Page 20 of By Mistake

"Yes," Shimari replied, eyes flaring. "I don't kill my own unless I absolutely have to.

He didn't ask to be cruelly enslaved; he didn't want to fight me.

Of course I didn't kill him. I didn't even hurt him more than I had to in defending myself.

He'll break free of his bindings eventually, one way or another, and have nothing to gripe about except a century or two of boredom.

That's no worse than a few days of captivity for a human.

I'd planned on releasing himself once I could be sure he'd be free of human control, but never got the chance. "

Andrus huffed. "Yes, but who was it ."

Shimari clucked his tongue. "So curious. Prying into things you shouldn't is how you summoned me, little mage."

"I sincerely hate you," Andrus retorted, pleased when both Shimari and Oresti laughed because he was stupid .

"Kressen of the Blood," Shimari finally said.

"Fucking hells, can people in this city stop summoning zero class demons," Oresti said with a groan.

"Why do you think your great grandparents' generation worked so hard to develop that class system and commensurate laws?" Shimari asked dryly.

"I cannot believe the Lord of the Red himself is just locked up in a cave somewhere and could break free at any moment," Oresti said. "Do you know how much of a problem that is?"

Shimari scoffed. "He'll just return home, unless someone else binds him. We don't generally like being yanked from our world to serve piddling little humans and deal with their tiresome, trivial little problems."

"Are there people missing you right now?" Andrus asked. He'd always wondered about such things, but even his mother had never had a satisfactory answer.

"In our world, we don't exist the way we do here.

We're far less…present. Corporeal, I suppose.

We don't exist on a particular plane so much as between planes, on whatever we were molded to exist on.

So no, I am not missed, will never be missed.

Much easier to feast here, anyway." He touched his tongue to his bottom lip, and for the barest moment, Andrus caught a hint of wickedly sharp fangs.

"The point is, Kressen won't be a problem. "

Andrus shook his head and poured more tea.

Shimari of the Harvest was one of the deadliest demons in existence, but right beside him were four others, and Kressen of the Blood was one of them.

The Master of Blood, the Mother of Vampires, Lord of the Red.

It was said that those who tasted his blood could only ever consume blood from there on out, that no other sustenance would sate them.

Vampires were a rare phenomenon nowadays, but once upon a time they'd been a genuine threat to humanity, resulting in strict laws regarding travel, entry to any city.

The Days of Shadow and Blood, a period of history nobody liked to think about.

Like any zero class demon, Kressen fed on life, more or less, but where Shimari's specialty was death, where all his magic was bound to death, Kressen was bound to blood. If there was blood, there was control to be found, and that made him exceedingly dangerous.

"Who summoned him?" Oresti asked. "Kressen, I mean."

Shimari shrugged, dropping his folded arms as he faced them once more.

"I don't know. I was banished before that answer was found.

There weren't many in the city at the time who could have done it though, perhaps six people if I'm being generous with their abilities.

Of those six…" He huffed softly. "Oddly, it would have been a Farthing.

I remember thinking at the time that would fit.

He was the most hostile about the laws being written to better regulate magic.

Overreaching control tantamount to enslavement, he liked to call it.

He really and truly hated Sendrus, and by association, Kolik.

It would not surprise me at all to learn that he was the one to summon Kressen. "

"And now his descendant harasses Andrus in hopes of gaining this house. As if he knows about the secret rooms, the books therein." Oresti's mouth twisted into a frown that always showed when he was thinking hard on something, sorting through some puzzle in his mind.

A knock came at the door, making Andrus jump. Before he could stand, Shimari moved to open it and admitted a footman. Andrus needed to learn everyone's name, but right now he could barely remember his own. "Lord Bothwell, this just arrived for you by royal courier."

"Thank you," Andrus said, anxiously taking what proved to be…a newspaper? Why would a royal courier bring him a newspaper? He shot Oresti a look as the footman slipped away.

Oresti held his hands up. "I haven't done anything. I stewed about the palace and sulked through my work for three days. I heard the rumors of you spending money all over town and came at once. I learned my lesson, I promise."

