Page 11

The apartment was bathed in darkness, not a single light turned on as I padded down the stairs to the main floor. Kira had stayed upstairs, muttering something about needing a shower. I hooked around the corner, hearing at least two voices coming from the family room. When Kira had mentioned visitors, my mind had been too occupied with thoughts of Ashor to really think about who would have the balls to show up at a demon’s house in the middle of the night.

But now…

I was curious. No one knew I was here beside my family. I didn’t have any friends in New Orleans. And as I was mulling over the short list of people, I heard a voice grumble, “What is taking her so long?” A voice I’d heard my entire life. It was followed by the impatient tapping of a foot.

It couldn’t be. Could it?

“Chase?” I whispered from the doorway that led into the family room.

Four heads swung in my direction, three with eyes that glowed in the dark. “Who the hell else are you expecting?” my cousin said dryly. Even in the dark, I could see his shithead smirk.

My lips twitched as I crossed my arms. “First of all, I wasn’t expecting anyone, let alone you. What are you doing here?” My cousin wasn’t alone. I glanced at the faces of my family: Travis, Angel, and Emma. What was going on? Suddenly, I was worried something happened. “Is it Dad?” I asked quickly, the smile that had started to form on my lips falling as I looked at my brother.

He wore a stony expression that relaxed a fraction at the concern for our dad. “The old man is fine,” he assured, calming the sudden spike in my heart rate.

My shoulders sank, tension leaving my body. “Okay, then what is this? An intervention?”

“She called me,” Travis stated flatly.

There was no need for him to explain who she was. I glanced sidelong up at the ceiling, cursing my mother. How could she do this to me? Why would she do this to me? She couldn’t possibly suddenly be a concerned mother. The thought made me gag. “When?” I prompted.

“Last night,” Travis replied. “She told me that you are leaving, about your plan to rescue him from—”

The tattoo at the base of my neck radiated tingles at the mention of Ashor. “Son of a bitch,” I muttered under my breath, cutting off Travis. I didn’t need to hear any more, but my brother went on.

“I almost didn’t pick up,” he continued. “But then I remembered you were here. I thought something happened to you at first, but then she explained.”

I stepped into the room, a stream of moonlight striking the side of my face. “Explained what?” Whatever Kira had told him was enough for my brother to grab my family and race to New Orleans. I just couldn’t figure out why. Why involve my family? She knew I wanted to keep them out of this mess. Like a demon, Kira never did anything without a reason. She and I were going to have another little mother-daughter chat.

“That you struck a deal with her and are going back to the underworld for him.”

“I have no choice,” I defended. “I think he might just start a demon war to keep me safe.” And the truth of those words hit me like a savage storm. There were no lengths, no matter how perilous, regardless of the dire consequences, that he wouldn’t go to for me. Just because I was his mate.

Or was it more than that?

Was it our bond that Ashor was indebted to?

Angel put her hand on Chase’s shoulder, giving it a squeeze as she looked at me with understanding. “We came as soon as we could.”

“Would have been faster, but the hunter was determined to come,” Travis explained, sliding an accusing side glare to his girlfriend.

Emma rolled her eyes, adjusting the bow slung over her shoulder. “Just because I am the only one here who is actually human doesn’t mean I’m not an asset.”

I couldn’t argue with that. She had an aim that rarely missed. “I can’t believe you are all here,” I said, still feeling a bit disoriented. Yet, them being in New Orleans changed nothing. “You shouldn’t have come. My mind is made up. I have to do this.”

“Do what, exactly?” Travis asked, his aqua eyes narrowing. “Get yourself lost in Hell’s Mist? And if you do manage to make it to a gate, do you plan on breaking him out of the underworld alone? Solid plan, sis. And why did you tell Chase and not me?”

“It’s more than that. Besides, who said I was alone? I have to stop Ashor from handing over the Queen of Envy to his mother,” I replied. “Long enough for us to find a way to end Kali.” Basically, I’m trying to save the fucking world. Although, he was right about one thing. It was an impossible task alone. Even for someone as skilled and badass as me, although lately, I wasn’t feeling like the demon huntress I was known to be.

“Why would he do that?” Chase inquired, his sharp eyes searching my face for answers. “Deliver another queen to his mother’s doorstep?”

“Long story,” I sighed. “But the short of it is, to protect me he swore a blood oath to the Queen of Darkness if she gave her word to let me live.”

“I’m not up to date on my Hell fractions, but isn’t Envy Kira’s queen?” Travis asked. He rarely ever called the succubus Mom. My brother was a lot less forgiving and made it pretty clear he didn’t want anything from our demon mother, not even a semblance of a relationship. Our stepmother, Chloe, was enough for him.

