Page 9

They exited Onyx’s office window and climbed to the roof. Dante unbuttoned his shirt and shrugged it off his shoulders, freeing his wings. Ash did the same, adjusting his waistband as his tail unwound from his hips. He and Dante turned in unison to face Onyx.

He glared. “Do you have to stare at me?”

“We haven’t seen your wings in a while,” Ash said without his usual Onyx-induced annoyance.

“As I’ve said, I don’t need to go around shirtless for no reason like you two.” Onyx unbuttoned his shirt and slid it off, baring his slim body.

The nipple piercings were new. Onyx’s eyes flashed with blue fire and wings erupted from his back, feathers a deep midnight blue at his shoulders, fading to light blue at his wingtips.

Onyx flexed his wings, ruffling his feathers, then cracked his neck. “Ready?”

“Let’s go.” Dante suppressed a smile, gesturing for Ash to lead the way.

Ash leaped into the air, and Dante and Onyx followed. Onyx left his horns and tail hidden, but so had Dante. It was uncomfortable flying with pants on and your tail out.

A sudden longing for the clothes in the Eternal Realm, designed to accommodate their tails, hit Dante in the chest .

Shirts had never been common among Eternals so their wings hadn’t been an issue. Neither had human modesty, which was why Onyx’s comments about his and Ash’s lack of shirts didn’t make sense. Bare chests were normal for their kind, even in the Realm of the Damned.

“What did you think of Dex?” Ash called over his shoulder as they flew across the city toward the waterfront, made invisible to any onlookers by their illusions.

Onyx didn’t respond right away. He cut a confused look at Dante, then back at Ash. “You’re asking me?”

Dante shook his head. “Yes, Onyx, he’s asking you.”

“Uh…” Onyx paused for a few wingbeats. “I liked his take on handmade objects and imperfect art. His stuff wouldn’t fit at the gallery, but I’m interested in checking it out.

Apparently, Dex works at a coffee shop and sells his pieces there.

The shop also displays and sells other local art.

I figured I’d stop by. Sounds like the kind of community space I enjoy. ”

Dante was stunned into silence.

Onyx never let on that he cared about anything and had never mentioned community before. It had always seemed like his interest in art was about prestige rather than anything else.

“You’re interested in Dex’s art?” Dante asked, unable to conceal his surprise.

“Yeah, so?” Onyx snapped back to his usual self. “Art is why he was introduced. What else would I think of him?”

“Maybe that you like him personally ,” Ash said, putting too much emphasis on the word.

“ Personally? ” Onyx shook his head and his nose wrinkled. “You mean, like him as in attracted? No. He’s so not my type.”

“Not at all?” Ash pressed.

“Not even a little.” Onyx sped up until he was level with Ash. “Why do you suddenly care who I’m into? ”

“I thought he might be your mate.”

“ My mate? ” Onyx screeched, wing beats faltering and throwing him off balance.

Dante sputtered, trying and failing to swallow his laughter.

Onyx shot him a death glare. “What the fuck made you think Dex was my mate, Ash? Shit, imagine. If he was, fate’s crueler than the council.”

“No need to be rude,” Ash scolded, sounding defensive about being so far off base. “It was a fair guess. Fate was clearly involved in bringing Harper and Ollie together, so maybe Dex completed our third pair.”

“Dex is Ollie’s friend, not Harper’s,” Dante pointed out. “Even if some magic brought Harper and Ollie together, it doesn’t quite follow on to Dex.”

Ash sighed, sounding surprisingly disappointed. Had he really been that set on Onyx finding his mate? Maybe it shouldn’t have come as a surprise. Ash didn’t hate Onyx as much as he pretended to.

“Wait.” Onyx flipped around, hovering in Dante’s path.

Dante pulled up short. “Wait, what?”

“Is Ollie your mate?” Onyx’s eyes widened, his lips twitching before he covered the smile with a scowl.

“He is.” Dante’s cheeks flamed. “But he has no idea, so please don’t say anything strange to him.”

Onyx rolled his eyes. “Like I’m ever going to talk to him.”

Ash circled back and pulled up beside them. “Are you seriously planning on spending eternity ignoring Ollie and Harper? What is your problem?”

Onyx whined in frustration. “No, Ash, I’m not planning on ignoring them.

Fucking hell. I meant, why would I talk to a random human and give anything away?

Once Ollie knows about mates and is all bonded and clinging to Dante like you and Harper, I’m sure I’ll talk to him plenty. Harper too, when I’m not busy.”

“Whatever. We don’t cling,” Ash grumbled before flying off.

