Page 47 of All Your Deadly Truths (The Filthy Duet #2)

“What of my cunt mother?!” My fists slam onto the table with a loud crack.

“Can’t he meddle with that bitch?” I seethe, the venom in my voice sharp enough to cut through the air.

“Also—” I shoot to my feet, standing tall as the anger surges through me.

“If you tell me he sent you to me to protect me, take me to him, or claim me, I will kill you over and over. Then, I’ll go find him, break his fucking horns off, and shove both up his ass. ”

“Well…” He sucks air through his teeth. “I’ve got some bad news for you.”

I can’t be here. I may actually kill the dozen people in this room by accident.

“Fuck this shit.”

I turn sharply and find the nearest door before storming off. The fresh air hits me as I barrel through it, but it does little to soothe the suffocating pressure building inside. I feel like I’m trapped in a box and it’s slowly closing in on me.

My heart pounds, ricocheting between my stomach and throat.

The moment my feet hit the grass, I double over, struggling to hold myself together.

My hands press against my stomach, skimming over my skin as if to reassure myself.

Fearfully, I search for any sign that something might be growing inside me.

Nothing, thank fuck.

I exhale a shaky sigh, the tension gradually easing.

Don’t worry, you’re fine. You are fine.

“Succubae are ruled by Proserpina, whereas Incubi are governed by Belial.” Alaric’s voice comes over the ringing in my ears. “He couldn’t tell me anything because it would break the bond between him and Proserpina. Domestic dispute, as he put it.”

“What does he want with me?! Why couldn’t he have come to me himself?!”

“Again, Proserpina would be pissed.”

My hands won’t stop shaking. I can’t say I’m surprised because of how furious I am.

“He offered me something in exchange for keeping the prophecy from being fulfilled.”

I turn and drag my nails down my forearm, drawing blood, then sweeping it across the space in front of me. The crimson strands hang suspended in the air, held by my hemokinesis.

“What did he offer you, Alaric?” My body tenses, because I swear to the Gods themselves if he says me I am going to fucking lose it.

He sighs, shaking his head in response as he steps toward me. “You, but?—”

I twitch, shaping the blood into sharp, pointed daggers that vibrate in the air, mirroring the tremor coursing through my body.

“I didn’t accept that, because no offense, at the time what was I going to do with you? However, after some thought… I figured if I could save you?—”

“I don’t NEED saving!” My voice raises to a shout.

“—while also getting what I want, you’d be a beautiful consolation prize.”

An involuntary twitch occurs in my head. “I am not a fucking prize to be won.”

“But you are. Imagine for a moment: A Demon and a Divine being, creating a new race.”

I shake with my roar. “I’m not fucking livestock!”

“I’d never say that’s what you are, Xeraphine. I can see right now?—”

“Never, fucking NEVER!”

He continues as though I’m not screaming at the top of my lungs at him to stop. “—that what I want will be impossible, especially after what your mother has done to you. We are both eternal, and we have larger issues at play than creating a superior being.”

I must have been thrown into another universe—there’s no other fucking explanation for what’s happening right now. Do I not get a say in my own damn life?! My own body…

“Belial wants to stop what your mother is doing.”

“Why?!” My teeth clench, and fuck , I keep hearing Kairhyse’s voice in my head, telling me it isn’t weak to cry. I know I’ll feel better if I let it out, but doing that would tear me apart. I refuse to break down in front of anyone but him.

“It will destroy balance, and he has his own plans. Having creatures that are immortal and free of manipulation, wouldn’t fit into his future.”

I drop the blood-formed daggers and laugh, but there’s no trace of humor in it. “Moved from doing one bitch’s bidding, to another. What a fucking puppet you are, Alaric.”

His head tilts, and the smile on his face fades, showing I’ve finally gotten under his skin. “Our kind has fought for centuries. Ever since Belial tried to overthrow his brethren.”

I scoff.

“I can see which of our sides is so reluctant for peace?—”

“No, absolutely not. Fuck… you. You’re still skirting around why you didn’t come to me sooner. At the club, why didn’t you just say ‘Hey, Belial sent me because you are part of a prophecy’. Instead, you stalked me and even then didn’t do shit to keep me from being taken by my mother!”

“I’m sorry?—”

“No you aren’t, no one ever is.”

He steps to me, hands raised as if in surrender.

“Xeraphine, I didn’t tell you because you were pregnant at the time.

” My stomach drops, and a slow numbness creeps from my toes.

“If I said those exact words to you, and you were helping fulfill the prophecy on your own volition, you could have gone into hiding, or worse. It’s why I was watching you, trying to figure out who was orchestrating it.

Was it you doing it, or someone else—that was the question.

At that point, I knew that Proserpina’s reincarnation was?—”

My breath catches. “My mother…”

“No.”

Shaking my head, I regress from him because I don’t want this.

I want him to lie to me.

I don’t want the truth, godsdamn it!

I’m not a fucking moron. It makes sense, but I had hoped that my mother was her reincarnation. The prophecy said that whoever it was would bring about the dreaded Black Plague, not be the instrument of it. I think I’m just delusional to have hoped for that.

That it wasn’t me…

That it was anyone but me.

