Page 62 of Hunted By Fear

I stand in the doorway watching, where nobody will pay me any mind.

“How did you know I could help her?” Lucifer asks Bast, his arms banded around Aeri as if holding onto her for dear life.

“Talian.” Bast nods toward Talian, where he stands at the end of the bed, a self-satisfied smile on his face.

“How did you know that would work?” Kai’s out of the chair and across the room in the blink of an eye as Aeri’s breathing begins to even out.

Talian doesn’t so much as blink, let alone look away from her. “I mean, I didn’tknow,but I read it in a book–”

“What book? I’ve been through everything in the whole library,” Kai hisses, and I mean that literally. His voice takes onmore of his snake quality, his pupils turning to slits; it only lasts a moment, and when he blinks again, he’s back in control.

I narrow my eyes, looking him over, but while he’s clearly upset, I can’t see more than that. For now, that’s enough; I don’t have the time to worry about more than I already am, but I’ll keep an eye on him.

“It wasn’t inthislibrary,” Talian says, rolling his eyes before he heads for the door, leaving us all to watch him go.

“Did he just indirectly tell us he wentthere?” Lucifer asks, looking around at each of us, and I can’t think of what else he might have meant.

“He has been disappearing every now and then.” I look to Bast, where he sits with Aerilyn’s head in his lap, running a hand through her hair, brushing it from her sweat-soaked head.

Bast’s power allows him to feel emotions, taste them even, but he can only feed on lust. I, on the other hand, feed on fear. Most beings have a healthy fear of me, but I haven’t been this full of power since before we left. Torturing souls, killing—that’s usually how I replenish myself, but since we returned, I haven’t had to even think about it. Ever since Rome got a hold of her, Aerilyn has been single-handedly overwhelming my powers.

I’d felt her fear a few times in the penthouse, but it was never this potent, and most nights I left; the sweet smell of her too alluring to trust myself around. Demons don’t require sleep like humans do; I’d much rather sleep for a day once a month than waste so many hours daily as they do.

What could have happened for her to be so afraid?

“I’m not surprised.” We all turn to look at Ruin, who stands beside the bed, eyes fixed on Aerilyn.

When did he get here?

“I don’t know if there's much he wouldn’t do for her,” he says in a quiet voice, and I get the feeling he isn’t just talking about Talian anymore.

“Where isthere?” Aerilyn’s voice is quiet.

All eyes turn to where she rests on the bed, looking up at us, her eyes bright and curious.

Nobody answers, and after a beat too long, I realize nobody is going to.

“Talian is the keeper of the Forbidden Library of Biblioteca,” I say in way of explanation, not that it tells her much. I doubt she’s ever heard of it, seeing as her knowledge of angels and demons seems to sit well below even basic belief.

Which is why I’m not at all surprised when her face scrunches up in confusion. “The what now?”

Slowly, as if exhausted or maybe perhaps in pain, she pushes up, her face twisting before her hand moves to her temple, letting me know it was the latter.

“Aeri.” Bast reaches out to steady her, and she offers him a smile, but it’s not her usual one. No, she might be in pain, but she’s also exhausted, and how could she not be? She’s fighting for her life, held in the hands of a sociopathic angel.

“I’m okay.” She fights a grimace, and I catch Luce moving out of the corner of my eye. He swallows hard before turning away to pace the length of the room, clearly fighting to control himself.

Bast doesn’t even try and fight it, instead reaching out to wrap his hand around her waist to support her. She opens her mouth, ready to tell him she’s okay again, but he doesn’t give her the chance.

“Stop it.” His voice is harsh, final in a way I’m not sure I’ve ever heard from him and definitely never heard when speaking to Aerilyn.

She snaps her mouth closed, her brows halfway up her head as she regards him with wide eyes. The room is quiet for a moment before I hear the deep rumble from Lucifer.

There goes his control.

“Stop acting like you're okay when it’s so clear that you’re not. Nobody expects you to be. So if something hurts, say it. If you’re tired, sleep. Let us…” he looks down at his lap before taking a deep breath and looking up to meet her gaze. “Letmehelp you.”

He’s lost a lot of the heat in his words, but there are other emotions there, as he all but pleads with her, right here in front of us.