Dante followed, unwilling to explain—again—not pursuing Ollie romantically. There was no reason to this early on. He had no idea how things would progress with his mate. They’d settle into something comfortable, and everything would fall into place as it was meant to.

Onyx caught up to Dante a moment later. “Well, congratulations or whatever.”

“Thanks.” Warmth filled Dante. For Onyx, that was as close to a heartfelt sentiment as he’d get.

“How did you know?” Onyx asked more quietly, a hint of something vulnerable cutting through his usual snark. “Could you tell right away?”

“Pretty much. As soon as I saw him, something pulled me in his direction. Nothing else existed, and my demon senses flared into full-on primal mode. And his smell…” Dante cleared his throat. “It would have been impossible to miss.”

“If that’s what it’s like, Dex definitely isn’t my mate.”

Was that sorrow in Onyx’s tone? He’d spoken of finding his mate the least, but that didn’t mean his longing was any less.

“He’s out there, Onyx,” Dante assured him. “I know it.”

“Maybe. It doesn’t really matter.” Onyx sighed, turning his face away. “Let’s hurry up and find this demon.”

They flew the rest of the way in silence.

The waterfront was almost as busy now as it was during the day. Bars and restaurants passed below, light spilling onto the promenade, and people milling about.

A seawall held the walkway back from the sand and rocks, with stairs to access the beach when the tide was low.

The most popular spot for humans to gather was on the southern end of the beach, closer to the port and river, where all the white sand piled up.

The northern end turned rocky as the land rose into the cliffs flanking the city, where Dante’s home perched.

It was an odd place for a demon to hide. There would be plenty of people and relatively easy feeding, but why not fly here as needed and hold up somewhere more private?

Dante and Onyx followed Ash along the shore until they’d almost reached the end of the beach.

Ash turned inland, flying for another minute before landing on top of an older building with dark windows. “They’re inside.”

Onyx landed beside him. “So what’s the plan?”

“We could stake out the place and see who comes out,” Dante suggested.

“That will take too long. Next.” Onyx turned to Ash.

Ash frowned at Onyx. “Not that we’re in a rush, but I’d rather not wait around. If we confront them inside, we won’t have human eyes on us and won’t have to worry about hiding magic.”

That was a good point. “Then let’s search the place. I don’t feel any protective spells, which is odd.”

“Think it’s a trap?” Onyx asked.

Dante closed his eyes and sharpened his demon sense, focusing on the interior sounds of the building.

He filtered out all the other noise until he was sure.

“I only hear one heartbeat. If it’s a trap, it’s not very good, leaving them three against one.

” Maybe they’d expected Dante to come alone, but still.

When Dante opened his eyes, Onyx’s wings were gone.

“What?” Onyx put his shirt back on. “I’m not sneaking around with my wings out. This place looks like it has narrow hallways.”

Ash walked to the edge of the roof. “We’re going to have to enter on the ground floor. Doesn’t look like there’s roof access.”

They jumped down the two stories to the street. Onyx landed deftly in a crouch, even without his wings to steady him.

The ground floor of the building housed a closed boutique, but a door to the side was numbered separately, possibly leading to a residence above the shop.

“Let’s start here.” Dante gripped the door handle. There was no protective spell, but the residual tingle of magic pricked his palm. “Seems like they’ve used a spell to break or fix the lock. Feels like the same essence as the magic at the nests.”

Dante turned the handle, breaking the lock, and opened the door. Ash and Onyx followed him into a narrow stairwell. Dante retracted his wings, ignoring Onyx’s pointed sniff.

He could hear movement ahead.

At the top of the staircase stood a closed door. Dante, Ash, and Onyx crowded on the landing, a faint humming reaching their ears. From the smell of it, whoever was inside was cooking.

Again, the door was locked but not protected. Dante shouldered it open, cracking the frame.

He burst inside, the others at his heels.

“Oh fuck!” a woman shouted as a pan clattered to the floor. Not exactly a violent ambush. She whirled around to face them, surprise fading from her fine features. “All three Hounds. My, my.”

Dante growled at the offensive nickname. He was no one’s dog, least of all Lucifer’s. “And who are you?”

He didn’t recognize the demon. Her wavy brown hair, light skin, high cheekbones, and dark eyes sparked no immediate memories, but she wasn’t suppressing her power, so even with her demonic features hidden, there was no mistaking her for human.

Hundreds of Eternals fell to Earth with Lucifer to look for their mates. After the fall, they spread out across the globe, and in the Realm of the Damned, Dante, Ash, and Onyx had been isolated from the general population by Lucifer, so it wasn’t surprising not to recognize this demon.

Her eyes flashed silver flames. “My name is Ren. I’d say it’s a pleasure, but your faces tell me otherwise.”