Page 105 of Demon's Heart

Onyx shrugged off his shirt and freed his wings. “I don’t think we’ll have to track him. Didn’t you notice one building was taller than the rest?”

“He would put himself in the highest tower.” Ash launched into the air, and Dante and Onyx followed. “Strengthen your illusions. We don’t need anyone seeing us coming, whether Luc knows we’re here or not.”

They flew over barren flatland and a slow-moving stream. A few remnants of the old city remained, even though it hadn’t been long enough for the ruins to crumble away completely. It must have been dismantled. Had it been a war or a cathartic kind of destruction?

The Realm of the Damned was devoid of animals, only inhabited by demons and witch souls, another reminder they weren’t in a natural realm. Dante had forgotten how much that unsettled him. No birds in the trees. Nothing grazing in the expanses of grass. Not a single creature to ever join him on his flights. He’d avoided the outdoors in an effort to forget.

But as they approached the towering cityscape, birdsong filled the air.

“Those are morning fowl.” Dante scanned the sky. The rare creatures came out in the first few hours of daylight, perching on the tallest peaks of the Eternal Realm.

Ash caught an air current and drifted higher. “I don’t see anything.”

Dante didn’t either, but no other bird sounded quite likethese. He might not have heard them in thousands of years, but it wasn’t the kind of thing he’d forget.

They reached the edge of the city. Up close, the buildings looked like they were constructed of smooth gray stone. Windows of all shapes and sizes glittered and harsh neon lights flashed in every color. Signs and screens were everywhere except on the rooftops, where each building was adorned with a lush garden.

Onyx followed a string of lights from one garden to another. He hovered next to the pole securing the cord. “It’s not birds at all. It’s coming from here.”

Dante flew over. Mounted on top of the pole was a small speaker. It looked almost like something he’d find in the Human Realm. “But how did they create the sound? It can’t be a recording.”

“Must be magic.” Onyx gave Dante a look as if to saycome on. “It’ll be a crafty little spell. Something linked to memory, no doubt.”

Ash appeared, wrinkling his nose at the speaker. “Fascinating, but we’re wasting time.”

Dante turned away and flew with him toward the tallest tower. A few wing beats later, he noticed Onyx hadn’t followed.

“What’s his problem?” Ash grumbled before doubling back.

“Being here is hard. Don’t pretend it’s not.” Dante reached for Ollie and a hint of his sandalwood scent filled his nose. No matter what happened, he’d return to where he belonged. In the human world, at his mate’s side.

Onyx didn’t have a mate to tether him. Maybe that’s what was wrong.

As Ash and Onyx caught up, a window opened in the next building over and a gray-and-white-winged demon leaped from the ledge, taking flight. She flew to the garden across from Dante and perched on abench.

Ash and Onyx hovered at Dante’s side. None of them moved, all eyes fixed on the demon as she stretched her wings.

A moment later, a second demon joined the first. Dante recognized him. His name was Niall or Neil. He handed his companion a drink. Wait, Dante recognized her too. Cora.

“Have you heard the Hounds are mated?” Cora asked.

Niall-Neil nodded. “Yes, but do you believe it?”

“What would be the point in lying?”

Ash dragged Dante and Onyx away, flying higher into the sky until they’d cleared the buildings by a longshot.

“How do they know?” Dante stared down at the two demons, now leaning into one another with their heads bowed. They should have stayed to listen.

Ash herded them forward. “We sent Lillian and Maxwell back with instructions to spread the truth, but they didn’t know about our mates.”

“So what?Luciferannounced our mated status?” Dante couldn’t see it.

If Luc had a new trusted inner circle, he might have told them, but Niall-Neil had been vehemently against Luc for a long time, and Cora had been no friend of his. Neither would be the first to know or to hear any leaked secrets, given how they avoided anyone in Lucifer’s good graces.

Unless all that had changed.

“We can wonder about it later. We’ve taken too long already.” Ash didn’t wait before flying off.