He releases a somber sigh. “I knew at that moment you were Proserpina’s reincarnation. Again, just not sure of the full picture. Were you willing or unwilling.”

The confirmation is my worst fucking nightmare, causing a heavy weight to crush down on my shoulders as I prepare to run .

His hand shoots out, grabbing my elbow and preventing me from retreating. “Xeraphine, I am not your enemy. I may have ulterior motives for helping you, but I’m not here to hurt you.”

This is the first time he’s used his power, because when I try to jerk away from him, it feels like a statue is gripping me—unyielding, impenetrable.

“Let me go!”

“I had no idea you found your Mark, not until I saved Kairhyse from that accident and sensed your Amoro’s signature. He would have died, and you need to understand I could have let that happen.”

The sensation of sharp pain intensifies as the pressure behind my eyes increases.

“Why didn’t you?” My voice quivers. I don’t want to be in debt to this Fallen , but I know I owe him for saving the man I love.

“I don’t know…” He roughly pulls me to him, our chests pressing together. “All that matters is taking care of your mother and ending this senseless prophecy. Once we do that, you’ll get what you want, and in exchange for my help, you’ll give me what I want.”

My hand balls into a fist. “What is that, Alaric? What do you want?!”

“My own revenge.” He squeezes my arm, and the gentle, stoic Fallen who had worn a lighthearted expression, melts away. “Being on Earth has taught me if I want something, I have to take it myself. I’m patient and understanding, Xeraphine, but don’t test the strength of our alliance.”

I’m deciding whether to spit on him for being this close or knee him in the dick, when a fist slams into his cheek. He goes flying across the grass, and tumbling down a small hill. A firm grip pulls me against a solid chest.

“I swore I warned you before, Fallen ,” Kairhyse hisses. “Do not fucking touch her.”

No more than a heartbeat passes before Alaric is stomping up the incline, his entire body glowing with a bright, nearly blinding light. His piercing blue eyes shoot daggers straight at Kairhyse.

“You are lucky, Vampire , that you are who you are.”

I try to step between them, but Kai keeps his grip tight on my arm. “Luck has nothing to do with this. She told you to not touch her, how difficult is that to not heed?”

A disgusted smile crawls across Alaric’s face. “I’m sure she’s told you not to touch her before, and look where that has got you two.”

He isn’t wrong. But deep down, I knew I wanted Kai to fight for me. From the beginning, I had every chance to truly kill the man holding me as if I need protection.

What Alaric doesn’t understand, is I want to kill him. If I had the ability to do so, I wouldn’t hesitate—I’m not kind, or understanding. I don’t give a fuck about his revenge, or his feelings.

It’s simple… I just don’t care.

Placing my hand against Kairhyse’s chest, I push him away. I feel the fight in his grip, unwilling to let me go. He tears his gaze to mine, and I gently place my hand against his cheek before turning to the Fallen, who has since let the glow fade from around him.

“What do you think I want at the end of all of this, Alaric?”

He softens as he looks at me, rolling his shoulders back before answering. “Your life to be yours.”

My life… My freedom…

“Why don’t you just, you know, let it run out? Use the money for something better. Like, I don’t know, move to an apartment not in the slums. Buy a car… drive yourself around…”

Oh, Tyson… That was always what you wanted for me.

Kai told me the cold way they took him, and it will forever haunt me. But I do find some solace in knowing he’s with his family somewhere—at least I can hope their souls have found each other.

“My choice will always be me,” I answer, after silence hangs between us. “I deserve that. My… happiness… and if you think that is with anyone other than Kairhyse, then you will live a sad, immortal life.”

He doesn’t falter in his demeanor, indifferent to what I’ve said. “It is my hope you will be happy, but we both know in our world of eternal life, it’s hard to keep.”

Kairhyse will live forever with me. It is our eternity, or none. I refuse to believe otherwise.

“I don’t want to be with you, Xeraphine.

Think about what I’ve said.” He flicks his gaze to the man hovering over me like a rabid dog ready to bite and tear apart the Fallen for even thinking about stepping in my direction.

“But for now, we need to figure out a way to get rid of your mother. Let’s get to our destination, and rest for a period of time. I think we could all use it.”

With that, he moves past us and back toward the hotel.

My rough attempt at swallowing causes me to choke, and slap my hand over my mouth.

Don’t break down, it’s alright . You are… alright.

Kai’s hand slides up the back of my upper arm, pulling me to face him. His expression is devoid of sympathy or apology; instead, I see the patience and love he pours through his silence.

“It will never end…” My words are soft, because I don’t feel confident in wanting to know the truth .

He searches my eyes, which are beginning to blur with tears. I don’t want to cry, but it felt so freeing to do it with him in my dreams—like a heaviness was lifted from my chest, and for the first time in a long while, I could breathe without the weight of my struggles pulling me under.

“Maybe not.” His opposite hand comes to my cheek, pressing his thumb down just below my eye, which causes the tears I was suppressing to fall. “But I’ll be here through it with you, for our eternity and it’s after.”

“You better.” I release a shaky breath, and lean into his hand. “Can we get fast food? The pancakes were terrible.”

He hums and leans into me. “Ego… boosted. Yes, little demon, whatever you want.” His lips meet mine, and I do my best to forget everything except him.