Burn

“Ever bungee jumped before?”

Her heart slammed against her ribs. “Say what?”

“I’ll take that as a ‘no.’” Knox smiled. “Don’t worry; you’ll enjoy it.”

She gaped. “Wait, you want to bungee jump…into that?” Was he insane? Apparently so. It could be an archdemon-thing. She should probably look into that.

“We are going to jump into it. Not into the magma chamber. We’ll stop several feet above.”

He said it casually…like it was just a bus ride as opposed to a death-defying experience. “How? There’s no equipment or—” She cut off as wings suddenly snapped out of his back, fanning out behind him. “Oh. My. God.” The feathers were gold, red, and black…and on fire. Touching one of the wings, she realized they weren’t quite substantial; it was more like they were constructed of magma energy or something. Jealously crept in as she suddenly felt the absence of her own wings very acutely. The guy never ceased to amaze her. “Do all archdemons have wings?”

Nodding, he flapped his wings once. “Come on, let’s go.”

“Whoa there, Thorne…You’re going to fly us over there?”

“Yes. Then, while I’m holding tight to you, we’re going to drop.”

“Seriously?”

“You’re excited, admit it.”

Okay, yeah, an element of excitement was trickling through her. It was a terrifying idea, but it was also thrilling – she was a demon, her kind thrived on adrenalin rushes. But Harper also thrived on being alive. “Whole cities have been destroyed by eruptions of lava, gas, and ash from volcanoes. And you want to jump into one? Have you done it before?”

“A few times. Come on, you’ll enjoy it. This one only erupts at night,” he reassured her. “And it’s not like the lava or the heat coming from it can burn you.” Their skin was impervious to both. “Come here. Trust me.”

“I do.” So she stepped into his arms, both of which came around her. Then they shot into the air like a bullet. He was scaring her on purpose. “You’re an asshole!” He just chuckled. She kept her eyes closed as, still holding her tight, he flew in a horizontal position. It wasn’t long before he came to a halt, still in the air. Forcing open her eyes, she saw that they were soaring above an ash cloud.

“We’re going to drop down the throat of the volcano,” he told her.

He slowly lowered them to hover just under the cloud, and the breath left her lungs at the sight below her. Fuck. She fisted her hands tight in Knox’s shirt, locking her legs around him.

“Look.”

Oh, she was looking. She wasn’t liking. There was really nothing quite like hovering above an active volcano. As if the view of the descent into the crater wasn’t bad enough, there was the bubbling pool of red-hot, molten lava.

“You ready?”

Not really. Her heart was in her mouth, and she was pretty sure it belonged in her chest. Steeling herself, she took a long breath.

“I won’t let you fall, you know that.” He spoke into her ear. “The first time, we’ll jump feet first.”

“The first time?” Shit, what was she doing up here? Why was she putting her life in the hands of a clearly insane archdemon? Her heart was pumping rapidly, her teeth were rattling, and her hands were shaking.

“You don’t have to look down. You can just look straight ahead.”

“Get on with it. The more I think about it, the more aggravated I’m getting.” Her demon was totally up for this; it didn’t find fear an unpleasant sensation, so it wasn’t at all ruffled.

“After three.”

Why was he doing this to her?

“Three.”

Would her friends miss her at all?

“Two.”

No, she wouldn’t fret anymore. She’d meet her death with dignity.

“One.”

His wings snapped around her and they dropped. It was like time just stopped. There was absolute nothingness for one single moment. And then they were falling.

Falling.

Falling.

The wind whipped up her hair, and her stomach rolled like it did on a rollercoaster ride. Oh shit, that red-hot lava was coming at them fast. “Knox, stop!” But he didn’t. “Knox, stop!” They just kept falling and falling and—

Abruptly, his long, smooth drop halted just a few feet above the bubbling lava. “You fucking bastard!” But she was laughing. As they shot back above the ash cloud, she knew she had a wide, stupid-ass grin on her face. She had to admit the drop had been kind of exhilarating. Her hands were still shaking from the adrenalin.

His wings kept them floating. “I told you that you’d enjoy it.”

“Okay, it was a little fun.”

“If you liked that, you’ll love this.”

And then he was tipping them. “Oh no, not upside down,” she groused, gripping him even tighter. “Why do you hate me?” The view was even worse this time. Another shot of adrenalin pumped through her, making her demon almost high as a kite.

“On the count of three.” He tightened his arms around her. “Three. Two. One.”

And then they were falling again. Plummeting head-first into the crater. She would have screamed, but the sound just wouldn’t come out. And here was her good friend, lava, again. “Stop! Stop! Stop!” But of course, he didn’t. Because he was evil. She was totally seeing that now. “Knox!”