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ELEVEN

luna

Y ou’ve got to be kidding me,” I said, my jaw dropping. “This is where you live?”

My small apartment was nothing compared to the gleaming vision that sprawled out in front of me. Marble staircases descended to the top level, and above us was a giant, shimmering chandelier. Statues of gargoyles lined the room, and what seemed like thousands of candles lit around it.

Zain shrugged. “It’s alright.” Like he didn’t see this place for what it was. Majestic. Beautiful. A little spooky, but not in a terrifying way.

“ Alright ?”

Another shrug of his shoulders, that casual indifference written across his face, in his posture.

But the demon realm—so far—was nothing like I’d expected. Whatever my parents had taught us about demons when we were younger, it never would have prepared me for this. Gold filigree covered the walls, down to the sconces that held all those flickering candles. It cast a warm glow across the palace in what otherwise would have felt cold and foreign.

“Toto, we’re not in Pleasant Grove anymore,” I muttered under my breath, looking around the room.

Zain gave me a weird look. “What?”

“Never mind.” I giggled to myself, looking away. Gods, he really was clueless about humanity. It probably explained the whole cellphone thing.

Averting my eyes away from his, I continued to take in the details. There were paintings on the ceilings that depicted many demons—some so similar to the two who’d tried to attack me earlier. I frowned. What sorts of beings would I meet now that I was in this place full of monsters ? He’d insisted this wasn’t Hell, but I didn’t know what I believed anymore.

“It’s not what I expected,” I finally murmured.

He hummed in response.

With a snap of his fingers, he’d shed the rest of his human appearance—now wearing a tailored black suit with a long black overcoat adorned in gold.

His gold eyes practically glittered as he turned back to look at me. “Shall we?”

I stared, dumbfounded. “Shall we… what?” I was too busy appreciating the outfit—how right he looked in it—to process the rest. It was almost strange how he seemed to fit here. And how natural it was seeing him like this. Like the other version of him had just been a facade all along.

“I thought I’d show you around.” The subtle upward quirk of his mouth told me he saw me checking him out, and I tried not to ignore the way it sent a bolt through my system. Because even if I was still upset with him, my body didn’t know that.

“Oh.” I gave a small nod. “Yeah. Let’s do that.”

But I couldn’t pull my eyes off of his bulky frame. The way the fabric rested over his broad shoulders.

How could such a sin be such an utter temptation? Clearly, I was weak. He made me want to be. Because I knew what it was like between us. How good. And that was back when I’d just thought him to be a human, passing through town. Now, everything was different.

Everything except the sparks between us.

His lips dipped low, brushing against my ear. “If you keep looking at me like that, Moonbeam…”

“What?” I said with a sharp inhale of breath.

Zain’s eyes were filled with want, and he took a deep pull of my scent. “I’ll have no choice but to pull that dress up and take you right here.” He shuddered, his nose finally leaving that spot between my neck. “Fuck, you smell so good.”

“Zain,” I whimpered, the heat pooling between my legs. I wanted that, needed that. Could he smell how turned on I was?

He stiffened, and the haze cleared from his eyes. When he stepped back, it broke the connection between us. Whatever spell we’d been under.

“Come on,” he said, and a wall of ice washed over me. Dousing any desire I’d been feeling for the moment. “Let’s go.”

“Right.” I knew it was a good thing, but why did I feel rejected?

I didn’t speak, just following behind him as he led me through the palace, showing me the dining room and the kitchens, the ballroom and the throne room—both with grand ceilings dripping in gold and featuring more of those magnificent but eerie demon paintings on the ceilings—and then to the library.

There were no words to convey how wonderful and insane all of it was, but I especially loved the library.

Endless rows of books beckoned me, begging to be read. I wondered what sort of secrets I could uncover in there—lessons to learn about demons, for sure. Would there be romance novels here? I wondered if a place that housed such wickedness also knew love. My eyes drifted over to Zain, who was watching me with rapt interest.

“What came first?” I mused, running my fingers along the spines as I explored the room.

“Hm?” He asked, leaning against the end of the row, never taking his eyes off of me.

I stopped on a gilded book labeled A History of Demons and pulled it halfway off the shelf, looking at the cover . “Humans or demons? Did you draw inspiration from us, or did we find inspiration from you? ” I couldn’t think about this race of evil creatures impacting our world, but even here, there were elements of humanity. Touches of culture that couldn’t have formed independently of us.

Zain scoffed. “Who’s to say we didn’t influence each other?”

Shaking my head, a faint smile spread over my face. “I love this place.”

