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I wasn’t sure if it was panic or something else rising within me.

He knew who—what—I was. But as I searched his eyes for any sign of betrayal, any possibility that he might be one of Dante’s people, I felt only a strange connection.

Not a mate bond—at least, I didn’t think it could be that.

But something else. I definitely wasn’t sure if he was on Dante’s side. I knew better than to trust easily.

At least, I did now.

When my hand left his lips, I tore it free and took a step back. His other hand fell to his side, but amusement shone in his red eyes, the smile twisting his lips growing.

“I’m not a threat to you,” he purred, straightening. “But I understand if you make me work for it.”

My eyes narrowed, and my hands curled into fists. “Get me out of this stupid game. Or help me find the Mistress.”

The male bowed his head, the tattoos on his upper body shifting to do the same. “Of course, my Queen. ”

Shaking my head, I said nothing to him as I strode to the same rack of clothing the demons had pulled my dress from.

Surely, there was a shirt that would fit over his ridiculously wide shoulders.

I mean, they found me a dress that wrapped itself around my body in the true definition of ‘one size fits all’.

There had to be a shirt equivalent, right?

When I made it to the rack, I lifted my hand to swipe through the different garments. But my hand went through it, the image before me disappearing completely.

“Fucking illusions,” I muttered.

Behind me, the male chuckled. “And what were you looking for, my Queen?”

I huffed and turned back to him. The tattoos moved again, this time to gather around his arms. “A shirt.”

“And why would you need that when you look so ethereal?” he asked.

My cheeks warmed, and my heart stuttered a beat as I met his eye. “It wasn’t for me,” I snapped.

He quirked a dark brow and crossed his arms. Somehow, it accentuated the width of his upper body. I wasn’t even sure how. Maybe that was just an illusion, too. He could be a small goat looking thing like the Danny Devito character from Hercules . Demons could definitely do that.

With a shake of my head, I started for the curtains again, this time with a bit more resolve.

I probably didn’t need him. I was Ivy fucking Wilson, new Queen of Nyx and her creatures.

Surely, I could find the succubus in charge of this place.

And I could handle a couple of bad porno remakes. I didn’t even really need to look.

Before I could make it to the crack in the curtains, the male’s arm shot out and stopped me. It curled around my waist, hand on my hip. I made no sound as he crushed me to his chest.

I sucked in a sharp breath, which made me take in his scent. There was something warm about the way he smelled that made heat fill my chest.

“And where do you think you are going?” he murmured, lips brushing the shell of my ear.

I bucked, but his arm tightened around me. “I’m going to find the Mistress, and I’m getting the fuck out of here.”

He chuckled, the sound going straight to my core. “You truly are feisty,” he murmured. “They’d warned me you would be weak, but I doubted that the moment the words left their pathetic lips. You are not weak, are you, my Queen?”

A lump formed in my throat, and I stilled in his embrace.

“What would be weak,” I said, voice quiet, “is if I play this silly game when you and I both know I don’t have time for it.

The Mistress has my mates, and I am not playing anyone’s games.

” I tried to pull away from him again, but there was no give.

His arm remained a vice around me. “Let. Go.”

The male hummed under his breath, the sound vibrating from his chest into my back. “Stop thinking about it as if they are against you, my Queen,” he whispered. “Consider that maybe, Mistress is your ally. And by playing her game, you accept her terms of alliance.”

“And why would I do that?” I asked through gritted teeth.

He brought his other arm around me, now fully caging me into his hard body. “Because you need something from the Mistress. Only something she can give you. The offer lies upon your head.”

My hand strayed to the crown. “What do you know about this? ”

“I know the traitor prince is weaving sweet words in exchange for access to the Old World right now,” he whispered. “I know he intends on offering the King of the Elysian Fields something he cannot refuse.”

I only knew of the demon king. He was perhaps one of the oldest beings left. Older than the Queens, maybe as old as Nyx Herself. He didn’t play with politics, however, despite kneeling to Nyx’s Queens. He stayed in the fields for his own reasons and let the Houses of Sin do the rest.

Queen Greer had never gotten to that part of our lessons.

She’d promised to detail those specifics after the ball.

I was supposed to meet with the king eventually, with Greer’s demon mates at my side, because he refused to leave the Underworld.

Only Queen Greer, Seer Sable, and Greer’s mates knew him.

“Why would he meet with Dante?” I asked, voice tight with emotion.

The arms around me loosened, but did not disappear. Instead, it felt more like a hug from behind, gentle. If I tried to pull away, he would likely let me. But for whatever reason, I didn’t.

“You have more than just me as an ally,” he replied finally. “But to some, you still need to prove yourself worthy as Queen.”

My eyes went to the ceiling as the burn of tears clogged my senses.

Fuck. I knew he was right. It wasn’t enough for me to go around claiming to be Queen.

What was I actually doing to prove that I was capable?

Worthy, even? I still felt like an outsider in this world, and I wasn’t doing much to be part of it.

I thought accepting my role would be enough. But it wasn’t.

I closed my eyes and inhaled deeply. I ignored the overwhelming scent of the male behind me and focused on what my magic told me.

He might have made a good point, but he was still a stranger.

Someone I was still wary to trust, and for good reason.

But if there was one thing I could rely on, the one thing that certainly always had my back, it was my magic.

I’d been too scared to draw it out before, but now, I turned inwards.

The tether of magic that ran deep within me brightened as I took hold of it.

The bonds that lived beside it were still quiet, but I could tell now that I was no longer in their heads.

Somehow, I really had fallen out of Orion’s dream and into something real—something physical.

The only thing their bonds revealed was that they were close. Safe, even.

Is that what I need to do? I asked the magic. Do I play the game and hope it’ll be enough? Or do I fight and risk losing our only chance at reaching the Old World?

There was too much at stake. I knew it. My mates were missing, and Dante had somehow found a way to get a hold of the Elysian King. And if the demon gave Dante what he wanted, then we were all doomed.

My magic stilled in my chest, neither warm nor cold.

Like it was settling with the idea that we may need to trust the male holding us.

It reached for him carefully, as wary as I was, and felt for the magic signature around him.

Now that he was no longer bound to the chair, with chains that hid his power, it became more clear what kind of demon he was—and how powerful.

I stiffened as my magic reared back, and my eyes opened. I released a heavy breath as the shadows of the room swam around me.

“Who are you?” I asked.

The male finally let me go. “You may refer to me as Damon. ”

Damon . It didn’t quite feel right for him, but I still turned to eye him warily. His tattoos finally stopped moving, coiling primarily around his arms, leaving his tanned chest clear.

“Alright, Damon,” I sighed. “I’ll play the game.”

I expected him to smile or smirk, but instead, he straightened to his full height and offered me his hand. “I vow to see you out safely then, my Queen,” he replied.

I eyed his hand for a moment before taking it. One of the tattoos—the snake—slithered down his hand to wind around my wrist. A sound lodged in my throat as I tried to pull my fingers free of his.

“It won’t hurt you,” he whispered. “It reflects my vow to you. None would ever question you with it.”

I gritted my teeth and glared up at him. “Is that really necessary?”

“Of course.” Finally, the smirk returned, and his red eyes glinted. “Let the game begin.”