Page 67 of Princess of Bael

Others, such as Bael, had four.

Morax had six—a strategy he used to keep his demons competitive for power.

Kayla had added little notes regarding their power levels, marking Zebulon as one of the most powerful beings in the human realm.

She’d also written some notes on Kristina, Johanna, and Lucía, tying them back to their Archdemon and Archangel parents.

Kristina—Prince Morax and Archangel Valisa.

Johanna—Prince Orcus and Archangel Gloria.

Lucía—Prince Kore and Archangel Stefania.

Then she’d moved on to a list of Archangels, of which there were twenty-seven. Since we all technically shared the same realm in Heaven, she hadn’t added any territory notes. But she had included a handful of notes on their abilities.

Beneath my name, she’d written:Archangel of Justice. Asshole. Betrayer. Soon to be dead.

I’d chuckled along, allowing her a moment of fun. Then I’d repaid the favor by adding my own notes beneath Bael.

Kayla. Halfling. Princess of Bael. Beautiful. Cunning. Brat.

She’d narrowed her eyes at that last part, then shrugged and gone back to her list of Archangels and angels.

But two days later, we were no closer to solving this mystery than when we’d begun. It was almost time to meet Gleason again, and we still had no idea who could be behind Evangeline’s kidnapping in Hell. However, we felt certain it was related to what had happened to Kristina.

“I think we’re dealing with more than one individual,” Kayla eventually stated.

I agreed.

The questions remained: What group? And who was part of said group?

Kayla shook her head as though hearing my questions and being unable to answer them. With a sigh, she faced me, her caramel-colored irises flaring with power. She kept most of it hidden beneath that cuff, making me wonder what she could do.

Would she be able to kill me if she removed it and allowed me to feel the full force of her energy?I mused. It was a dangerous thought, yet it intrigued me.

I liked how powerful my mate had become.

However, I didn’t like how much she hated me. Even now, I could feel her anger at what I’d done to her. And I couldn’t blame her for being furious with me.

“Part of me wants to apologize,” I admitted out loud. “But I wouldn’t mean it.”

“No, you wouldn’t,” she agreed, immediately knowing what I meant. “Even knowing what you do now, you’d make the same decision.”

“I would, yes.” While she might be vengeful and full of hate, she was still powerful, beautiful, and a force of nature. “Who would you be had I not left you with Bael?” I wondered out loud. “Who would I be had I let the balance fail four decades ago? What would have become of the world?”

“How do you know the balance would have failed?” she countered.

“Because it was always destined to fracture. My whole purpose in this life was to prolong the inevitable, which is a sad existence when you consider that I’ve always been expected to fail.”

She arched a dark brow. “So you left me in Hell, knowing full well it was a moot point anyway?”

“Yes.” I leaned back against my desk, my wings fluttering to rest upon the wood as I slid my hands into the pockets of my jeans. “I also knew Bael would never harm you and that you would be safer in his realm while you mastered your powers. You were never meant to reside with the humans. He only did that to gift you the memory of your mother.”

Some of the anger tugging at her mouth seemed to dissipate with my words. “How do you know that?”

“Because I’ve known Bael for a very long time,” I replied. “I read his motives almost as well as he reads mine. Which is why he made that blood deal—he knew there would come a day when I couldn’t resist staying away from you.”

“Yet you never came,” she pointed out.