Page 11

11

ADAN

T he moment the wards shrieked in my blood with that specific frequency, I knew exactly which door had opened.

I didn’t wait. Didn’t speak. Barely breathed.

One second, I was at the reception desk, scanning the visitor ledger while Lyra updated me on a guest issue. The next, I was gone, the walls of The Abyss blurring as I raced through them. My power surged ahead of me, flaring in angry pulses as I followed the screaming pull of the black door.

“Adan!” Lyra called after me, her voice tight. “What happened?”

But I couldn’t stop to explain. Not when Calliope had gone into a room filled with dangerous objects…and held a secret only a few trusted demons knew.

The hallway twisted in on itself as I turned a corner, space warping to give me speed. I shoved through the last bend and came skidding to a halt outside the door that should never have been opened by her.

“Calliope,” I breathed.

She was just over the threshold, her back to me, framed in the flickering light of a chamber she was never meant to see. Dust rose around her ankles. Shelves of forbidden artifacts lined the walls, each item humming with dark power. But none of it mattered.

Because her hand hovered less than an inch above the one thing that could damn us both.

“Don’t!” I bellowed, launching forward.

But it was too late. Her fingertips brushed the hilt of the sword.

A pulse of darkness erupted from the blade, slamming into the room like a shock wave. The air thickened with magic so old and foul it turned my stomach. Runes along the chamber floor ignited in bloodred light, flaring in a circular pattern beneath her feet.

The curse had awakened.

“Calliope!” I grabbed my mate around the waist and pulled her back, shielding her with my body as the surge rebounded. She stumbled, wide-eyed and breathless, staring at the sword still humming on its pedestal.

“What…what is that?” she whispered.

I didn’t answer yet. First, I came to terms with the truth I had just discovered.

No human could trigger that curse. The blade only responded to one kind of blood. Demon.

I held Calliope tighter, feeling the slow tremor in her limbs, the sharp inhale that wasn’t quite fear. She believed she was fully human, but she had just awakened a curse forged in hell.

Which meant her father had to be…

Fucking hell.

I closed my eyes, gathering control. I had to stay calm. Needed to think.

This wasn’t just about Calliope anymore. The curse she triggered would have sent an invitation to a supernatural assassin bound by blood magic and payment centuries old. One who would now begin hunting me.

And if she’d gone any deeper into the room…

My gaze snapped to the far wall. The veil there shimmered, thin as breath. The portal hadn’t opened, thank the flames, but she’d been too close.

That door should have stayed hidden. There was only one explanation—The Abyss had let her in.

Her voice brought me back. “Adan? Are you okay?”

I turned to face her, heart thundering. Her cheeks were flushed, and her pupils were wide from the residual energy. But she had no idea what she’d done.

“We have to leave this room.”

She didn’t argue. She just nodded, still dazed as she let me guide her away.

But my mind was spinning.

If Calliope had demon blood and was lured to this room, my father might already know about her. My fists clenched. The last thing I needed was Abaddon’s attention turning toward my mate before we were fully bonded. But I also couldn’t rush her into it because she deserved better.

“Where are we going?”

“My domain.” Her soft laugh made me realize how demon-like that sounded. “My rooms take up the rest of the tenth floor. The wards are the strongest there since I’m at my most vulnerable where I lay my head at night. You’ll be safe.”

Like most demons, I didn’t sleep much, but when I did, I only had The Abyss to keep me safe.

“And you, too,” she mumbled.

Touched more than I could say over her concern for me, I squeezed her hand. I couldn’t remember the last time someone was worried about my safety as much as their own. “I’ll be fine, baby.”

As we walked, her fingers stayed laced with mine, though I felt her glance at me more than once. She could sense my tension. My restraint.

The corridor darkened behind us as I led her through a rarely used passage. Not many had ever walked this path. Just myself, and now her. The door to my private quarters opened without a key, responding to my touch alone. When I stepped aside to let her in first, she hesitated only for a second before crossing the threshold.

She took in the space with quiet awe. The furnishings were darker here—polished obsidian, onyx wood, and low-burning violet sconces that never flickered. The Abyss had clearly responded to my mood and sparked a fire in the hearth without instruction.

Calliope turned to me, concern shining from her green eyes. “Adan, please talk to me. What was that sword? Why did it react like that when I touched it? Does it have something to do with why you brought me to your rooms and not my suite?”

I wanted nothing more than to crawl into bed with Calliope and pull her close. Not even for sex—which had been fucking incredible—but just to hold her. To prove to myself that nothing in that damn room had hurt her. Instead, I needed to have a tough conversation with my pretty mate.

This wasn’t how I had pictured today going. After hundreds of years, I’d finally found my fated mate, and now I needed to give her news that could change how she thought about herself. But I refused to keep secrets from Calliope. It would only lead to distrust, and I never wanted her to think that she wasn’t safe with me.

I led her over to my favorite chair next to the fireplace. After sitting down, I pulled her onto my lap. With her cradled in my embrace, I began to answer her questions.

“That sword was a relic from a couple of hundred years ago when I was a different person. One with a curse that you triggered.”

Her pretty green eyes widened as she echoed, “A curse?”

I cupped her cheek. “The thing is, you shouldn’t have been able to awaken it since demon blood magic was used. Which can only mean one thing…your father wasn’t human.”

Her breath caught. “That’s not possible. My mom said she didn’t even know his name. Just that he was gorgeous and mysterious.”

I flashed her a grim smile. “That tracks.”

“So I’m part demon?” She blinked up at me, still absorbing the truth.

“I don’t know what kind, but the blade confirmed what I suspected the moment you walked into this hotel. You didn’t get here by accident, Calliope. The Abyss called to something in your blood.”

She lifted trembling fingers to her mouth and took a shaky breath. “That seems impossible, but so does everything else that’s happened since I stepped foot into The Abyss.”

“I didn’t want to tell you like this,” I murmured. “But you deserve the truth.”

She looked down at her hands. “I feel like I’ve been pretending to be someone I’m not without even knowing it.”

I tilted her chin back up. “You’re still you, Calliope. This just means there’s more to discover. I have centuries of experience with things like that.”

A small laugh slipped from her lips, but it faded quickly. “What happens now?”

I wanted to brand her. Fuck her again. Keep her safe from the assassin who would come. But all I said was, “Now, you stay here. With me. We’ll do our best to learn what we can about your demonic bloodline while we get to know each other better.”

She looked up at me, eyes wide and searching. “Here in your rooms? Or here on the same floor in the suite you gave me?”

“Preferably right here with me.” I brushed my finger over the pulse point in her wrist, enjoying how it sped up at my touch. “My quarters are bound to me more than any other space in The Abyss. No one enters unless I allow it. The wards are layered and old. You’ll be safer here than anywhere else in the world.”

Her throat worked as she swallowed. “Because of the curse?”

“There’s an ancient order that promised blood payment if the sword was ever disturbed. They’ll come for me.”

Calliope’s brows drew together, and she shook her head. “But I touched it. Doesn’t that mean?—”

“No,” I interrupted, not wanting to hear the words spoken aloud. The thought of her being in danger would send my demon into a rage unlike anything the world had seen before. “They’ll come for the one the curse is tied to. That’s me.”

No one would touch my mate. Not while I still breathed. Even death wouldn’t take her from me.