Claimed by Light by Reese Monroe

“Nope. Looks like you’re my responsibility now. So don’t fuck up, man.”
    “What’s in America?”
    Dev stopped and gave a lopsided grin. “Your kill.”
    Slade’s gut bottomed. He was finally going to do it, wasn’t he? Take a person’s life. Shit.
    “Thought it’s what you wanted?”
    “It is.”
    Dev huffed and continued walking. “Could have fooled me by how white your face went.”
    “I thought splices could be detected by the Shomrei Gatekeepers?”
    “We’re not splicing out of Hades. Votar found a way to create one that’s not detected. It’s just a one-way, though, from here to wherever. But at least it’s a start.”
    “Hey, so, I didn’t get through all of it, but I was reading up on some Shomrei stuff in that book.”
    “They’re pretty wicked creatures, huh?”
    “Wicked” wasn’t the word that came to Slade. “Amazing” was more like it. Created by The Great One to ward off evil, maintain balance. They were immortal—but gifted with a Mate to share their immortality with.
    Partners, there for each other in every respect, and that sounded pretty incredible. He’d never seen that with Mom dying so long ago, then Dad…never really believed in the whole together-forever thing, until now. Here he’d been wondering what to do after graduation— oh shit, I missed graduation! —when all along he’d been fated to be a Shomrei Mate.
    “Okay, let’s see if I’ve got this all straight. Theophilus is the eldest of all the Shomrei Gatekeepers. His Mate is Sadie. She was once a human, but then found out she’s part angel and has wings. Justin, that’s Theo’s Companion. Those are like brothers, it sounds like? Created the same way Theo was, just more of a support role—brotherly. But he’s literally tied to Theo. If he dies, Justin dies.”
    “Exactly. And Companions can be killed. Their necks aren’t protected like the Gatekeepers’. You read about his Mate, Yvonne? She was a former demon called Dyre, but Lucifer banished her to Earth for betraying an upper-level demon.” Dev shook his head. “But his banishment backfired. She’s more powerful than ever.”
    “She can’t touch anything or it dies. Except her Mate, Justin.”
    “Exactly.”
    “And the gates these Gatekeepers guard are created by demons?”
    “Over time, when evil gathers enough strength, a rip in reality forms. And if there is a demon strong enough, he can walk right through it.” Dev grinned. “The trick is, though, to evade the Gatekeepers, which is a bugger to do.”
    “And splices. Those are smaller portals.”
    “Usually very close to the gates since those are so magical. But again, the demon has to be very strong to work that one. We’re decades away from that— if we do well with gathering souls for our master.” Dev socked me in the shoulder. “You’re a quick study.”
    One good thing about demons—they kept fairly decent records. “So, these Mates—the Gatekeepers really have no choice? The Great One chooses someone for them?”
    “Fucked up, right?”
    Well, considering Lena got stuck with Slade…yeah, fucked up for her. For him, though, it was pretty sweet considering he was mated to…an angel for the most part.
    He followed Dev down the stairs and out into a yard behind the building. Trees hemmed the sprawling green grass like a fence.
    “Up ahead. See those guys?” Dev pointed to the north end of the yard.
    A shimmering slice of darkness sparkled and waved. Two huge guys flanked the oddity, hands clasped before them, monitoring their surroundings. “Guards?”
    “That’s the splice. Those guys make sure nobody sneaks out.” Dev laughed. “This is going to rock. I’ve never spliced before.”
    “How long have you been demon?”
    “Fully fanged-out for six months. We live at the university for about twelve, depending on Votar.”
    “So you taking me out after only six months, that some kind of promotion for ya?”
    “Pretty much.” They approached the splice, and