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ADAN

T he Abyss never slept. My hotel practically breathed with the night, inhaling every secret and whisper that drifted through its ancient stone walls. Ten stories tall, carved from stone and shadow, it stood as a fortress for the supernatural. A place where creatures of all kinds could come to lay their weary heads. A haven with rules as strict as the iron fist I ruled it with.

But tonight, the building and land surrounding it pulsed with something different. Almost unsettled.

Staring out the window, I scanned the darkened woods for any sign of the source of my uneasiness. When I didn’t find one, I allowed my demon side to push forward just enough for my powers to sweep the area. Still nothing.

I stepped onto the stone balcony outside my top-floor chambers, dragging the chill of the night air deep into my lungs. I didn’t catch anything unfamiliar in the scent of the wind, but my disquiet didn’t ease.

The land I had claimed stretched below me like a sleeping beast. Its wards pulsed steady, strong, and familiar. As they should be since they were mine.

The building and the land surrounding it for as far as my supernatural eyes could see were mine to protect. And so was every soul in my domain.

If an unknown danger lurked on my land, I needed to uncover it…and eradicate the threat.

I called my demon half forward, letting it take over my body. Flames flooded my vision, turning my eyes to swirling black pits lit with fire. My skin thickened, toughened, as bones cracked and reshaped beneath the surface. I relished the bite of pain as my wings tore free, leathery and massive, their deep magenta color fading toward the bottom. Then my horns pushed through with a satisfying ache, ribbed and black, curving slightly. And finally, my segmented tail unfurled behind me, black with the exception of the deadly magenta tip.

I rolled my shoulders, the weight of my iron guards grounding me. With a low growl, I leaped into the sky. Wind rushed over my chest and thighs, the night air wrapping around me as I soared above my land, every inch of the soil steeped in power that answered only to me.

From up here, I could feel the heartbeat of The Abyss below—slow, watchful, alive. I circled the perimeter twice, wings slicing through the clouds like blades, but whatever had stirred my wards left no trail I could follow. There was no sign of an intruder. No flare of power other than my own. Just the quiet hum of magic that had long been mine.

Dissatisfied, I banked low and landed near the side entrance of the stone building, the sidewalk cracking beneath my iron boots as I touched down. Heat shimmered across my skin as I shifted, my larger demon form folding inward to my human one. My horns retracted, my tail drew inward, and my wings vanished in a gust of smoke and embers. Then my shoes hit the ground. My black dress slacks from earlier were untouched, and the black shirt I’d worn was still clinging to my back.

I didn’t need glamours or illusions to keep my clothes in place. My body adapted to my form, and the corresponding wardrobe came with me. The perks of being forged in hellfire with a father who was often referred to as “Destroyer” by supernatural beings with plenty of their own power yet still feared him.

I had built this place with blood, stone, and resolve. My own domain, where I didn't have to share power with anyone else. Not even my father.

I always felt a deep sense of satisfaction walking through the doors of The Abyss. The building and surrounding acreage were more than just symbols of my status in the demon world. They were my sanctuary. My throne. But also my burden in some ways.

My boots echoed against the stone as I headed into the heart of The Abyss. At the reception desk, Lyra looked up from her tablet. Silver streaked her black hair, and her fitted blazer over bloodred silk marked her as one of my staff.

“Problem in the eastern wing.” She tapped the screen. “Our newest guest did not react well to the subtle changes in their room.”

My hotel was alive in its own quiet way. The rooms morphed deliberately to meet the needs of my guests. A shifter might step into silence so thick it dulled every sound, their mattress firmed to cradle muscle and bone shaped by instinct. A vampire’s suite was darkened during the day, allowing them to rest without fear of the sun’s rays. Or a fae guest could wake to find vines curling delicately around the light fixtures.

But the changes were meant to be subtle, not disorienting.

My nostrils flared. I must have been more distracted than I realized since I rarely made mistakes like this. “The harpy eagle?”

She nodded. “He neglected to let us know he had recently been named alpha of his convocation.”

The changes made to the room when his species stayed with us were particularly unobtrusive because of their exceptional spatial awareness. But as a new alpha, his territorial instincts would be at an all-time high, making him hyper-attuned to even the smallest shift. Even a chair less than an inch off its usual angle would feel like a challenge to his authority. “It’s been handled?”

“Of course.”

She turned and gestured toward the wall behind her. A crystal glyph embedded in the stone pulsed faintly red before fading to blue. It was barely perceptible. A signal keyed to my blood. One only a handful of people in this building knew about and even fewer could see.

