Page 159 of Princess of Bael

He began tossing unconscious demons through the open threshold without touching them, his show of telekinetic ability only further proving he’d grown substantially in power.

“You’ve been downplaying your changes,” I said slowly. “How have you hidden this?”

He faced me as more bodies flew through the portal behind him, his violet eyes blazing with energy. “Trudy.”

“The Nephilim?”

“She’s much more than that,” he replied. “They all are. They’re beings of two realms. Children of angels. And no one has really considered what they would become.” He paused, glancing at the unconscious angels. “Well, some have absolutely considered the possibilities.”

I assumed he meant Azrael and Scion since they’d been training with the members of the Dark Provenance.

However, he shifted focus and pointed to the unconscious beings only a few yards away from Kayla. The spiky-haired female and blond male were ones I recognized as having imbibed Kristina’s power.

“They’re the product of Nephilim being forced to breed with demons, something that would have likely happened to Trudy had Xai and Evangeline not found her,” Ashmedai said.

I arched a brow, surprised by that information. “Why haven’t you mentioned this before?”

He ignored me, his next words a continuation of what he’d been saying. “They’re creations that defy the balance, or perhaps create a new one. That remains to be seen now that your mate sucked the power out of them. But my point is, the rules are changing.”

“And you failed to mention this before because…?” I tried again.

“It’s a recent discovery, one I’ve only just confirmed now that I’m in their presence.”

“Yet you think Trudy would have suffered a similar fate?” I pressed, not believing his bullshit about this beingrecent.

“She was part of a human trafficking ring organized by a power-hungry demon,” he drawled. “It’s an obvious assessment and link. All of the movements over the last forty or so human years have been leading toward the endgame. Every detail matters.”

I could agree with that. However… “You could share more of what you know.”

“I’ve shared quite a bit,” he countered as he lifted the four Nephilim-demon hybrids up off the ground with his power. “More than you even realize.” He snapped their necks beneath his telekinetic grip.

Then a holy blade appeared out of thin air as he stabbed them all without once actually touching them.

The lethal weapon landed at my feet in the next instant. “The blade Alastor originally promised Kayla. Be sure she gets it.”

I gritted my teeth. “Is this all a game to you?” I demanded as I faced him once more.

His nonchalant cleanup was fucking unnatural. He’d just killed those four beings without leaving one alive for questioning, and he was shoving all the others through that damn portal.

Except for the Dark Provenance members. He left them alone.

Along with the Archdemon and Archangels.

And Kayla’s Royal Guard.

“Yes,” he said softly. “A game I intend to win.” He picked up Morax. “I’ll handle him. I imagine Scion will want to handle Raziel and Zerak. Perhaps the timekeeper will give you a new countdown clock, hmm?”

I narrowed my gaze. “So that’s it? You take Morax and go?”

He blinked at me. “You act as though this is over, Ezra.” The portal closed behind him as the last of the demonic bodies went through it. The only demons he left behind were members of Kayla’s Royal Guard.

“We know who is behind this now,” I pointed out. Raziel had implicated his brother. And Zerak was clearly involved with Morax. “The culprits will be tried, and justice will be served.”

By my sword.

Ashmedai grinned. “Justice. Yes. Except this game has never been about stopping the veil from falling. It’s about surviving when it does.”

“So there are more beings involved,” I translated.