Page 22

Hawk

I ripped at my chains, curling them around my fists and pulling on them hard. The skin at my wrists burned, but I gritted my teeth against the pain, eyes squeezed shut as the chains themselves groaned.

But the damned things wouldn’t give.

“There’s no use,” a voice said from the darkness beyond the cell. “These chains have been here longer than you have been alive, Son of Pride.”

I stiffened, anger boiling in my gut. As much as I didn’t want to give the demon anything to use against me, I still lifted my head to take in the darkness. “Where is she?”

The voice in the dark chuckled. “Which she do you seek?” Finally, the outline of a person appeared; small in stature and petite, the demon crossed her arms as she came into view.

Horns sprouted from her temples, curling until they joined like a halo atop her head, thick, red hair framing her round face. “There are many in our grasp.”

I grunted, trying to rise to my feet, but my legs gave out from under me. “You know exactly which one I mean.”

I hadn’t heard anything from the others on Grey’s team. And I felt nothing from Ivy. It was like her presence was muted, or not even close. Every time I tried to feel for her, I was blocked.

And I had no idea which House we’d ended up in.

If we were lucky, we’d made it to the lands of the Elysian King.

But if we’d landed ourselves in the Houses of the Sins, we were fucked.

I doubted we’d made it to Pride; I wouldn’t be in a cell if that were the case.

No, they would be parading me around like their newest toy.

But if we’d somehow made it to Wrath, then the chances of us surviving without Ivy were slim to none.

Demons might have been loyal to the Queen of Nyx, but they weren’t loyal to everyone else. There was a reason they liked to spend their time in the Underworld over Avalon.

The demon across from me cocked her head, lifting a hand mockingly. “I have a few stray creatures of Nyx in my possession,” she replied, grinning. “A vampire, bonded. A witch, not bonded. And a female crow shifter, bonded—but to one of the other male shifters locked away.”

My heart stopped as I stared at the hand, flickering my gaze between her lifted fingers and dark eyes. My lips parted as if to ask about Ivy, but I held back. Maybe that was what she wanted. For me to question her about the Queen of Nyx .

Had Dante already clawed his way into the good graces of the demons? Had we just handed our mate over to him blindly?

Had I made the worst mistake of my life, stepping back and pushing her away?

The demon side of me could have helped her with this world, the power of House Pride a new weapon in her arsenal.

But I’d fucked up. I kept pissing her off and I didn’t know why .

Orion Black’s words filled my head. Selfish. Selfish. Selfish.

Rage turned into despair as I stared at the demon. “The vampire,” I bit out after a moment, throat tight. “Where is she?”

A smile unfurled across the demon’s lips. I couldn’t get a read on which House she belonged to. Prayed to fucking Nyx that I hadn’t just put Grey in danger. Maybe this was a pain demon from House Wrath. But if anyone could withstand what they were notorious for, it was Grey.

“She sleeps like the rest of them.” With a shrug, the demon dropped her hand. “The wolf, the mage Prince, the Seer, and the dreamer. All around you.”

I blew out a shaky breath, careful not to take my eyes off the demon. “And the crew we were with?”

“Bargained their way out.”

Traitors , I thought. Ivy wouldn’t think so. She’d accept that they wanted to free themselves and wouldn’t hold it against them.

But if I found them, I would make them regret ever leaving us—for abandoning her.

“You could too,” the demon sang. “There’s a reason you are awake. ”

I narrowed my eyes. “And how would I do that?”

She grinned, revealing a row of pointed teeth I hadn’t noticed before. A flash of colour entered her eyes, a silver circle. “You meet with the Mistress, of course.”

My stomach bottomed out as the chains clicked open, freeing my hands.

Mistress . Not King of the Elysian Fields. One of the Sins, then.

Fucking Sable , I thought, rising to my feet. Rubbing my wrists, I looked down at the demon, eyes narrowing. “Take me to your Mistress.”

The demon, Cyra, kept the shadows around us as she guided me to her mistress . The only thing it told me was that Cyra was a lower-level demon. Nothing truly powerful. Basic shadow manipulation was common amongst all demons of the Underworld.

And unfortunately, I was no different.

But I followed the demon quietly. I had no sense of where I was, and the last time I’d been in the Underworld, it’d been on a mission assigned by Ya’Dahir almost fifteen years ago. Nothing special, either; just a drop in before entering the human world on a hunt for a few missing creatures.

I hadn’t even been born in this realm. Aither was my home, the Court I identified with, the power I controlled. I had no other connection to this realm other than blood, and rarely did I even consider that enough.

I purposefully kept my thoughts clear of Ivy. The last thing I wanted was to give them any idea of her. Maybe, during the attack of the sea monster, she’d escaped. I remembered nothing other than her magic wrapping around me as the creature attacked.

From whispers, I knew it was a defence mechanism. One I hadn’t anticipated.

We should have been prepared, but the timeline hadn’t allowed for that. The damn Seer hadn’t prepared for it, either.

My jaw clenched. The sound of my boots hitting the ground was the only thing in the dark hallway. The ground beneath me was hardwood, not stone like the cells. There was also the occasional soft breeze, so at some point, we passed open windows.

Cyra was a steady presence ahead of me, her footfalls silent, her long, silky dress a whisper against the ground. Maybe we’d made it to the House of Lust. The home of sex demons. It would explain the way Cyra treated me, her teasing nature. But why would they lock us in a dungeon?

The demons of Lust were all about free fun and orgasms. They fed off of sex and the pleasure it brought one another. Keeping their captives asleep achieved none of that.

The demon glanced over her shoulder, a half-smile playing at her lips. “We’re almost there, Son of Pride.”