Some of the tension eased from my muscles. “Remind me to give you a bonus.”

“Already added it to my check.”

My lips twitched in the barest semblance of a smile.

“That’s why you hired me.”

I left her and moved to the second floor to look at the lobby from the railing, one of my favorite spots in the building. I could see everything from this vantage point.

A mahogany bar stretched along the left wall, bottles lining the shelves behind it in organized chaos. Thomas, my bartender, flipped one behind his back with casual flair, catching it one-handed before pouring a shot for the customer seated in front of him.

A flicker of motion at the far end caught my attention. Two warlocks, both young. Then again, most beings were when you’d lived as long as I had. Brash and full of magic they barely understood, convinced they were untouchable. I used to be like that once. Before the blood, the wars, the gate. Before I earned the scars that didn’t show, earned in the name of my father.

The taller one reached out with a hand that glowed faint gold, and my demon side stirred with interest, whispering darkly in the back of my mind since my guests were forbidden to use magic in The Abyss.

Let me out. He broke your law. Let him burn for it.

I moved.

One breath, I stood at the railing. The next, I was between them.

I only had three rules: no killing, no magic, and every woman beneath my roof had my protection. Demons weren’t fond of rules, which was exactly why I kept them simple—and brutally enforced. Not many assholes tried to test me.

Except for the dumb ones, like this kid.

In the early days, a week didn’t pass without me having to demonstrate exactly why I was the one in charge. A demon running a hotel for supernatural beings was bound to be challenged. Now? Most knew better. My name carried weight. And my punishments lingered in the air like smoke and sulfur.

The warlocks startled.

“No magic,” I said quietly, voice low and unhurried. “No exceptions.”

The taller one sneered. “I was just playing. Didn’t mean anything by it.”

I tilted my head. “Is that what you’d say if someone violated your mind for fun?”

His friend proved he was wiser by scooting his stool back to get out of the line of fire. Literally.

But the one who’d broken my rules didn’t follow suit. Instead, he argued, “I didn’t even use my magic. Not really.”

“You didn’t get the chance. And now you never will.” My eyes burned black, hellfire rippling just beneath the surface. The flames weren’t visible yet—but they would be. “You used your power without consent. In my domain.”

The glyphs in the walls flared red again.

The taller one dropped to his knees, clutching his chest. His friend lifted his hands in a gesture of surrender. Smart. Possibly salvageable.

I grabbed my prey by the collar, lifting him easily. Fire crackled at my fingertips, not quite touching skin. Yet.

“The Abyss has many floors,” I murmured. “But only one direction for people like you.”

I dragged him toward the back hallway, nodding once at Lyra as I passed. She pressed a rune beneath the desk. Stone slid open beside her—revealing a staircase descending into darkness.

“Want help escorting him?” she asked, flashing me a hopeful look.

“I think I can handle this one on my own.”

Her shoulders slumped at my wry response.

As we plunged into the darkness, the air changed. Grew colder. Wetter.

The walls here were older than the ones my guests saw above. The stone pulsed with ancient magic, shaped into corridors by something darker than hands.

I’d chosen this place for a reason. The Abyss was built atop a ley line junction, one of the most potent in the world. A hidden gate to the underworld sat below us, sealed by wards older than names.

The demon in me stirred with anticipation.

Burn him. Mark him. Let them all see what happens when they defy you.

I shoved the warlock into the far cell. Flames licked his coat sleeve, singeing the threads.

“You’ll stay here until sunrise. Then you’ll leave, never to return.”

He didn’t argue, which was good because I wasn’t in the mood to repeat myself.

The cell door slammed shut, runes flaring to life. The magic inside was sealed. And if he was stupid enough to test it, he’d bleed and burn for the effort.

I turned and walked back up, the walls murmuring as I passed. They weren’t truly alive. But they remembered. And so did I.

Back on the main floor, everything had returned to normal. Low conversation. Glass clinking. Music playing softly from nowhere.

Thomas slid a shot of barrel-aged demon fire whiskey across the bar. The smoky, dark amber liquid that smelled of charred oak and heat was made in-house at The Abyss. Infused with a drop of hellfire essence, it was something only a high-ranking demon could handle…and my favorite drink.

“On the house tonight,” he said.

I quirked a brow and muttered, “I own the place.”

“Exactly.”

Shaking my head, I lifted the glass. “Salute.”

The shot went down smoothly. But it didn’t touch the heat already burning inside me.

Nothing ever did.