Scowling, not entirely certain he believed him, Andrus unfolded the newspaper—and stared wide-eyed at the announcement on the very front page before jerking away so sharply he upended his tea and sent the newspaper scattering across the floor. "What did you do!"

"Nothing!" Oresti insisted, snatching up the scattered paper before laying it out on the table across the room, smoothing the crumpled pages out as he read the announcement for himself.

The words were seared into Andrus's mind.

LET IT BE KNOWN

All wrongs held against the Bothwell family are forgiven. The Crown considers Lord Andrus Bothwell, Ninth Marquess of Wistar, a friend. All who insult him insult Us.

BY ROYAL PROCLAMATION OF KING ORANTI

"I'm going to fucking kill him," Oresti said before looking up at Andrus, eyes wide and filled with panic.

"Andrus, I didn't know. I swear to you on my mother's ashes, I didn't know he was going to do this.

I was mad enough about my sister sending that stupid invitation.

There is no way I would have gone along with this. "

Andrus heard the words, but he was too busy trying to remember how to breathe properly.

He had money again. The king had just cleared his name and restored his reputation. He had a demon for a personal assistant.

All his troubles were gone. Farthing—

"Farthing is going to kill us," Andrus said, drawing in a shuddery breath. "You don't know how nasty he can really be. This will upend all his plans to take my house. He won't just—"

"I am a royal prince and that is a smarmy demon," Oresti cut in. "Farthing can try all he wants, but he's not his ancestor. He can't summon a demon sufficient to do more than… well…" He grinned fleetingly. "Move furniture. He's no threat to you anymore."

Andrus glared with every bit of unimpressed scathing he could muster. "You're not funny."

"I'm a little funny," Oresti replied, still grinning. "You know what all this means, don't you?"

Ignoring the absurd flips his heart was doing, Andrus crossed his arms over his chest and jerked his head to the side so he didn't have to look at Oresti's stupid, obnoxious, entirely too pretty face. "I haven't the slightest."

Oresti's huff of laughter rolled through the room, even though it wasn't loud at all, and then Andrus's hands were being taken, arms forcefully unfolded, and his head turned so he had to meet Oresti's gaze.

"It means, my darling marquess, that you have no reason at all to refuse my request to court you. "

"Maybe I don't want you to court me, you spoiled brat."

"You're like a little kitten living on the streets, hissing and spitting defensively, but the moment you get food and a warm blanket you start purring."

Andrus narrowed his eyes and tried to pull his hands free. "I'm not a kitten , you wretch."

Oresti's smile never wavered, only seemed to grow brighter. "Can I kiss you, Andrus? Please?"

"If you must," Andrus said, because he was stupid . Hopelessly, pathetically, absolutely stupid for this infuriating man.

"Always so contrary," Oresti murmured before kissing him.

It was whisper soft at first, the brush of a butterfly's wings against his lips, but at Andrus's sharply indrawn breath he pressed deeper, tasting and exploring, savoring like Andrus was some treat instead of a complete and utter mess.

His hands slid along Andrus's back to finally wrap around his waist, and Andrus was helpless to finally see if that hair was as soft as it looked, sinking his fingers in and holding fast.

The precious few kisses in his past, mostly drunks who wouldn't take no for an answer, had never been like this. Those had been wet and sloppy and disgusting and made him wonder why people liked kissing so much.

This kiss made him wonder how he'd lived without them for so long. He never wanted to do anything else but kiss Oresti.

When they finally drew apart, he was panting softly, and he could still taste Oresti, salty-sweet, on his lips.

Clearing his throat, cheeks adorably flushed, Oresti stepped back and said, "Well, now you definitely have to accept my suit."

Andrus rolled his eyes. "Like you would have listened if I'd said no. I may be contrary—arguable—but you're stubborn to a fault."

"Now that's been settled," Shimari drawled from across the room, "shall I go kill Farthing, so we can have done with this whole mess?"

