themselves up off the floor and decide to come roast us?" Crazy, he might be, but she wouldn't be getting off this hellhole of a moon without him.
Gerek took two steps closer to her, his fists clenching. "Then how did that demon know you? How did they know we'd gone into the secret chamber to get the relics?"
"I don't know! Did you ever consider they had some sort of security system that would alert them when someone was trying to steal their sacred treasures? Can we talk about this on the ship while we're escaping, please?" She motioned to the hatch behind her, still locked up tight. "I'll tell you everything you want to know, but for now, you're going to have to trust that I'm not and never would work with the demons."
He shook his head, and she could see her words weren't getting through to him. He'd made up his mind when it came to her guilt and wouldn't hear anything else.
"Tell me how you know that demon!"
She threw her hands up, frustration and fear mixing into a mire of apprehensiveness aching in her stomach. "I can't, because I have no idea who that demon was. If you'd just listen to what I'm telling—"
His fist smashed into the side of her face, knocking her into the unforgiving hull of the ship. She cracked her elbow and hip before bouncing off and landing in a heap on the ground. Blackness ate at the edges of her vision, trying to suck her down, making her head pound, but she rolled over to face Gerek. She'd no doubt if she passed out, he'd either kill her or leave her here, in which case she'd be dead anyway.
Forcing her swimming vision to focus, she glared up at him as he unholstered his ion blaster and aimed it at her face. His expression looked twisted, enraged; it should have terrified her, but something just behind him caught her attention, a swirl of silver red mist that seemed to materialize out of thin air. She blinked, trying to ignore how everything around her tilted as the mist turned into a man. A tall, lean, blond man with emerald green eyes.
Alastor.
A wave of power, like super-heated energy, rolled over her, reminding her of every damn second she'd spent with him, causing her body to react in ways she'd forgotten and didn't want to think about. She pushed up onto her elbows, not sure who she should be more afraid of, Gerek, or the demon.
Gerek went to take a step toward her, but Alastor reached out, grabbed Gerek's head, and twisted. The muted cracking of bones breaking beneath flesh ended before she quite understood what had happened. Gerek dropped to the ground, his head in an unnatural position, muddy blue eyes staring off toward nothing. Her breath hitched in her chest, the throbbing in her head making her stomach lurch. She sucked in a gasp of air and swallowed over the urge to throw up. Alastor stepped over Gerek's body, catching her attention when he crouched down in front of her.
"You killed him." Her voice came out so high-pitched, she might as well have joined a choir as a soprano.
Alastor flicked an icy green gaze over the body and then looked back at her. "Yes, that tends to happen when you twist someone's head around too far."
She sat up, wishing the ground would stop moving beneath her. "But, why?"
He shrugged. "It's what I do. I'm the Executioner."
His flippant answer dredged up some annoyance, helping the shock wear off and reminding her of all the things she'd considered doing to him if she ever got her hands on his demon-ass again.
Around a year ago, she'd cut a deal with him to help a friend. He'd dragged her halfway across the universe, and then when things hadn't worked out, dumped her off on Vesta Station, a derelict, out of the way spacestation mostly frequented by mercenaries and traders too poor to dock at newer spaceports. It'd taken her months and a heap of money to get away from there. Fricking bastard. She'd sworn at the time if she ever saw him again, she'd scratch his eyes out, demon or not. But as months had gone by and she'd started working with HCAAD, her anger at him had turned inward, and she cringed at the way she'd let him use her to his own ends. Then, she hadn't wanted to seek revenge so much as avoid him at all cost. No way in hell would she have ever come on this assignment if she'd known he would be here.
"No, I mean, what are you doing here, on this moon?"
"I was in the neighborhood." Frowning, he reached out and touched the side of her face. She tried to pull back from him, but all the spinning going on in her head hampered her reaction time. He held up his fingers, the tips covered in blood. Her blood. She hadn't even realized she'd been injured.
He went to touch her again, and she batted his hand away, shoving to her feet, wooziness be damned. "So, what, you thought you'd drop by and see how far you could screw me over again?"
He stood in a single, fluid movement, gesturing to Gerek. "That piece of refuse intended to kill you. I don't think I was the one who was going to screw you over."
"Well, thanks for the help, but now I have a dead body to explain." Several dead bodies. What would HCAAD Command say when she returned alone, especially
without Gerek? Would they believe whatever she told them, or begin to suspect her of duplicity as Gerek had? Over the past few months, she'd started questioning just how smart it'd been to get involved with the fanatical group. But she'd heard rumors that some among the top ranking members knew where to find Sanctuary, a planet of legend where humans, demons, and angels all lived in harmony and where her best friend, Tori, had disappeared to last year. Infiltrating HCAAD had seemed like the easiest way to find the mystical planet.
