Page 24 of The Damned (Coven of Bones #3)

I made my way down the stairs, feeling Margot following quickly at my back. She’d changed from her heels into a pair of sturdy boots, and I was grateful for it. She’d need them in the burning sands of Purgatory as we made our way to the Second Circle.

Raum emerged from his office as we made our way down the stairs, looking at Margot with unabashed lust even though she’d done everything she could to safely hide her appeal beneath fabric.

His mouth spread into a broad smile as he looked her over, her shoulder-length blond layers framing that heartrending face that was like a painting of an angel.

She stepped off the last stair at my side, raising her chin as we made our way toward Raum. Her body was tense at my side, framed in what I assumed she wanted to look like confidence, like she was at ease with the male gaze on her.

I knew better, knew how uncomfortable his staring would make her feel. Even still, I couldn’t entirely blame him. I knew all too well that I was drawn to her like a moth to a flame.

“Well then,” Raum said, snagging my attention.

His stare was on me now, his nod certain as he turned to guide us toward the dining room.

I followed far less smoothly than the grace Margot displayed, stumbling over myself as Margot’s eyes found mine.

The brightness of her shirt reflected on her face, adding color to her cheeks and brightening her eyes until they looked like molten lava.

Raum rounded the edge of the doorway, pausing just within the dining room and holding out a hand for Margot.

She took it cautiously, sliding her palm against his in a way that felt far more intimate than just a casual brush of skin.

Everything in me tightened as I stood, closing the distance as Raum raised her hand to his mouth and pressed a kiss to the back of it.

Margot flushed, tugging back her hand in an attempt to keep the contact as brief as possible without offending the other demon by rejecting him.

I growled.

Raum smiled, turning to me with a lightness and humor on his face that said he knew exactly what he was doing, driving me to the point of insanity that I couldn’t seem to control.

“I do so hate to abandon you so quickly,” Raum said, ducking his head forward. “But duty calls me elsewhere.”

It was bullshit and we both knew it. He never missed his precisely timed meals for anything.

He nodded to me, making sure I knew exactly what he was up to.

Giving Margot his approval to move through to the next circle when I could convince her to make the journey alongside me, but also leaving us alone so that I had a chance of convincing her to do just that.

Her fear would keep her stationary if I allowed it, and I didn’t trust leaving her with Raum for one second.

Especially not after the way he’d looked at her.

I moved forward, holding out my arm as Raum left the room.

Margot sighed but came up beside me, refusing to take my proffered arm.

The fact that she’d allowed Raum to touch her might have irritated me greatly if I didn’t understand the reasoning behind it.

She and Raum didn’t have this infernal pull between them.

The risk of her magic bleeding into him through touch was great, though it would have been less potent without the initial influence of her song to drag him under her spell.

I pulled out her chair, watching as she lowered herself into it with the kind of elegance that couldn’t be learned. She was all smooth movements and rhythm, aware of her body in a way that made every action feel like a dance.

Every movement felt like seduction.

She turned to me as I took my own seat far less gracefully, mimicking her motions as she lowered the cloth napkin to her lap.

“You must be starving,” I noted, taking the first platter and serving her a small portion.

Food in Hell was different from the food on the surface; even though many of the plants we managed to grow and animals we kept as protein were mirrors of what existed on the surface, I didn’t profess to know Margot’s tastes well enough to know how they would translate to what she could find here.

She stared down at the fruit I’d placed on her plate, the slices nearly a match for her dress. “What is it?” she asked, watching as I scooped a larger serving onto my own plate.

I took the next platter, serving the edible flower onto her plate as she watched and tilted her head in curiosity.

“A fruit that blooms on a prickly cactus tree that grows in the desert of this circle,” I explained, waiting for her to taste either that or the blossom on her plate.

But she waited for me to continue serving her roasted meats and root vegetables to accompany what I’d already served.

When she finally raised her fork, she paused to look at me. “Will eating this do anything to me?” she asked, the hesitation in that question far too nervous for my taste.

