Chapter 123 Chapter 123
She smiled, taking his hand. “Whatever you say,” she hummed and guided him to a part of the couch that wasn’t occupied by the other demons yet. She got comfortable next to him and looked at their visitors curiously. Everyone was here except for Vaughn, who probably had decided it was smarter to stay with Esther in the current situation, and she could understand that.
A certain green-haired demon was suddenly very interested in Valerie’s disheveled state and her flushed cheeks, spotting something on her neck. “Did we interrupt you?” Xander asked and snickered obnoxiously when he saw Maxwell’s gaze darken considerably, a scowl appearing.
“Not at all,” Valerie smiled nervously, but she hadn’t counted on the demon’s loudmouthed behavior. He blurted it out before she could stop him.
“You did, and I should fry you for that,” Maxwell threatened and sent a beam of light towards Xander, who evaded by teleporting a little bit to the left.
“Ruining your fun is the best thing ever,” Xander admitted shamelessly, making Maxwell groan in anger. “You’re still wearing clothes though, so it couldn’t have been that much fun…”
Valerie’s face resembled the color of Liam’s hair. She wanted to melt into the ground when all the demons in the room stared at her without hiding their amusement.
“Well, that’s only because you bastards arrived the second I wanted to get rid of her clothes,” Maxwell grumbled.
“Excuse me? Can you not just… say it so blatantly?” she squeaked.
“Huh? Why not?” he asked and arched an eyebrow. “It’s the truth.”
She hit his arm before hiding her red cheeks behind her hands. Did he not have any manners?
“Next time you have to be faster,” Liam cut in, smirking knowingly.
“Obviously.”
Valerie cursed under her breath and sent Liam a death glare. “Don’t look at me like that,” he said haughtily. “You’ll thank me soon enough.”
“Water demons are the worst,” she grumbled under her breath, already thinking of a reply, but she was distracted when Maxwell put his hand on her thigh, effectively stealing her attention. She raised her head and met his eyes, seeing them sparkle in mirth. Even after all the teasing and taunting, he was having fun with the situation; she couldn’t believe it.
“Calm down, they’re just joking.”
She sighed. “Okay.”
“But I was serious,” he then added cheekily.
She hit his arm again, but he didn’t even feel it, grinning widely. Valerie couldn’t stay angry at him for long. She was too relieved to see him awake, alive, and smiling. The corners of her lips quirked up, and she beamed at him, surprising him with her radiant smile.
“What now?” he asked and raised his eyebrows when she clutched his arm, linking her fingers with his.
“Nothing,” she replied. “Just glad you’re here.”
\---
With the other demons gathered in Maxwell’s living room, his house was quite crowded and lively. They had been talking about what had happened with Zane before Xander remembered something that he had yet to tell Maxwell and Valerie.
“Maxwell,” Xander said, gaining his attention. All playfulness was gone from his voice, a scowl appearing instead of his usual haughty smirk. “There’s something you should know.”
“What is it?” Maxwell asked hesitantly. He knew that whatever it was about, it was bad when even Xander deemed it serious enough to be an issue. He was a carefree demon who acted recklessly and took risks, not minding the outcome.
“When Nicholas Clarke and I found you in the forest, you were both unconscious,” he started. “And you were not alone. Someone else was lurking nearby, I sensed it. Whoever it was is very good at hiding their presence, but they couldn’t fool me.”
Cold dread pooled in Maxwell’s stomach when he realized how quickly this could have gone out of hand. With both of them unconscious, they would have been easy prey to whoever had been out there. It unsettled and infuriated him. He curled his hands into fists, inwardly cursing himself for being weak again. Why did he fail whenever success mattered the most?
“Shit,” he cursed angrily. “I didn’t notice.”
“Of course you didn’t, you were half dead,” Xander hissed, but received a warning glare from Shawn.
“Xander,” he snapped. “Shut up.”
“He’s right, Shawn. I was reckless, and it could have ended with us both dying,” Maxwell replied. “I shouldn’t have used so much of my magic when I fought Zane, but I wanted to defeat him quickly.” His slumped posture made him look crushed and tired. He pinched the bridge of his nose and heaved a sigh.
“The thing is,” Xander continued seriously, “I’m sure that it was a creature more sinister than a demon. Their aura was… peculiar.”
“What could be more sinister than a demon?” Valerie asked under her breath, fear creeping into her heart. She wasn’t even sure if she wanted to know the answer to that.
The attention of everyone in the room rested on Xander as he exhaled and crossed his arms. “A blood mage,” he said grimly.
“Are you sure about this, Xander? I didn’t notice anyone,” Thorne cut in. He had a worried crease in his brow and leaned against the wall not far from Xander.
“I didn’t imagine it, Nicholas Clarke. Someone was there, and they didn’t have good intentions for sure,” the green-haired demon persisted.
“If it really was a blood mage, I would assume that they wanted to kill you for their own gain,” Liam said coolly, curling his lips in distaste. “They must have smelled easy prey.”
“Yes, and if Nicholas Clarke and I hadn’t interfered, you and Valerie would be dead now,” Xander snapped at Maxwell.
Maxwell cursed through clenched teeth, tension rising in his body. He completely ignored Valerie when she tried to get his attention by resting her hand on his arm. She knew that he hadn’t taken Xander’s words well. For whatever reason, they seemed to make him very uneasy.
“Maxwell?” Valerie whispered, unsurely. When he finally raised his head to look at her, she saw severe guilt in his eyes and faltered at the intensity of it. Couldn’t Xander give him a break after what he went through? She found his behavior unbelievable. Even if someone had been watching them, he could have worded it more nicely, but that probably wasn’t something that the demon was capable of…
“Xander… just leave him be,” she grumbled and unexpectedly hit him with a beam of light magic. He cursed, holding his aching arm as he glowered at her.
“Fuck, Valerie. Since when are you this aggressive? Is the dumbass rubbing off on you?” he complained, but he also looked mildly impressed since he hadn’t expected her to be able to use magic like this.
“Are you embarrassed because you got caught off guard by a human?” she said sassily and stuck her tongue out at him. “You'd better behave next time.”