Page 46 of All Your Deadly Truths (The Filthy Duet #2)

Xeraphine

T his morning, as I rolled out of bed and caught my reflection in the mirror, I felt a twinge of gratitude.

My Amoro was finally beginning to recede, retreating back into me.

My eyes, now their usual silvern hue, glow faintly, full of the energy I had drawn in.

Kai was pleased that my tail was still poking through the hole I’d torn in my leggings.

I, however, was less thrilled—especially since it meant my horns were still curled prominently atop my head.

Although I’m not particular to sharing Kai beyond last night, I can’t deny how euphoric it was to bask in two seemingly endless lifeforces.

That said, as much as I appreciated my princess, her sweetness was far too cloying for my taste.

It’s the kind of indulgence that might be enjoyable in small doses but would make me sick over time.

A knock on the door comes as I finish brushing my teeth. My good mood shifts sharply when I open the hotel room door and see Alaric leaning casually against the doorframe.

“Good—”

I close the door and retreat back inside, not allowing him to finish.

Kairhyse is in the shower, and Sydni has gone off to get ready. I know I should just deal with this—have the conversation with Alaric and get it over with—but part of me doesn’t want to hear whatever he has to say.

I pop my head through the open bathroom door. “I’m going to talk with angel-boy.”

A low, irritated groan rolls from Kai’s throat. “If you must.”

“We’ll be downstairs. I’ll likely be devouring some shitty hotel breakfast when you find me.”

That gets a chuckle from him, low and amused. “You miss my pancakes, don’t you, little demon?”

More than you’ll ever know…

“Sure. If that strokes your ego.”

He barks out a laugh. “I definitely want you stroking…”

His words trail off as I stride out of the bathroom and head for the door. Without hesitation, I open it and step into the hallway. Alaric is still here, leaning casually against the wall, his arms crossed over his chest.

His slanted blue eyes rake over my body before finally settling on my face. Now that I know he comes from those holier-than-thou beings, it’s easy to see why he looks the way he does. Of course they’d bless their own kind with appearances designed to be irresistible and undeniable.

As he pushes off the wall to stand straight, he steps toward me, his movements unhurried yet deliberate. “Time for our turn to chat?”

I thrust my finger in his face, my nail pressing against the tip of his nose. “Listen, this chat is just that. Talking. Don’t touch me, don’t look lower than my collarbone. I’m sick of your shit already and it’s been only a few days.”

A feathery laugh vibrates from his throat. “As you wish, Xeraphine.”

We make our way down to the lobby and then to the dining hall, which has only a few residents quietly eating their breakfast. The aroma of food hits me as soon as we enter—it actually smells pretty good, though maybe I’m just starving.

My stomach’s been growling since the moment I rolled out of bed.

After loading up a plate with bacon, eggs, pancakes, and some fruit, we settle at a small, round table that faces the waterfall outside.

The weather matches my mood—overcast with a light drizzle, making the view a little dull.

Honestly, I prefer this kind of sullen weather over warm, sunny tropics any day.

Still, if I had a choice, I’d take silence and a fireplace, alone with Kairhyse, over this conversation I’m about to have with this piss-stain.

“I already know what information you want, and I’ll offer that first. Maybe your hostility toward me will lessen.”

Judging by his scent, he truly believes that. Oh, how wrong he is. Playing me is one thing, but that Werewolf tricking my princess? That’s intolerable. He’ll have to grovel at my feet, lick between my toes, and suck my ankles before I even consider forgiving him for that bullshit.

I don’t bother responding. Instead, I snap a piece of bacon between my teeth, my eyes locked on him expectantly.

“The God I served was Serynne. She sent me beyond the Vayl to find Proserpina’s reincarnation and stop a mass reproduction of your kind.” My eyebrow pops up. “I’m sure you understand the Divine Twelve and their purposes.”

“I know of them.”

Truthfully, I’m only knowledgeable of Vaeloris. Why would a Demon, who technically serves Belial, whom was the thirteenth divine cast out by the almighty Himself, want to learn about their kind?

“Serynne serves to protect women and fertility. She is the sister and wife to Vaeloris and births all of the Gods’ warriors. That includes me.”

“A brother fucker,” I say between bites of a piece of toast. “Gods and Demons aren’t so different, it would seem. Enjoying their own flesh and blood.”

