Page 15 of Resurrection (Daemons & Lumens #2)

CHAPTER TWELVE

Leviathan

K eeping my thoughts civilized when Seraphina looked like a goddess of the dark and dangerous variety was nearly impossible.

Fuck, I was in love with this woman. She radiated strength and power so forcefully, I almost dropped to my knees when she entered the room.

She was a queen, and I would follow her through the gates of hell if she asked.

We only waited by our seats at the table for a few minutes before the men we were forced to call our fathers entered the room.

They swept in like a hurricane, commanding the attention of everyone.

I hated them so viscerally, and my daemon roared, eager to be unleashed.

But while they held our relics, we could not harm them directly.

I heard Seraphina’s intake of breath when she spotted her sister.

I could see the resemblance. Michaela had a lovely face, with a mouth shaped like her sister’s.

She was slimmer than Seraphina, with long golden hair that reminded me of their mother.

Michaela’s eyes were her most striking feature, one sky blue and the other a golden brown.

But it was not her lovely face that caused my girl to gasp.

Michaela had a crude collar around her neck, with the leash attached to it held by Ty’s father, Darren Radnor.

Darren wore an easy smile, his eyes watching Seraphina as she took in the state of her younger sister.

But it wasn’t Darren. It was the daemon, Morax, I reminded myself.

Unfortunately, our girl didn’t know that yet.

Seraphina snarled and, before we could stop her, ran at Darren.

Guards jumped in front of her, and in a matter of seconds, she stole a gun from one and had both bleeding at her feet.

She stepped over them and pointed the gun at Darren.

More guards poured into the room and aimed their weapons at Seraphina.

I roared at them, rushing to her side with my brothers and ordering them to stand down. Laszlo and my own father watched the scene unfold with bored expressions.

“What the fuck do you think you are doing with my sister?” Seraphina snarled at Darren.

Darren leaned forward, tugging the leash and pulling Michaela closer to him. “Whatever the fuck I want.”

Michaela reached down suddenly and cradled her belly, which I hadn’t noticed was sporting a swollen belly. She was pregnant. Oh shit. Morax left that bit of information out when he came to us in the cells.

Seraphina seemed to notice this at the same moment, and in seconds she spun and kicked out, knocking Darren to the floor and releasing his hold on her sister. She aimed the gun at his head. “Fuck you.”

Michaela dropped suddenly, her body covering Darren’s. “No!” she shouted, raising a hand and staring down her sister.

Seraphina paused, her eyes widened in shock. “Kaela.” She whispered her sister’s name. “What the fuck are you doing?”

Darren rolled over, awkwardly getting to his feet. He looked furious and took a dangerous step toward our girl. I had to actively remind myself it wasn’t Ty’s horrible father any longer.

Ty stepped in front of Seraphina, his chest level with his father’s. He growled, a dangerous edge to the sound. “I will kill you before you touch her.”

My father’s laughter caused everyone to pause and turn their gazes in his direction. Samuel crossed his arms, and his naturally blank face looked positively amused. “Darren. Is your captive in love with you? What a spectacle that was.”

Darren chuckled, plucking the leash from where it dangled at Michaela’s side. “Yes, I think she enjoys what I have to offer. My cock is her favorite toy.”

Seraphina screamed, attempting to plow through Ty and attacked, but he grabbed her around the waist and held tightly. “Not now, Seraphina. Not now.” He whispered the words against her ear.

She looked miserably at her sister, the devastation plain on her face.

My heart broke for her, but there was nothing any of us could do in that moment.

She didn’t know what we knew about Darren’s death.

The man her sister protected was her mate.

We needed to find a way to tell Seraphina this news before she inadvertently killed the love of her sister’s life.

“Now that that’s done with, everyone take your seats.” Laszlo’s sharp voice cut through the tension, forcing us all to listen.

Ty kept his arm around Seraphina’s waist as he guided her to her seat. Staff appeared, pulling out each chair and tucking us in against the table. Several seats were still empty, I noticed. My father sat to my right, eyeing me with amusement.

“Don’t worry, the others will be in shortly,” he said, taking a sip of the bourbon a servant brought to him.

My father’s smirk was more unsettling paired with the endless nothing in his eyes. I did not like the way he spoke, and I knew Michaela’s pregnancy was only the first surprise of the evening.

The doors against the far wall opened, and I cursed beneath my breath when I spied who the remaining guests were.

Dev’s sister stalked toward us, her head held high.

She wore a simple black dress, and her dark hair was braided down her back.

Her gaze remained above the table, refusing to look at her brother who was staring wide-eyed at her.

Leyja took the seat to the left of Laszlo’s, next to Seraphina. She didn’t speak, and Seraphina eyed her curiously from the side. But her attention was quickly turned to the final guests.

