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Chapter twenty-nine

T alia agreed to give Belz and Mammon the exact location of the cage. After which, she excused herself, claiming to need rest. Giana was still crying, unable to gather herself. She explained the feelings she could read off Talia. The pain, the longing, the betrayal—it was more powerful and more devastating than she could have imagined. There were no words to describe what she had endured.

I commended Talia for her poise. Without G, you wouldn’t have been able to guess that Talia had any love or care left for Lucifer. Gor took his mate back to their room. Levi and Deus followed them out, leaving the Salvo women alone.

Nonna sat in her normal chair by the large window, resting her chin on her fist. We joined her in silence, still reeling from all we had discovered in the past twenty-four hours. Finally, Nonna ran her hands over her face, turning to face us. She looked between Frankie and me.

“Why couldn’t you two have picked nice warlock boys?” Nonna said, her face worried.

“Mamma,” said Annalise, “Deus has already proven he would rather die than live without Seren.”

“Levi has done the same with Frankie,” added Thora.

Nonna shook her head. “Bah, they’re demons. ”

“So am I,” I said softly. “At least a part of me is.”

“And speaking from personal experience,” Annalise said, “you don’t know what you’re capable of until you are soulless. It could happen to any of us.”

“The question is,” intervened Aunt Thora, “do we trust Talia or not?”

“I do,” I said, still trying to process how she went through all of that and survived. “G doesn’t sense any plot or ill feelings towards any of us either.”

“Gods, that poor girl,” Nonna said.

“Poor girl,” snapped Thora. “She sided with Lucifer and killed Cyrus and most of her coven. There is nothing poor about her. She got what she deserved.”

“When you’re bonded,” I said, picking my words carefully, “the need to please your mate, to protect them and everything they hold dear, is overwhelming. I understand how she could be blinded by the bond.”

“And let’s not forget who her mate is,” added Frankie. “Mr. Persuasion himself.”

“I would do almost anything for Deus,” I admitted. “Sacrifice anything and anyone to guarantee his safety. The bond is … it’s animalistic. Untamable. I can’t describe it, but it’s all consuming. And don’t forget I’ve met Aradia … she’s a bitch.”

My family began laughing, their moods lightening.

“Our lives are never dull, that’s for sure,” said Thora.

“But tomorrow,” Frankie said, wrapping her arms around me. “We celebrate something very special.”

I laughed. “It’s small, right?”

“Deus has thought of everything,” my mother assured me, coming to my side. She moved a loose piece of hair behind my ear. “Can I just say, I am so happy to get to witness you marry the love of your life.”

I leaned into her. “I am too, Mom. Speaking of,” I said, pulling back to look at her. “I was wondering if you would do the honor of giving me away?”

Her eyes widened, her mouth slackening as if she couldn’t find the words.

“Really?” she whispered, tears beginning to well in her eyes. “You wouldn’t prefer Nonna or Thora?”

Nonna came over to us, taking each of our hands in her own. “The bond between a mother and her daughter,” she said with a loving smile, “is untouchable. Incomparable.” She focused her gaze on Annalise. “I should know.”

Mom turned her eyes back to me. “If that is what you wish, I would be honored.” She pulled me into a hug as we both allowed our silent tears to fall.

“Well then,” Aunt Thora said, approaching us with Frankie at her side. “Onto the bachelorette party.”

“Oh no,” I said, shaking my head. “I am exhausted. There is no way—”

“Oh, stop your babbling,” snapped Nonna.

“Exactly,” nodded Frankie.

“You are going,” Aunt Thora demanded. “This was my one job, and I have excelled, if I do say so myself.”

Frankie scoffed. “You mean besides being Belz’s plus one to the wedding?”

Mom glared at her sister. “Not you too?” she begged.

“I have agreed to no such thing,” Aunt Thora replied, trying to hide her smile. “Even though, he did ask.”

“What is it with these demon princes and my girls?” gasped Nonna.

“I’m sure Mammon would be open to being your date,” I said, bumping my elbow into Mom’s.

“Oh, no,” she replied. “No more demons for me. Regardless of how devastatingly beautiful they might be.”

“Alright,” Thora said, taking Frankie and Nonna’s hand in hers. “Seren, sweetheart, I need you to shift us to Vegas.”

“Vegas!” I gasped.

“Yes,” she replied. “We have a high-stakes poker game in ten minutes that we can’t be late for.”

“What makes you think I know how to play poker?” I asked. Thora looked to my mom. Annalise bit the side of her lip and shrugged.

“I’m a bit of a card shark,” she admitted.

Frankie and I looked at each other and laughed. A moment later, the door opened, revealing G and Lilith.

“Glad we’re not late,” said G.

