Page 109 of Princess of Bael

“You also know what you need to do to make me play my cards.” The sensual notes in Ashmedai’s velvety voice made the Nephilim snort.

“And you know what I want before I decide,” she returned.

He shrugged, his gaze returning to me and giving nothing else away. “Do you find it odd that Trudy was part of a demon trafficking operation as a mere infant?”

“I was a child, not an infant,” she shot up at us.

He brushed her away with a flicker of his fingers, his focus remaining on me. “I found it odd. Especially considering her paternal line.”

My gaze narrowed. “Stop speaking in riddles.”

“Is that what I’m doing?” His dimples flashed. “Well, I’m merely pointing out that there are a lot of Nephilim who appear to be unaccounted for. Which makes Daniel’s list a disappointing representation of his kind.”

“Meaning you didn’t find anything useful in that list.” Thus suggesting that it would be a waste of time for me and Kayla to review it now or attempt another meeting with the Dark Provenance members.

“On the contrary, I found several fascinating items on that list, as well as proof that this power imbalance is absolutely impacting offspring with an angel or demon parent.” His gaze moved to Kayla. She stood at the table with the others, pointing at something on the massive sheet of paper and asking a question I couldn’t hear from my position.

Zebulon responded, his expression giving nothing away.

Meanwhile, Yaz watched Kayla with stars in his eyes, his devotion to her clear.

Still, I didn’t quite appreciate his close proximity to my mate.

There were protective instincts, and then there were possessive instincts. This Royal Guard seemed to be exuding some of both.

Did Kayla play with him in the past?

Do I want the answer to that?

“She’s a good example,” Ashmedai said quietly, theshein his sentence clearly referring to Kayla. “Her power is tempered by that cuff, but she’s growing at an exponential rate. Of course, that could also be an influence from you.”

I met his gaze again, waiting for him to say more.

“Nephilim are the perfect pawns in this game. No auras. No birth records that can easily be tracked. And an unknown aptitude for magic.” His feathers ruffled at his back as he maintained his position beside me, his voice quiet. “They’re easy to take advantage of, considering their mortal halves. Almost all of them have daddy issues.”

Trudy snorted below, but he didn’t pay any attention to her.

I idly wondered how she could hear him from three stories below—something I probably should have considered initially, seeing as I couldn’t hear Kayla at all from here.

“It seems to me that there’s a reason the Dark Provenance has failed in tracking them all down,” Ashmedai continued, distracting me from my thoughts about Trudy. “Of course, that’s just my theory.”

“Nothing you say is ever just a theory, Ashmedai,” I returned.

“No, just riddles,” he replied, his lips twitching.

“You’ve been playing this game as long as I have,” I told him, ignoring his commentary. “Maybe even longer.”

His violet irises glimmered in response, his expression saying,Definitely longer.

“You have more than a theory on who is behind this,” I added.

“I’m merely stating all the musings that have led me to certain conclusions.” His easy tone belied the heavy meaning behind the words.

“And is that why you’ve taken on a Nephilim pet?” I asked, referring to Trudy. “Because of these musings?” Because I strongly suspected that it was all related.

His lips quirked. “Now you’re thinking like the Archangel of Justice.”

“That’s not an answer.”