“Do something how?” I asked, stabbing a piece of root vegetable with my own fork and guiding it to my mouth. I chewed thoughtfully, swallowing so she could see that it wasn’t poisoned.

Margot flushed. “In Greek mythology, Hades trapped Persephone by offering her pomegranate seeds. If I eat this, will I still be able to return home?” she asked, drawing a smirk from me.

“Are you comparing me to Hades?” I asked, keeping my tone light and playful.

“Most mythology was grounded in some version of the truth,” she said with pinkened cheeks. “I just don’t want to reduce my chances of making it above the surface again.”

“No, eating our food will not trap you in Hell, songbird,” I said softly, nodding to her plate.

She poked the fruit with her fork, guiding it to her mouth and sniffing it.

Her pink tongue stuck out slowly, licking the surface of the fruit as she tested the flavor before sliding it into her mouth and eating it with relish.

I bit back my groan, adjusting my seat as discreetly as I could.

“I hardly think it matters at any rate. Whether you’ve decided we’ll make our way to the Ninth Circle and back after speaking with Lucifer or wait for the lords here, your body would not last that long if you did not eat, and then you would be trapped here in death anyway,” I said, watching as her face went blank.

She continued to eat, her own hunger forcing her to ignore the discomfort those words gave her.

She couldn’t afford to let her strength flag, not if she wanted to stand a chance of passing through the circles.

“It doesn’t really feel like I have much of a choice,” she said, the numbness of the statement making it clear that she had spent her time in solitude trying to find a workaround. She dreaded the journey we would have to make, but she wasn’t foolish enough to choose certain death over it either.

“Not all choices are good ones,” I said with a shrug as I placed another forkful of food on my tongue and chewed. Swallowing before I continued, I said, “Sometimes it’s just the lesser of two evils.”

“Spoken like a true demon,” she said, her voice bitter and hollow. It lacked any and all of the hope I’d grown used to hearing from her. “I need to get home as soon as possible, so I will do whatever it takes to make that happen. Is me coming with you going to be the fastest way?”

“Would you like more to eat?” I asked, reaching forward to serve her once again.

“I would like an answer!” she asked, slapping my hand away from the serving spoon. She stared at where she’d touched me as if she couldn’t believe she’d done so, and I resisted the urge to smile at her.

Telling her she was adorable when she was angry would get me nowhere.

“No, the fastest way would be for me to fly ahead and leave you behind. But this is the way that is most likely to result in your returning home at all. Facing the lords on your own will not go well for you, and whatever it is that has you so antsy to return to Hollow’s Grove won’t matter much when you’re condemned to Hell permanently, or dead,” I answered, placing my fork on the table beside my plate and steepling my hands over it.

“I don’t understand why they wouldn’t be loyal to Lucifer. Surely they know that He could return at any moment now that Willow knows the ways of her magic,” she argued.

“They are demons,” I said, wishing that she understood how brittle loyalty could be between our kind. Allegiances were constantly shifting and evolving, reshaping and creating something new. With Lucifer gone, I trusted no one fully in this place.

It was literally new territory, a kingdom without its king, because I had stepped in to fill the power vacuum and now with me gone…

There was no one.

“So are you,” she spat, the venom in her words accompanying the motion of her pushing out her chair. She stood, staring at me with the faint sheen of tears in her eyes.

“Exactly,” I growled, pushing to my own feet.

My hands curled around the edge of the table, leaning into it and closer to her as I spat the word.

“I know what they are all capable of, far better than you ever will. It is the very same thing that I am capable of, and you would do well to remember that the next time you think to doubt that I know what is best for you here. My only goal is to keep you safe, so the last thing I need is you making that difficult at every turn.”

Margot stared at me for a brief moment, huffing out a breath.

And then she turned on her heel, fleeing the dining room and making her way back to the false haven she’d created. I stared after her for a moment, wondering if I’d pushed too far.

God be damned.