I nodded at Travis’s question. “It is. Verena lives in Gardeness. And that is where Ashor will go if I don’t stop him. He might already be there, in fact.” If my dream had any truth to it.

“I really hate demon politics,” Angel grumbled.

We’d been loitering in the dark long enough without a proper hello. I glanced at my best friend for a moment and moved in for a hug. “I missed you,” I whispered, holding on to her for a moment longer.

She squeezed me tight before letting go. “Me too. Home is not the same without you.”

Home. The word punctured a hole in my already aching chest. Her little belly bump protruded more since the last time I saw her, and I couldn’t resist rubbing my hand over it. “You look great,” I said.

Her auburn hair was loose, falling just past her shoulders. She’d had it recently cut, I noticed, the style flattering her cheekbones. “I feel huge,” she said, rolling her violet eyes.

I shook my head. “You are adorable. Every inch of you.” I turned to Emma next and folded her into a hug. Emma was short, cute, and sassy with her red hair and freckled nose.

Ordering everyone to take a seat, I flipped on one of the side table lamps, and Travis whistled as he glanced over Kira’s apartment, walking around.

“So this is where you’ve been hiding out,” he said, wandering through the room while the others relaxed into the couches.

“I’m not hiding out,” I pouted, plopping into a recliner. My fingers traced over the textured pattern on the fabric.

Unlike Travis, Chase couldn’t care less where my mother lived and didn’t give the apartment a second glance. He was more concerned with the security and identifying the escape routes. “Lex, we can’t let you go alone. I don’t have to like the guy, but if it was Angel, I’d be doing everything in my power to get to her,” Chase admitted. “You were there for me when Angel and I went through something similar. You helped me bring her back.”

“It’s dangerous. I can’t ask you to put yourselves in a situation where any of you can get hurt. I couldn’t live with myself. Ashor is my problem. Besides, I’m not doing this alone. I have help,” I assured him. Two demons who weren’t very trustworthy, not like family.

“Are you done yet?” Chase asked with a raised brow, his hands shoved into his pockets as he rocked on his heels, sporting a shithead smirk.

I blinked, staring into the faces of my family. They all wore similar expressions of amusement, and I couldn’t figure out why. Nothing I’d said was funny. Flecks of darkness sparked at my fingertips in annoyance.

“God, Lex. You are simply amazing,” Emma grinned, flashing pearly white teeth.

Travis rubbed at the back of his neck. “I definitely don’t envy him. I’ve always said you were a handful and I would pity the man who fell in love with you.”

I frowned at my brother. This wasn”t the time to discuss my shortcomings.

“The thing is, yes, we came here to support you,” Chase intersected, sensing a sister-brother spat coming on. “It’s what we do. But… your mate, he doesn’t know us very well.” I recognized the mischievous gleam in Chase’s silver eyes. He was up to something. He slipped his hand into Angel’s, and the two of them shared a look before he turned back to me. “You should have come to us for help, Lex, then you wouldn’t have had to make a deal with Kira. A bargain with a demon always has strings attached, but having been in this position myself, I understand why you did it. No one knows more than Angel and me what you are going through and how devastatingly hard it was for him to leave you.”

I couldn’t help but notice that Chase refused to call Ashor by his name. “Doesn’t change that he left me,” I argued, putting heat and frustration behind the statement. Nor my need to help him.

“No, it doesn’t.” The expression on his face was pained, as if he could imagine all too well what Ashor had felt forcing me out of the underworld, surrendering to his mother for me. “And yet you’re still willing to go back to Hell to save him, a place you hate with every fiber of your being—all for him.”

Travis hopped over the back of the couch, plopping down and making himself cozy. “I don’t necessarily agree with Chase. This whole idea is insane, but it isn’t the first time we’ve gotten ourselves into a mess.”

My gaze bounced between Chase and Travis, trying to find a way to make them see reason here. Was I the only sane person in the room?

Emma scooted to the edge of the couch, closer to my brother, who looped a casual arm behind her. “The only real chance we have of stopping the queen from releasing Hell on Earth is if we work together. You need us,” she said matter-of-factly.

My head shook. “No. Absolutely not. I won’t put you in danger. This is my fault. I can handle it.”

Chase’s silver eyes flashed gold. “Sorry, it’s not open for discussion. We’ve already decided.” His voice left no room for argument, but I could also be a stubborn ass.

“And besides, tell me again how this is your fault?” Angel prompted, the voice of reason. She was calm, and at times like this, I found it difficult to believe she was a queen herself, capable of producing fire hot enough to kill a demon’s soul.

“The Queen of Darkness had her eye on Angel long before you met the prince,” Chase reminded. “This involves us all. When you mess with one of us—”

“—you mess with us all,” Travis finished.