Oresti sighed. "Tempting, so very—" He stopped as the doorbell rang.

Andrus moved to go get the door, but was waved off by an amused looking Shimari. "You have staff now, let them do their jobs."

"Very tempting, as I was saying, but Farthing abruptly dying would raise too many questions.

I'd—" he stopped as the doorbell rang again "—rather see the bastard arrested and made to suffer, anyway.

I know he's responsible—" The doorbell again.

Oresti scowled, but only shook his head and tried again.

"I know he's responsible for the death of Willow-White, and I'll see him suffer for it, so help me. "

"An investigator and a royal who believes in justice, how charming," Shimari said, barely finishing before yet another ring echoed through the house. "I may need to make some adjustments if we're going to be getting so many callers."

"This wasn't a problem before you ran amuck," Andrus said. "A socialite demon and a prince with absolutely no sense whatsoever. Why me." He sighed as the doorbell rang yet again.

Oresti rolled his eyes at them, but a smile tugged at his mouth. He jabbed a finger in Shimari's direction. "You."

"Me?"

"I am going to refine the binding spell, and bind you to me in addition to Andrus."

"Why?" Andrus asked, but as Oresti started to speak, said, "I swear to god if you say anything along the lines of for your own good I will make Shimari throw you out and keep you out."

Oresti pouted.

They all ignored the doorbell ringing for what felt like the thousandth time.

Shimari laughed. "It's a good idea. I was bound to both your ancestors. It makes it all the more difficult for someone to steal and overtake the binding. If one is incapacitated, I can still heed the other. It was a common safety measure once."

Andrus huffed. "Fine."

"Then let's return to your basement and get this done. Then I'm moving everything down there to a room upstairs that Shimari will seal off, so we don't have to make this trip all the time."

"The books can't be taken from the basement rooms."

Shimari waved a hand dismissively. "Easily attended."

Andrus rolled his eyes and muttered, "Bossy," but he was smiling as he purposely dodged another kiss just to be a brat and led the way back to the secret basement. By the time they reached it, the stupid doorbell had rung at least another six times. What in the world was going on?

Once in the workroom, Andrus found himself tucked into a corner while Shimari and Oresti talked, bickered, wrote and, finally, drew out a new circle.

When he was done, and Shimari had verified the work—leaving Andrus rather shocked Oresti trusted him to do so—Andrus was summoned with a crook of the finger that should have pissed him off, but the affectionate, teasing smile that accompanied it instead just made him huff and obey.

Stupid, stupid, hopelessly smitten stupid .

Once all three of them stood in the circle, Andrus obediently offered his hand when bid.

With a murmur of apology, Oresti sliced his hand open on the diagonal, then did the same to his own.

Shimari lifted their hands in turn and lapped at the pooling blood, his red eyes glowing like hot coals, sending a shiver down Andrus's spine that didn't feel nearly as much like fear as it should.

Shimari's eyes glittered with too much knowing, but he couldn't imagine a demon would be anything but passively amused by such things.

As he finished licking up their blood, the circle around them flared to life, rolling through a thousand colors like a rainbow tide, and Oresti's strong voice echoed as he recited the spell that would do…whatever it was they were doing.

By the time he stopped, Oresti looked ready for a long nap.

Yawning, Oresti stepped out of the circle, stretching as he went, putting a frankly ridiculous backside on full display. Andrus scowled—and then scowled at Shimari when he caught him snickering. "You shut up."

"What?" Oresti asked.

"Not you, him."

"Oh. Do you mind if I sleep for a few hours? That wiped me out. Which reminds me—how did you accidentally summon Shimari and not die? If I'd tried to do it, there's a good chance I'd have died, and I'm no slouch when it comes to magic."

"He has untapped reserves for certain," Shimari said before Andrus could speak. "For what it's worth, he slept for the better part of three days."

"Andrus!" Oresti bellowed.

"Damn it, Shimari!" Andrus snapped at the same time.

Shimari, wholly unrepentant, laughed.