Recalling her resolve to find Tori, she took a step to get around Alastor, but her brain didn't agree with moving. What little sense of balance she'd regained fled, and she stumbled as the ground seemed to slant off at an impossible angle. An arm went around her waist, and the hand she'd thrown out to catch herself landed up against a warm, contoured chest. The strange, vibrating purr of unadulterated power she'd spent months repressing, surged through her, making her want to sink against him and enjoy the ride until it sent her over the edge.
Instead, she pushed away, more than aware he could refuse to let her go and easily hold on to her if he'd half a mind to. He released her, but she didn't say thanks or even look at him. With a steadying breath and staying upright by sheer willpower alone, she walked the few steps over to Gerek and glanced down at his body, nausea ripping her insides. She'd seen too many dead bodies today, too many in the past year. But she needed the auto-controller for the ship if she wanted to get away from here.
She sensed Alastor come up behind her. Though he couldn't get into her mind or use demon mind-thrall on her, somehow, she'd always been aware of him on a level that defied explanation. She could close her eyes and still be able to tell where he stood, how far he was from her, and even get a slight sense of what he felt at any given moment. She'd done her best to ignore the strange sensation in the few days she'd spent with him last year, but now the familiar, delicious buzz of it sparked to life within her.
Alastor leaned over her, his chest brushing her shoulder. "I can sense some sort of power. Where's it coming from?"
With everything that'd happened, she'd almost forgotten about the ancient artifacts. Damn cursed things. "Gerek stole a couple of sacred relics from the manor house."
Alastor moved around her and dropped into a crouch. He fished through Gerek's clothes until he produced an emerald half the size of his palm and a small, bronze-colored ring with symbols inlaid around it.
He turned back to her and stood, swirling fire in his gaze, which matched the emerald perfectly. "How did you know about these?"
She shrugged and dropped down, pursing her lips in disgust as she repeated Alastor's movements to find the auto-controller. "I didn't. It was all Gerek. They were in some hidden chamber in the dining room. I thought we came to gather information about the demon's next attack against the angels, but Gerek apparently had other ideas." Her fingers touched the smooth metal casing of the remote. She pulled it out and then stood. "You're welcome to take them back to your demon buddies up in the manor house. Personally, I'm getting out of here before they kill me as well."
She pressed the auto-controller, and the hatch slid open. The air smelled slightly sterile from the environs filter as she walked into the cool interior of the ship.
Alastor followed her in. "Do you have any idea what these mean?"
She shook her head, climbing up to the small cockpit and flipping controls to bring the ship online before she sat in the pilot's chair. "I don't want to know, all right? You should remember how things turned out last time I got mixed up with sacred relics. And I wasn't even the one who saw the damn thing. So you can just take them and get the hell off my ship."
Alastor came and stood over her, and she resisted the urge to look up into his swirling, mysterious eyes. She'd forgotten how easy it could be to get lost in their depths. Get a grip; he's a fricking demon. He'd kill you in a flash if he had to, or even just because the whim struck him.
"They won't let you go, Niki. They'll find you and kill you, just because you know about them, because you've seen them. In fact, they'll probably send me to do it."
Her heart stuttered over his use of Niki, the word sounding so luscious in that elegant, refined accent of his, which seemed so contradictory to everything he stood for. Self-loathing over her sick desire for a demon fueled her anger, and she spun in the chair to glare up at him. "Then how about you just do it now and save us all a lot of wasted time?"
"I agree, Alastor. Do it now. It'll save a lot of time."
The voice off to her left startled her out of the stare-down with Alastor. At the sight of Abaddon standing in the doorway of the cockpit, she shot up from the pilot's chair and moved back until she bumped into the control console.
Abaddon held out a hand. "If I might have the relics, brother?"
"He's your brother?" The words slipped out before her mind kicked into gear. Of course. She could see it now, why Abaddon had looked so familiar. That's how he'd known her.
Alastor nodded. "Abaddon is my younger brother. While I am the Executioner, he is the Destroyer."
A nervous laugh escaped, making her sound on the verge of hysteria. Could she have picked any two more dangerous demons to get mixed up with? "That sounds like quite a family business you've got going there."
Alastor crossed his arms and glared at Abaddon, not looking like he intended on cooperating any time soon, the relics nowhere to be seen. "What are you doing here, Abaddon? And why does Orias have sacred relics hidden in his mansion? More to the point, how do you know about them?"
Abaddon took on a similar stance, and Nakita eased sideways along the control console toward the door. If they were going to start fighting, it'd give her an opportunity to escape. Not that she had anywhere to go. Fricking hell. Why, oh why had she come along on this half-assed assignment?
"Orias was simply storing them for Melchom. I know of many things that you do not, brother. And what I'm doing here is none of your business."
"When you meet at a marquis' house in secret where there are sacred relics present, I think it does concern me. What are you up to, and what would Father have to say about it?"