“You’re free to come here any time you like.” He dipped his head. “It’s yours.”

“Oh.” My cheeks were warm as I pushed the book back into its place. “Thank you.”

His face seemed to lose some of the tension he’d been carrying around. “You’re welcome. Do you want to see the rest?”

I nodded, letting him lead me through the rest of the palace. There was no chance I’d remember where everything was—at least, not right away—but it gave me some semblance of comfort knowing he cared enough to show me where everything was.

Peeking over at him, I watched his face, trying to read his expression.

“This is my study,” he said, pointing to a room past the library. “If you need me, and you can’t find me, just come here.”

“Okay.” I bit my lip, noticing he didn’t take me inside.

Leading me up a back staircase, we wandered down a long hallway. “Those are my rooms,” Zain said, motioning to a set of doors.

We walked a little farther before he came to a stop.

“And this,” he said, his hand extending to swing open the door, “is yours.”

“My room?” My eyes widened.

“Is that not to your liking?” He asked, brow furrowed. “I thought you’d like your own space.”

Under his steady scrutiny, I looked away. “No,” I said the word a little too quickly, wondering why I’d thought we’d be sharing.

Fake. None of this was real. I had to keep reminding myself of that. “It’s great.” I pasted on a smile, pushing past him to enter the room.

I gasped when I took it in. The room had large windows that seemed to overlook a garden outside, and a large poster bed sat in the middle, piled with white fluffy pillows—and Selene was grooming herself as she laid on top of a chaise lounge.

“Zain.” My hand flew over my heart. “This?—”

He cleared his throat. “Do you like it?”

“Yes,” I agreed. There was a vase of flowers on the vanity. I leaned down, smelling the freshly cut lilacs. “Like it?” I choked back a laugh. “This is perfect. How did you even…”

I looked over at him, but he was still moving through the space. His back was turned to me, and I took another moment to admire his backside. Goddess, he was beautiful.

“The bathroom is through here,” he said, opening a door I hadn’t noticed yet. It opened into a tiled room that smelled like lemon and cleaner, every inch sparkling. “And the bathing pool is through there. You’ll find if you need anything, all you have to do is ask.”

“Bathing… pool ?” I blinked. Who needed a pool to wash up? But there wasn’t a tub in this bathroom, so I assumed that was my only option. I loved taking baths, even though I was normally a shower kinda girl. I didn’t have a tub in my apartment, so I’d gotten used to not having one. “Sounds wonderful, actually.”

He hummed in response, moving back to the main room. “Your bags have already been put away, and you’ll find the closet—and your sitting room—through those other doors.”

My head was spinning. “This is bigger than my entire apartment.” In fact, I was pretty sure it could fit in just the bedroom here. The bathroom was the size of two bedrooms. I didn’t want to know how big the closet was. I might pass out.

Moving over to the bed, I ran my hands over the white lacy curtains that adorned the sides of the bed. I’d never had a canopy bed before, even though I’d always loved them.

How did he know?

Zain snapped his fingers, and a demon girl appeared in front of us. Her skin was pale, her eyes white, and her hair was the most interesting shade of icy blue, streaked with silver. Little gray horns peeked out at the top of her forehead.

“Novalie.” Zain addressed the demon, who bowed to us both.

“My lord.” She stood to her full height—though even with my average height, she was a few inches shorter than me.

He turned to me. “This is Luna—my future wife. You’ll be serving her from now on. I expect her to be treated with the utmost respect.”

That was the first time I’d heard him refer to me as his wife, and it made my cheeks heat.

“Of course. It’s nice to meet you, my lady.” She curtsied, and I felt totally out of my element.

“You don’t have to—” I started, only shutting my mouth at Zain’s glare. “It’s nice to meet you also, Novalie.” I dipped my head in thanks.

“If you need anything, I’m at your service.” She gave me a warm smile before disappearing before my eyes.

I frowned, looking at Zain. My future husband. Wow, that would take getting used to. “Does everyone do that here?”

“What, teleport?”

I nodded. Witches had magic, but there were limits on even our power.

He grinned. “Jealous?”

A little. “No.” I crossed my arms over my chest.

“I can teach you, you know.”

Opening my palms, I stared down at my hands. “How?”

He took one of my hands into his, tracing down my veins with his pointer finger. “Can’t you feel the magic running through your veins?”

I shivered at his touch, but I did. Even with me holding my power at bay for so many years, keeping it shut behind walls, that thrumming energy lurking underneath never completely went away. It had never stopped overwhelming me, though I’d trained myself so well that I couldn’t see into someone’s future without focusing on it.