“Audrey!” Seraphina shouted her friend’s name and stood from her seat.

Ty grasped her wrist, forcing her to stay at the table.

Her head snapped to Laszlo, and she snarled at him. “Let her go. She doesn’t deserve this.”

Laszlo leaned back in his chair with an easy smirk. “I have done nothing. It is her father who made the choice.”

I turned to the man walking behind Audrey.

He looked like a sub if I’d ever seen one.

Why our fathers wanted him in The Obscuritas was beyond me.

He took the seat across from me, his graying hair disheveled and his suit slightly wrinkled.

Mr. Kingston did not look like a man capable of attaining power of any kind.

But he must be important for him to be seated at this table.

Audrey, I was sure, was only here to keep her father compliant.

The scheming of our fathers was something I never wanted to be part of, and yet I was always roped into it.

My part in their plans was obvious from boyhood.

I shared my father’s eyes, but it was my mother who granted me a striking face.

She was a beauty, my father told me, and I inherited that beauty, turning me into the handsome Prince our fathers needed to draw men and women alike to their stupid cult.

I was forced to feed desires of all kinds in the name of The Obscuritas.

When my brothers found out how truly used I had become, they banded together with me and ended it.

Seraphina was the first woman I gave myself to of my own free will.

She drew me in so fully, made me feel safe and seen and wanted in ways no other person had.

I picked up my whiskey and took a long pull of the harsh liquor. These thoughts were too heavy, and I needed to keep my shields fortified against my father. I glanced in his direction, but he was staring at Audrey.

The girl was silent and rigid in her seat next to mine. I didn’t see any obvious bruises, but my father preferred to fuck with people’s minds first. I pitied the girl. If we could get her out of this, we would.

“Father.” Andras spoke first, after the final guests were seated and served drinks. “I am somewhat surprised to see we are having this dinner, after the events earlier today.”

Andras eyed his father with a smirk, and I was equally satisfied to see Laszlo’s cold mask slip. His eye twitched, and I swore he almost growled.

“My slave will be found and returned to her place at my feet soon enough. We are confident of that.”

“Are you?” Seraphina cut in, leaning forward. “I’m not. Did you see that thing? He had wings and shit. Do you have some flying monkeys hidden away to chase them?”

I snorted a laugh, earning a raised eyebrow from my father, but I could care less what he thought. Even less about the repercussions of my actions. We were not strangers to torture at the hands of our fathers.

Laszlo ignored Seraphina as the servants brought out the first course. Darren picked up a spoon and scooped out a small bite of the cucumber soup and fed it to Michaela. His gaze turned to Seraphina, and he winked.

In the next second, Darren had a fork lodged in his upper shoulder. He snarled, ripping it out as Seraphina seethed from across the table.

Ty chuckled. “You shouldn’t provoke her so, father.”

“Next time, it will be your eye,” Seraphina raged at Darren, holding her butter knife.

Darren leaned toward her, his eyes narrowed. “If you cannot keep your little psycho in check, boy, I will.”

I smiled broadly. “There is not a soul on this Earth who can keep our diabla in check. And even if we could, I would never do so.”

Seraphina’s gaze turned to me, and she smiled. Her eyes still held fury and sadness in equal parts, but I would do whatever I could to take both away.

“When the full moon is upon us, the ritual that was meant to be so long ago shall commence.” Laszlo’s sharp voice forced everyone at the table to listen.

Except for Seraphina. “And what exactly does this ritual entail? Another lame attempt to gain power that doesn’t belong to you? Killing more women because they won’t sleep with you?”

Pride filled my soul at her defiance. Our girl was brave and refused to cower to the men who created us. But Laszlo was not easily deterred. And with the disruption earlier, he seemed more determined than ever.

“Your life, like your mother’s and your two sisters’, is meaningless.

” Laszlo’s words were cold, and his eyes filled with icy fury as he stared at Seraphina.

“The power running through your veins belongs to me. To The Obscuritas. To men who understand it and will wield it the way it was meant to be wielded.”

Seraphina shook with rage. Michaela’s eyes dropped to the table, her lips set in a grim line.

Darren tugged at her leash. No one else was looking at them, and the look in his eyes was strange to see on the man I knew who only brought pain.

He wanted to comfort her. The look faded quickly, and the evil smile returned as Laszlo turned to Darren.

“Take your toy back to your bed,” Laszlo started, but Seraphina interrupted.

“No!” She snarled at them, slamming her steak knife on the table. She brought it up to her throat. “I will kill myself and ruin your fucking ritual right now if you send her back to that fucking monster.”

Ty moved to take the knife, but she growled at him, her aquamarine eyes blazing with fury.