Intended Series Collection: Books 1-6 by Abigail Grant (best summer books .txt) 📗

to have an Intended. Knowing with absolution that he is my one and only makes waiting excruciating.

Only a month until the day, and I want to cherish every excruciating moment with my future husband… while also kissing him goodnight like I did tonight, and then parting ways until morning.

I might not make it a month…

I slip my baggy pajama pants and brown tank top on, and climb into bed. Only moments after hitting the fluffy pillow I’m out like a light and waking again into a much too familiar dream.

My eyes open to the dark room and I already know this is a Barron nightmare. I can feel the fogginess of being asleep now. We have been through this way too many times.

I groan and cover my face with the thick comforter. “Go away! I need some good sleep tonight, Barron!” I shout at him through the blanket, hoping he just up and leaves.

Oh wait, he is a monster.

The bed sinks by where my feet lay and I peek around the blanket to see Barron’s amused face. His dark hair is combed to the left and his long black robe is no different than ever.

“Did you not miss me, Ganis?” he asks with a tilt of his head. He seems far too cozy sneaking into my subconscious.

I sit up and shake my head. “No, I did not miss you. I had a wonderful vacation, completely demon-free. It was a dream, unlike this unwanted nightmare.”

Barron lays back on the bed with a shrug and breathy sigh. I’m taken aback by the motion. He has never acted so… normal before. I feel at a loss for what to do next.

Barron turns his head to me and watches my face closely. “Your eyes are almost entirely gold. I am surprised by how quickly things have developed for you.”

I raise an eyebrow at him. “Well, I have been hunted by demons a bit more than your average Seer-teen.” I lean back against the wooden headboard, figuring I might as well get comfy along with my tormenter. “I don’t really have a lot of time to waste, you know?”

Barron nods against the bed behind his head. “That is my fault, I suppose,” he says too easily. More like absolutely, one hundred percent your fault, you freak!

I cover my face with my hands, frustrated and just wanting to sleep. “Okay, I’m done with this, Barron. Are you ever going to come kill me, or what?” Might as well get on with the fight.

Barron sits up again and stares down at his hands. “I am almost free,” he says, almost too quiet to hear.

“Free from what?” I ask.

“You do not know this, young Ganis.” He takes a deep breath. “I am in a prison in hell. I have been here for over two months.”

I try to imagine what kind of prison hell could have. It’s already a prison in itself. “What could get a demon placed into a hell prison?” I ask with honest curiosity.

Barron lets out a deep chuckle sound. “Well, I am a very powerful being, as you may know.” I scoff at him. “In any place or community with a hierarchy of sorts, there is always a higher level of power. I happened to upset many members with more… influence than I have.”

I close my eyes and can’t imagine something worse than him. “But, what did you do to upset them? Why not just leave them alone?”

Barron tilts his head at me with an eyebrow raised. His look is pointed, like I should know the answer to my own question. “Young Ganis, this was when you were lost to me after you killed that little Thrane demon. I did what I had to do in order to get some needed information.” He shrugs. “My plan was to infiltrate those higher demon’s dreams to find out anything I could about the girl that got away. I left without the information I needed and with some time in prison.”

I shrug. “Two months isn’t a lot of time in prison. That seems pretty lenient for hell, of all places.”

Barron chuckles again but it comes out an unhappy sound. “Hell prison is no ordinary place. The days feel as if they could be years and the torture is immeasurable. It has been nothing I can not handle, though, and I will be out very soon.”

“How soon, Barron? A month? A week? Tomorrow?” I would really like to be given an exact time, but I have a feeling he won’t comply.

Barron stands from the bed and smoothes down his un-wrinkled robe. “Soon,” he says and I want to scream at him.

I throw up my hands. “Okaayy… You said that already.”

He nods and turns away from me. “Sleep, Ganis. You need it,” is all he says before I’m left alone to wake from my dream.

***

“Ouch!” Alexa yells at me from the gym floor. “Holy crap, El! You’re kicking my trash!”

I run to her and lift her off the ground. “I’m so sorry! I promise I was trying to be gentle. I can’t get a good hang of the air bending thing.”

Alexa flips her red curls away from her face and shakes her head at me. Her hands fly up in front of her. “Are you kidding?” she practically yells again. “You’ve absolutely got the hang of air, girl. And I told you a thousand times, don’t try to be gentle. Demons aren’t going to hold back so neither should you.”

I blush at her praise. We have been throwing air blasts at one another for almost an hour and I’m breathing heavily from the fight. “I don’t want to hurt you though. You’re not my enemy, Lex.”

She rolls her eyes at me and an evil smirk stretches across her pink freckled cheeks. “You need an enemy to get you goin’, huh?” She clenches her fists at her sides. “Okay,” she says easily, and runs at me.

I squeal and try to dodge her attack but I’m too late. Her shoulder rams