Abaddon scoffed and shook his head. "You're forever bringing Father into things, like I care. This goes much farther up the demon hierarchy than you can imagine. You and Father will always be too shortsighted to see the truth of what needs to be done."
Alastor's emerald eyes darkened as his expression took on a hard edge, and she knew things were about to get serious. She made a dash for the hatchway, but the panel slammed closed in front of her. Abaddon's arm snaked around her waist, pulling her to him, plastering her against his front.
"Going somewhere, my sweet?" He took a rough handful of her hair and pulled until her eyes watered. She braced her hands against his chest, wanting to be as far from him as possible, but unable to go anywhere.
"Let her go, Abaddon, she has nothing to do with this."
She wanted to look back at Alastor, wanted to know he'd save her from his scary-ass brother, but the demon held her so tight, she couldn't move without risking her hair being pulled from her scalp.
Abaddon gave a short laugh, and then leaned down to inhale deeply against the skin of her neck. Ewww. Her flesh crawled. If she got out of this alive, she'd need to shower for a week straight.
"Actually, she has everything to do with it. Don't you think the demon monarchy is a bit concerned about the fact there's a human wandering around the universe who can resist mind-thrall? What if it's a learned behavior and she can teach others how to do it? Or what if it's genetic and she has offspring that spawn a whole generation of plebs who can't be mind-controlled? Did you ever think of any of that when you let her waltz off into the stars last year?"
"I made a deal with her and couldn't do anything about it other than let her go. And if she's such a concern, why hasn't anyone killed her since?"
She deflated a little, Alastor's words like a bucket of ice in the face. Had she forgotten for even a second that he was a demon and the only reason he hadn't killed her was because of their deal? Because she'd bargained into the agreement that neither he, nor anyone else, human, demon, or angel, could hurt her. And a demon's word, a demon's deal, became contract. Alastor had to uphold it no matter how he might feel otherwise. She needed to remember he'd only been protecting her, only resisted killing her for that reason alone.
Of course, all bets had been off since they'd parted ways and the deal had been done. So, why hadn't he come back to kill her?
Abaddon sent Alastor a flat look. "We are in the middle of a four-hundred year war, don't forget. It's not as if we have the resources to pursue one insignificant human halfway across the galaxy."
"Oh, so now she's insignificant. You should make up your mind, little brother." Alastor sounded bored, and Abaddon's expression became irritated, his body tensing where she could feel him pressed against her.
"I'm going to kill her, and then we'll talk about those relics." Abaddon's grip changed, holding her head more firmly like Alastor had grabbed Gerek's. Icy fear lanced through her, and she squeezed her eyes shut, not caring that facing her death with her eyes closed probably made her a coward.
"Stop!" Alastor's roar bounced around the confines of the cockpit, making her eyes snap open in surprise. She sensed he'd moved nearer and some emotion close to panic rolled off him.
Abaddon's smile looked evil and malevolently amused. "Whatever's the matter, Alastor? Anyone would think you don't want me to kill the human."
She dropped her arms from Abaddon's chest, and her hand brushed something protruding at his hip. A sword. Every demon carried one, as old-fashioned as it seemed when modern weapons were so effective. Without thinking about it too much, she wrapped both hands around the hilt and yanked backward. Abaddon looked down at
her a second before she shoved forward again, thrusting the sword in wherever she could. The injury wouldn't kill him, but it might slow him down a little.
Abaddon made an oomph noise as his grip loosened on her. She released the sword and wrenched out of his hold, slamming into Alastor. His hands came down on her shoulders, fingers tight enough on her flesh to bruise, and propelled her behind him as he unsheathed his own sword.
His features twisted into a grimace of pain, Abaddon grabbed the hilt of his sword, and with a grotesque yank, pulled it out of his stomach. He held the blade up, his other palm pressing over the wound where blood welled, soaking his shirt and pants. "Don't make me do your job for you. Execute her or stand aside, Alastor. We both know the human needs to be destroyed."
"I can't let you slay her." Alastor pointed his sword at his brother, the two tips almost touching. Abaddon might have been frightening, but Alastor exuded a lethal grace, his tall, lean, muscled body poised to attack with fatal elegance.
Abaddon growled. "I will kill you to get to her, Alastor, make no mistake. I would be quite happy to inherit the dukedom when Father dies." His expression twisted into a malicious grin. "Maybe I'll send him to hell shortly after you."
"Be careful, brother, you speak of blasphemy. Do you really think the king will let you inherit if you've dispatched everyone who stands in your way?"
"The king may not be so far behind you." Abaddon swung his sword out in an arc, making her squeak and scuttle backward as Alastor surged forward to block the strike. Though injured, Abaddon seemed to have a driving strength behind his fight, forcing Alastor back a few steps closer to her.
She moved into a corner between the control console and the bulkhead, crouching to make herself a smaller target.