“Time for the ultimate male destruction,” Lilith said in a vengeful tone, squeezing in between my mother and Nonna. We all looked at her. “What? There’s nothing more precious than taking money from an unsuspecting male. They get so hostile and bent out of shape. I love the way their embarrassment smells as I strip away all they’ve acquired.”

A moment of silence passed before we laughed. “You are nothing like I had expected,” admitted Nonna.

“I am going to take that as a compliment,” she replied.

Before I shifted, I slid down the bridge into Deus’s mind, his soothing darkness enveloping me. “Off to a bachelorette party, it seems,” I said in our heads.

“My brothers appear to have the same idea for our evening,” he replied.

“Is it wrong that I would rather spend the entire night in your arms instead?”

A soft caress slid down my spine. “We will have eternity for that. Though, I can’t help but agree I’d prefer your naked body instead of the company of my brothers.” He sent a flash of a memory he had of me, riding on top of him back at the beach house. My core warmed and my toes curled. It was as if I could feel the sensation of him buried deep inside of me. God how he fit so perfectly.

“Devil,” I whispered.

He laughed. “When it comes to you, always. Have fun, my love. I will see you tomorrow at the altar.”

I smiled at the thought of becoming his wife. I turned back to the others; they stared at me intently.

“Checking in with your fiancé?” asked Frankie playfully.

“And if I were?” I replied.

She laughed. “Tonight, dear cousin, is your last night of freedom. Whatever happens in Vegas stays between the seven of us, never to be spoken of again. Are we all clear?”

“Fuck yeah,” replied Lilith.

“Absolutely,” G said.

Thora and my mother laughed in unison while Nonna rolled her eyes.

“Alright, bride-to-be,” said Frankie, “take us away to Sin City.”

“I am never drinking again,” G said, then hurled for the fourth time inside the bowl of the toilet. Lilith held her hair back, clearly annoyed.

“The hell you aren’t,” Lilith said. “We need to work on that tolerance of yours. Especially if we’re all going to be stuck together for eternity.”

“Aradia, help me,” Nonna said, stumbling out of the back bedroom of the hotel suite.

Frankie groaned on the couch next to me. Somehow, we both hadn’t made it to our room. “Mmgrfoooo,” she mumbled.

“What?” I barely got out.

“Food. Coffee,” she said, drooling on the couch cushion. Mom came from the other room in the back of the suite.

“Where’s Thora?” asked Nonna. About that time, a man I didn’t remember or recognize passed by my mother, heading for the door. He looked at all of us, smiled and nodded, and left without a single word. Frankie and I exchanged shocked looks.

“Where in blasted hell did he come from?” she asked.

My mother shrugged. “I don’t remember bringing him home,” she admitted.

Thora came up behind her, lacing her arm through hers. “I do,” she said, wiggling her eyebrows. “Kept my ass up all night with that racket.”

I smiled, biting back the laugh that wanted to escape.

“Under the same roof as your mother,” Nonna snapped.

“Mamma,” said Aunt Thora. “It wouldn’t be the first time, and I am sure it isn’t going to be the last.”

Nonna began speaking Latin as she headed for the kitchen.

Mom joined us on the large sectional couch, brushing my hair out of my face. “Ready for today?”

“Do I look ready?” I asked, feeling dizzy, sick, swollen, bloated … all th e above.

“Beautiful as ever,” commented Thora.

Mom chuckled. “Nothing a little espresso and makeup can’t fix.”

“How are you two still standing?” asked Frankie, rolling to her back. “You both drank us under the table last night.”

“We’ve had a bit more experience than you younglings,” replied Mom.

“You two are nothing compared to the trouble your aunt and I use to be,” Thora said, pulling Frankie up to a seated position.

“And everyone thinks I’m the bad influence,” Annalise said, rolling her eyes.

“Oh, please,” replied Aunt Thora. “Don’t sit there and play the innocent lamb. No one will believe that for a single second. Any bad habits I’ve formed, I’ve learned from you.”

“Water,” gasped Giana, sitting across from us. “I need water.”

“Big baby,” mumbled Lilith.

“Can demons not get drunk?” asked Mom.

“Oh, we can,” she replied. “But someone out of this bunch needed to stay alert.”

“Mother Lilith,” I said mockingly. Frankie laughed, then grabbed her head in pain.

“Don’t you start with that shit,” Lilith snapped. “I don’t care if it is your wedding or not, I will kick your ass from here all the way to the altar if I have to. And we both know I can without even breaking a sweat.”

“Down girl, down,” I said, raising my hands to a defensive position.

“Espresso, water, and ibuprofen for all,” Nonna announced, carrying a tray. “I also toasted some bread to help soak up all the liquor.”