Though it had never stopped dreams of my own.

Closing my eyes, I focused only on the sensation of his hands on my skin.

“You just have to learn to tap into it.” He squeezed my wrist before letting go and stepping back. “I’ll teach you how.”

My eyes fluttered open. “You will?” I tried to hide the surprise from my voice.

“I told you I would,” Zain said, looking confused. “That’s part of the deal.”

Right. That I’d marry him, and he’d keep me safe. Fake. If I reminded myself of it enough, it would sink in.

“What am I to you?” I whispered, not knowing if I wanted the answer or not.

He blinked. “I don’t understand the question.”

“Are we… friends?” After the two weeks we’d spent together, I didn’t know what to do with the distance I felt all of a sudden. Sure, the heat hadn’t dissipated between us, and I still wanted him—always—but I didn’t know what to do with that. If this was just a physical relationship… Anxiety knitted at my stomach.

Zain frowned. “Friends? Luna, we’re?—”

But he didn’t get to finish the sentence, because a loud knock came from my door.

The demon by my side let out a strangled sound before he said, “Enter.”

A man—a demon , I reminded myself—with dark skin and red eyes popped his head in.

“Kairos,” Zain growled. “Did I not say I was not to be interrupted?”

“Sorry, my Prince.” The demon inclined his head. “There’s something you should know.”

He made another huff of annoyance before turning to me. “I’m sorry to leave like this, but I have to…”

“Go,” I assured him. “It’s fine.”

“Feel free to wash up if you’d like. Just shout for Novalie if you need anything.” He cupped my cheek. “I’m sorry, Luna. About all of this. I really am.”

“It’s not your fault,” I offered, shaking my head. “I’ll be fine.” Putting on a brave face, I did my best to smile.

“And there’s one last thing,” he added, his voice stern. “Don’t leave without telling me.”

My spine went rigid. What? “No. We already talked about this. I won’t be kept prisoner here, Zain. I agreed to marry you, to this , but that doesn’t mean I’ll be forced into some gilded cage.”

He furrowed his brows. Pressed his forehead to mine. Please. I don’t have anyone to protect you yet, Moonbeam.

My eyes widened. His lips weren’t moving, which meant he was... speaking into my mind? Oh, Goddess.

So I need you to stay here until I do, he continued, his intense stare boring into me. There are wards around this room to keep you safe. Only Novalie and I can enter without express permission. Be good.

He cupped my cheeks and kissed my forehead before whirling out of the room without another look, leaving me to puzzle over the last few hours alone.

I sank into my new bed, ignoring the pulse of emotions running through my body. My skin was still vibrating from every place he’d touched me, and I brushed my hand over my forehead.

Could he read my thoughts, too? I didn’t know demons could speak through thoughts like that.

Why did it feel like the more time I spent with him, the more questions I had?

* * *

Novalie was all too happy to help me get into the bath.

The warm water was a welcome relief. I’d felt slightly grimy ever since I’d watched Zain slice those demons to bits earlier. A shudder ran through my body. Not a memory I wanted to relive.

Shutting my eyes, I leaned my head back against the tile, enjoying the blissful heat running over my body. Before she’d left, she’d filled the pool with a sweet-smelling oil and set out a fluffy robe for me. I’d never had anyone wait on me before, and it was strange, but I didn’t completely hate it. Maybe it was because she was so kind and eager to help me.

It was at odds with what I’d believed in, even from the demons who had come upon me in the alley earlier.

How could anyone compare this place to Hell? No, I was pretty sure this was Heaven. There was no other word for it.

The bathing pool was giant, and it even had a water fountain that flowed in, steam billowing from its surface. I wondered if it was powered by some sort of underground hot spring, despite the water's lack of odor. I could bathe here every day for the rest of my life and not complain.

The rest of my life? I rolled my eyes, trying to make myself remember that this was temporary. Once Zain knew I was safe, he’d deliver me back to Pleasant Grove.

Back to my life . To my sister. To the bakery.

Oh. Shit. I hadn’t even figured out what was going to happen with our shop or even texted my sister that I’d be gone. Halloween was tonight, and the coven always got together for a party. Willow would be wondering where I was. This was practically her favorite day of the year. What would she think when she realized I was missing?

I winced, sinking further down into the water so only my eyes remained above the surface. I’d practically run off with a man and not even thought about what I was going to do.

What was I going to do? I was going to marry him.

I let my body relax, the fears of the day slowly melting away.

My eyes shut, and a velvet touch brushed against my mind.

Let me in, it seemed to ask, but I couldn’t.

I didn’t know how.

Not yet.