Page 44 of Resurrection (Daemons & Lumens #2)

CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT

Phenex

I was trying very hard not to murder the Princes.

The big one, Typhon, was going on and on about how delicious my mate tasted when she rode his fucking face the other day.

I knew he was doing it to piss me off, and it was fucking working.

If I wasn’t so distracted dealing with the others and making sure we were fully prepared for an attack by my evil brother, I would’ve found them and ripped their dicks off before they got anywhere near her.

Of course, I wouldn’t actually do that. I wanted Seraphina to love me. And she wouldn’t love me if I hurt them. How was I meant to make her love me and accept me as her mate when she was so smitten with them? It was infuriating.

At night, I played out the last moments of her father’s life in my head. Seraphina’s father died in my arms. She didn’t know that yet, and I had no fucking clue how to tell her. But I would, eventually.

I flew through the halls of the Valdis Palace, bodies littering the floors. Aurora had escaped our world, but there was someone here I needed to speak with. Someone who sent me a most intriguing note.

I came to the bedroom of Aurora and her mate. I heard of her marriage to the outlaw daemon. Caligo was in uproar, my father in particular. He wanted Aurora, and she refused him, marrying a truxen daemon instead.

That daemon was now sprawled out on the floor, clutching a precious stone to his chest. He was bleeding from several wounds that would instantly kill a mortal. There were dozens of dead soldiers loyal to my father around him. The daemon gazed up at me.

“I’ve been waiting for you.” His words were filled with pain.

I dropped to my knees beside him, curious more than anything. “What do you know of my mate?”

The note he sent burned into my brain long after I destroyed it. He knew who my mate was.

It was a secret desire of mine to find my mate. The creature who would be my other half, my equal. My everything. I wanted more than I cared to admit.

“She is going to be your queen. She will be the best of us. The most powerful creature our world has seen in a millenia.”

My pride soared for this creature. I had to have her. “Tell me who it is.”

The daemon smiled, his eyes sad and filled with pain. “My daughter. She will be yours. But there will be more—” He coughed savagely, and blood trickled from his lips.

I frowned. “Why aren’t you healing?”

The daemon opened his closed hand, and I stared at the glowing tenebrite stone. “Send this to Aurora for our daughter. For Seraphina. Her mates.”

My eyes widened. He was dying because he’d already gifted his soul to the stone. His life ebbed away on this plane, and would become a gift. And his words were confusing. Mates?

She will be yours . He said those words. But the rest confused me. Did he know about these Princes? Were these human hybrids supposed to be hers too? It was unheard of…one woman for us all to share and bond with. I frowned, mulling over this information with the evidence before me.

Michaela’s laughter pulled me from my thoughts. She and Morax were decorating for the party, and being absurdly in love. The stench was fucking cloying.

“I’m going out for a bit,” I growled, leaving them to it.

I didn’t really know where I was going, but I made my way outside, stomping around and pouting like a child.

The sound of someone grunting with exertion caught my heightened senses, and I circled around the mansion toward the dense woods behind it. Devon was close to the edge of the protective shields we placed around the grounds. He was digging, or rather filling, a hole.

He frowned when he saw me. “Do you need something?”

I crossed my arms. “What are you doing?”

He stopped for a moment and turned his bright-green eyes to me. “Burying Joseph Bronwen. I wanted Seraphina and Michaela to have a place to mourn him. Don’t have a headstone, but at least we can surround it with flowers or something.”

“A stone?” I cocked my head to the side, curious.

He arched his brow. “Yeah. A headstone. We bury our dead in cemeteries with a stone stating their name.”

I frowned. “I can help with that. What should it say?”

Devon stared at me like I was crazy. “Uh, his name. And maybe…beloved husband and devoted father.”

I nodded and closed my eyes. I pictured the stone in my mind, imagining the words Devon spoke.

I whispered a few words, coaxing the earth to follow my commands.

The stone formed beneath the surface and slowly shoved its way out at my command, just at the edge of the freshly dug grave.

When I opened my eyes, the headstone was there just as I envisioned.

Devon’s mouth was open, and he stared at me. “Can you teach me how to do that?”

I shrugged. “Probably. Why?”

Devon’s gaze dropped to the stone. “I’d like to make a few myself. For those we’ve lost.”

I shoved my hands in my jeans. “Alright. I can help you.”

The young Prince looked back at me with a half-smile. I returned his smile with one of my own. This was mildly pleasant.

“Why were you stomping out here?” Devon asked, leaning on the shovel. His muscular arms filled out the T-shirt he wore impeccably well.

But the reminder of my previous mood had me snarling again. I was about to rage, but something stopped me. A tug at a bond, barely noticeable, but it was there. “I am struggling to understand Seraphina. And what her needs are.”

Devon’s small smile turned into a grin. “Good luck with that. She’s practically a sphinx. And unless she wants you to know what she’s thinking, you won’t.”

Devon’s quiet laughter turned into a louder chuckle, and I shrugged, rolling my eyes.

“Of course. The stars blessed me with a mate who causes more chaos than I do.”

The Prince nodded, smiling. “Best to enjoy the ride, my friend. From someone who was in a similar place, and then in the damn doghouse, just trust her. If you trust her, you’ll figure it out.”

I pursed my lips and crossed my arms, pondering his words. “Thank you.”

Devon nodded, offering his hand, and I reached out and shook it.

A bond hummed between us, and we stared at each other, feeling the strange connection stirring.

I left without another word. I didn’t know what to make of the bonds forming between me and others.

Well, that wasn’t entirely true. I was beginning to think something was happening between myself and these Princes.

And Devon’s words wrang out in my head. Trust her.

I always loved an adventure, so might as well dive head first into this one.