“Thank Aradia,” G grumbled, blindly reaching for the bread. Lilith rolled her eyes, snatching a piece from the tray and handing it to her so she wouldn’t knock everything over.

“Thanks Mamma,” Thora and Mom said in unison. Nonna smiled at her girls. I handed Frankie hers before taking my espresso and pills.

“Ugh, shut up,” G whined while she lay on the couch across from us.

“Uh, excuse me, but no one was talking,” Lilith said with attitude.

“I’m not talking to you,” she replied. “I’m talking to Gor. He’s yapping away in my head, demanding I tell him where we are.”

“You’ve already learned to block him out?” I asked, surprised.

“Frankie helped me, but yes. He started sneaking into my head right when you left for Purgatory. I thought it was just a demon prince thing. I didn’t know it was linked to the bond. And since we’ve officially accepted the bond, things have gotten … intense.”

“My link with Deus started with the deal we made when he saved Frankie. I didn’t know it had anything to do with the mating bond.”

“Two parts of a whole, becoming one,” said Lilith sarcastically. “You get to hear and feel all of them, and vice-versa.”

“That’s,” whispered G, “unnerving.”

“Welcome to the club,” Lilith said, sipping her espresso. “The stronger the bond grows and your power along with it, the deeper the connection becomes rooted.”

“Seren, for the love of whatever god is listening, will you please drop your shields and let Deus know you’re alright? He’s berating Gor for updates.” She popped her head up, staring at Lilith. “Is Satan not bugging you?”

“Oh, he knows exactly where we are, though he knows better than to cross me,” she replied with a proud smile. “He’s keeping his mouth shut. ”

“Uho,” Nonna said, piercing her lips together. “Sounds like you’ve got some explaining to do.”

Frankie started laughing. “He’s not going to like the whole stripper part of last night, is he?”

“Gee,” I replied sarcastically. “I don’t know. Let’s ask Prince Envy how he feels about it, shall we?”

“You wouldn’t,” she snapped, lunging forward.

“I’m not going to say a damn word about any of it,” I replied. “Do you really think I want Deus to burn this entire city to the ground?”

Frankie turned towards Lilith and G. “You two keep your mouths shut,” she barked.

Lilith huffed. “Sweetheart, I’ve been involved with a demon prince long before you were even thought of. Do you really think I would be so stupid as to let him know every detail of what goes on in my life?”

“I’m newly bonded,” said G innocently. “I don’t want to piss him off just yet.”

“Good,” nodded Frankie. “We’re all in agreement. Nothing about last night, or this morning, leaves Vegas.”

In my mind, Deus’s presence swarmed outside my wall like a storm. I had snapped his door shut as soon as I realized we were headed into an all-male strip show. Mom was right, Aunt Thora was crazier than I knew.

The night had started off well behaved. Mom and Nonna had wiped a table of blackjack, winning over $500,000 apiece. We proceeded to dinner, then gambled on the floor. A party bus picked us up, taking us through the city as we drank until none of us could stand up straight. We ended up at the strip show where I honestly can’t remember what happened. From there, we attended a show at three in the morning hosted by some DJ I had never heard of.

Champagne, glitter, and confetti still clung to my skin. To top the night off, we had ended up in the middle of the desert, dancing naked around a bonfire. How witchy of us , I thought. Thus, the question remained … where had Mother picked up the man who scurried from our room this morning?

“The driver,” Frankie exclaimed, snapping her fingers. “You slept with our driver?”

My mom shrugged. “What?” she answered. “He was young and agile. You can’t blame a girl, can you?”

Thora, Frankie, and I began to laugh. Nonna rolled her eyes.

“I’m starting to see why the Salvo women have a reputation,” commented G.

Frankie threw a pillow at her face. “You shut your mouth. You’re just as bad as any of us. You were trying to get in Gor’s pants before you were even breathing again.”

“I couldn’t help it,” she replied. “The bond and all.”

“Oh, right,” I said playfully. “The fact that he’s gorgeous with a side of mysterious had nothing to do with it. If I recall, you used to sneak into his room and spy on him when he was getting out of the shower.”

“That was private,” she said, her eyes going wide.

We all began laughing. “Nothing in this circle is private, child,” commented Nonna. “Now, if everyone can manage to stand upright, I think we have quite the day ahead of us.”

“Our girl’s getting married,” Aunt Thora said with a smile.

“For the last and final time,” Frankie added.

“Ha, ha,” I replied. “You just love to remind me of that.”

“Alright you two,” said Mom, “enough squabbling. Time to get going.” She stood, pulling my limp body along with her. We gathered in a circle, clasping hands as I shifted us back to Castle Salvo.