He leans onto his elbows, his chin resting at the top of his laced fingers. “They see it more as keeping the bloodlines strong.”

A chill rolls down my spine, and flashes of my own mother raping me flood to the forefront. I have to roll my head to loosen the tension creeping up my shoulders.

I’m fine. I’m fine…

“Serynne, who was close to Belial prior to being cast out of the Vayl, knew of the prophecy due to her connection to fertility. She can sense the population growth, present and in the future.” He grins, and my nose twitches at his amused chuckle. “You and Serynne would be great acquaintances.”

“I’d rather slip your big toe in my ass than ever have anything to do with one of those Gods. Now, move on.”

His chest rises as he takes a deep breath in, and I’m getting angry at these boys getting aroused at my temper. What about me being a bitch turns anyone on? I thought Kairhyse was weird for it, but this filth smells of arousal.

“The Divine Twelve’s purpose really is to just keep balance.

I’m not here to say they are right or wrong, but for the most part they stay out of mortals affairs.

They are far too lustful and drunk to care otherwise.

However, the prospect of your kind populating this world got the attention it deserved. So, they sent someone to stop it.”

“You,” I remark dryly.

“Exactly. The moment you came into this world as part Mundane, part Succubus, the prophecy was no longer that of foretelling, but an inevitability.”

Sipping my orange juice, because unfortunately it’s weird to have tomato juice, I narrow my eyes. Is he confessing to being here to try and take me out? And I don’t mean on a date.

“I arrived on this world when you turned three, and to answer the question in your eyes, yes. I was sent to try and kill you. ”

Softly, I set my glass down, the gentle clink against the table sounding sharper in the tension-filled silence.

My lip twitches as I shift both feet firmly to the floor, and the movement alone is enough to make him throw his hands up in defense.

“Settle down, I am not here for that. Quite the opposite.” He pauses, and I cease from doing anything that would cause a scene.

Normally I wouldn’t care, but I don’t need to be giving my mother any trail of where I’ve been when we set off to our final destination.

“You are telling me you knew my mother was doing this but didn’t tell me at the club that night? Or just, ever?”

He shakes his head. “You are getting ahead of the story?—”

“You are taking too godsdamn long, what is this? Just get to the fucking point.”

Sighing, he runs his fingers up and through his long, white hair, dragging it over his shoulders.

“When I came for you, you were alone in the home with a babysitter. I assumed your father was the Incubus, which would have made more sense where the prophecy was concerned. He could have bred with you if the rupture didn’t occur as they predicted.

I had no idea your mother was a Succubus, that I swear. ”

I’m not going to hold anger toward him for that, or anything honestly. I don’t want to feel anything when it comes to this Fallen. The disgust at his nonchalant remark about my father being the one to impregnant me for the prophecy is enough to nearly have me releasing all of my breakfast.

“Why didn’t you kill me?” I ask indifferently.

He groans. “Because I was weak, and in hindsight, I should have just thrown my morals out the window and done what was commanded of me.”

That, I can respect. At least he recognizes his shortcomings.

“I’d protected life my entire existence, then when I came face to face with ending a barely talking child… I couldn’t do it.” He rolls his lips together, never taking his eyes off mine. “Plus, I felt a strange connection to you.”

My nose lifts as I scoff, rolling my head back and releasing an exacerbated snarl.

“Moving on, when I returned to ask for forgiveness and try to find another solution that didn’t end in your death, I was punished and cast out, becoming a Fallen.”

“Right then, your connection with me should’ve ended,” I say, pushing my plate away. The appetite I had is gone now, though I should’ve expected as much considering what this conversation was going to bring.

“It did,” he remarks quickly. “That is, until someone showed up on my doorstep nearly twenty-five years later.”

I give him a moment as he pauses before I ask, “Are you going to say who, or make me fucking ask?”

“In his mortal form” — Oh, fuck off— “Belial himself.”

Pressing my elbows to the table, I place my face into my hands. A swarm of bees buzzes around in my head, and every piece of food I had just eaten is threatening to show back up.

“You’ve become quite the topic in the Beyond, according to him.”

I don’t want this… I just don’t want any of this .

Pain and heat build behind my eyes as I begin counting backward. There is no way that the ruler of the Beyond is sending a Fallen to… what? Protect me? Bring me to him? What is happening?

I’m unsure if I have nothing to say, or so much so it keeps me silent.

“He can’t meddle with you?—”