Chase was right, but I refused to admit it. He didn’t need anyone inflating his already huge ego. It was larger than life. “I appreciate you guys coming here and caring. I really do. I didn’t know how much I needed to see you, but I…”

Chase kicked out his legs onto the coffee table, linking his arms behind his head. Angel snuggled into the crook of his arm, pulling her legs up onto the couch.

“What are you doing?” I huffed, blowing back strands of my day-two hair.

He crossed his hands in front of his chest. “Getting comfortable, because we’re not leaving.”

“Dammit, Chase. Angel can’t—”

My best friend cleared her throat, cutting off what would have been an epic rant. “I’m not fragile. Besides, I’m your ticket through the Mist and out. Being the Queen of the Damned or the Queen of Inferno, whatever freaking title they give me, has its benefits. It seems I can’t get lost.”

I folded my arms, doing my best to suppress the rising darkness cooling my blood. I opened my mouth and then promptly snapped it shut when I got a good look at the unyielding jaw on Angel.

Her chin lifted. “There is no other way. You can’t get out of the underworld without me,” she pointed out.

Truth.

Cayden had ensured he could get me in, but not out. That detail was up to Ashor and me. A tightening grew in my throat, and my eyes burned. “This is insane,” I whispered. I couldn’t believe what was happening. They really weren’t going to let me go alone, and my chest ached with the knowledge. Both in fear and relief, which then brought on the guilt. And anger at my mother for making the call.

My shoulders slumped, resignation overcoming me. We were really going to do this—go back to the underworld—together. All for one and one for all and all that bullshit.

“There is nothing insane about wanting to protect family,” Chase said.

I swallowed the knot of emotion that got stuck in my throat, forcing down tears that threatened to wet my eyes. Right alongside gratitude were ribbons of darkness swirling around the hole in my chest that constantly throbbed. “Does the ache ever go away?” I asked, looking at my cousin and his wife while I rubbed the heel of my palm against my heart in an attempt to pacify the discomfort.

“Never,” Chase and Angel said in unison.

“Until you are together again, your souls will always be split,” Chase said.

“You’ll never feel whole,” Angel added.

I dropped my chin onto my hand. “I was afraid you were going to say that. I don’t know how you guys deal with this.”

“Because I love her,” Chase said plainly.

Angel grinned.

My bond to the prince could be crippling, paralyzing. It had the power to destroy me, but I also knew it could be deep and gratifying, a connection beyond anything mortals had, if I allowed myself to accept the prince—flaws and all. But I also had to accept myself—my demon. I had to allow myself to love. The problem was, I didn’t know if I could give my heart away again.

Ashor wasn’t Colin. There was no guilt about mixing him up in my world as there had been with Colin. Ashor was powerful, capable of taking care of himself in a fight. He was reckless and dodgy with his words, more demon than human, but why did that have to be a flaw?

“Okay,” I said.

“Okay,” Chase echoed, looking each one of us in the eyes. “It’s settled. Kira will take us to the portal. Angel will lead us through the Mist to the gate. From there, you will go find your prince, and we will be waiting for you to return.”

One by one, we all nodded.

A somber mood settled over us for the remainder of the night, but we stayed lounging in the family room, talking, planning, and catching up, just like old times. This was what we did best. Besides, none of us was really tired. And who could blame us?

Tomorrow night, I’d be breaking Ashor out of Hell. I just needed Cayden to point me in the right direction. My bond to Ashor would do the rest.

Trusting Cayden might prove to be the most difficult part of the plan, regardless that he was Ashor’s friend and what he had done for my mother all those years ago. Cayden was a demon. I’d spent my life killing monsters like him, not becoming their best friends. I couldn’t even trust my own mother.

If Cayden betrayed me, led me astray, or abandoned me, I’d be screwed.

I needed to be smart. If I stood a chance at finding Ashor, I had to outwit the queen herself. I wasn’t sure how, but when the time came, I had to be prepared. There would be no room for error.

For the Queen of Darkness was a cunning bitch.

* * *

The few hours of sleep I managed that night, I didn’t dream about Ashor. It was the Queen of Darkness who invaded my sleep. Smug and condescending, she sat high on her throne, staring down at me like I was nothing but an ant she could squash with her shoe. I was small. Inconsequential. Pesky. Useless.

I tossed and turned, ice freezing my veins.

And when I woke up, the ceiling was painted in shadows and darkness of my own making.

I hadn’t told my family about the little hitch in being bonded to a prince. Just how did I explain a power I didn’t understand, nor fully control. But if we were going into the underworld together, then they deserved to know everything they were getting involved in, including the dark magic inside me.