I grunted, hands forming fists at my side. “I am more Fae than demon,” I replied coldly. “I would prefer if you addressed me as such.”

Cyra snorted and turned back to the darkness ahead of us. “You are still as much demon as you are Fae. You just choose to repress that side out of shame. For a male born of the Pride bloodline, you sure are ashamed of your parentage.”

I shook my head, jaw clenched, but I didn’t respond to that. Cyra sighed when I said nothing and stopped in the middle of the corridor. “We’re here, ashamed one. Mistress will see you now.”

As soon as the words left her lips, the shadows around us disappeared. I didn’t move, searching the space carefully. But there was only one way out, and that was the hallway behind me. Doors leading to it closed, and a lock clicked into place, trapping me in what I assumed was a receiving room.

There were doors directly in front of me, and the rest of the room was bare save for two additional demons either side of me wearing armour.

From one look, I couldn’t tell what they were, either, though based on the size of them—six foot seven, maybe even taller, with broad shoulders and bat-like wings—I had to guess they were from the House Wrath.

Cyra pushed her way through the double doors, opening them with a flourish.

“Mistress Ravenna,” Cyra announced, moving to the side so I could enter.

There was no point in trying to fight my way out of here. There were six more Wrath demons scattered around the room, all wearing armour and all handling different weapons. There were also a dozen males and females enjoying one another, confirming my thought that we’d somehow landed in House Lust.

The moans and cries of pleasure ceased as a demon rose from a throne in the corner of the room. Unlike the others surrounding her, she was dressed, though the silk robe barely covered her breasts and thighs.

“You may leave us, Cyra,” Ravenna said, waving a dismissive hand at the demon beside me. From the corner of my eye, I watched as the small thing bowed and retreated the way we’d arrived. The doors clicked shut again, forcing me to return my attention to the powerful demon in front of me.

Some might have called her Queen of Lust, ruler of its House. I recognised her heart-shaped face, and the dark colour of her eyes. She’d been at the Nyx Ball, surrounded by her fellow Sins.

Ravenna moved through the other demons, eyes narrowed, and stopped a few feet from me. I kept my gaze locked on hers. “I am sorry for the intrusion,” I started. “But I think you already know why we have entered these lands.”

She cocked her head, obsidian hair falling over her shoulder. “I thought I remembered your handsome face,” she purred. “You stood with the new Queen of Nyx while my dear friend died.”

I stiffened, lifting my chin. “Are you loyal to the Queen of Nyx?”

“What kind of question is that?” Ravenna barked, laughing.

The other lust demons joined her, like the question was obscene.

“Loyalty is a paradigm in my kingdom. Loyalty and consent. I do not play with either. And I am loyal to my Queens.” She dragged her glare over me, lips pulling in a sneer.

“And what about you, Son of Pride? Where does your loyalty lie? With the traitor king or with the true Queen?”

“The Queen,” I replied. “Which is why I am here.”

Ravenna brought her hands to her lips. “My soldiers thought they caught a whiff of something powerful when they found you and your ship,” she murmured. “Is she here?”

My heart skipped a beat. “I thought…” I trailed off, glancing around the room. Fuck . Panic bloomed in my chest for just a moment before I could tamper it down .

She isn’t here . Ravenna of House Lust wouldn’t lie about having her hands on the Queen. Hell, Ivy would have been sitting on the throne if what Ravenna said was true.

“How do I know she can trust you?” I asked warily, hands forming fists at my side as she tapped her blood-red lips.

“The King of Elysian is being approached by your usurper,” Ravenna mused.

“Rhadamanthus is going to be made an offer, my little birds tell me. An offer some would not refuse. You should hope I have your Queen protected, otherwise, the entire Underworld will be hunting her. Some Houses do not have the same standards as we do here. Yours certainly doesn’t. ”

I’d never felt pure panic before. But it rose within me, locking around my chest. “Then release me and my team so we can find her,” I said through gritted teeth. “We’re the only ones who can.”

Ravenna quirked a brow, a smile playing at her lips. “Then I want something in return, Son of Pride and Aither.”

In the back of my mind, a voice screamed at me not to accept her offer. But I bowed my head. “Anything, Mistress Ravenna.”

Anything for Ivy .

I might not have been prepared for a mate bond, but I would do anything to protect her.

A smile twisted her lips. “Amnesty,” she said. “For a wayward demon. She might, after this war is over, make herself known to you and your… people. ”

I had no idea if she meant the Phoenix Compound or Ivy’s mate circle. Being the only unbonded mate in Ivy’s circle gave me less sway, which meant it had to be the former .

“You want her delivered to you, then?” I clarified, crossing my arms.

Ravenna nodded slowly. “Something like that. She’s out there in the human world doing her own little thing. I don’t think she’s made it onto your radar yet, but if she does—that little lust demon is mine .”

I bowed my head. I could pull a few strings if that meant protecting Ivy. I might not have been able to accept the bond between us, but I could ensure there was a way to find her—to save her if anything happened.

Ravenna clapped her hands together, eyes darting to the space next to me. “Ah, finally.”

I frowned and followed her line of sight. The shadows in the corner of the room twisted, thickening until everything in its vicinity darkened to nothing. I took a step back from it, hand straying to my hip where my weapon should have been.

But the damned demons had stripped me of my gun, of my knives and dagger. I was empty handed, left only with my magic—which was still stifled by whatever those chains had done to me.

Something large and tall stepped out from the darkness; horns twisted from the male’s temples, through thick black hair, and he wore a tailored suit. Tattoos peaked out from beneath his clothing, and his eyes found mine—red like the embers of a fire.

I might not have recognised him, but I knew who I was staring out.

The Elysian King.

“What an interesting surprise,” he said, voice dark.

Yeah, without Ivy, we were fucked.