And then I’ll find Father and make him pay for everything.
I hated being one of the few humans with demonic powers. The demons sneered as if I was nothing more than a dead insect squashed into the crevices of their boots.
One thing at a time.
“What news have you?” He strolled a few steps to my left, his eyes searching the spines of the books in my bookcase, his movements graceful and sure. “You would not have summoned me without dire need, I assume?” A fingertip, trimmed and neat, trailed across the silver scroll of a tome.
“I found something strange.” Fishing in my pocket, I pulled out the broken necklace with the infinity pendant and cross.
His lip curled but he made no move toward me. “You brought me here for a trinket...abauble?” His tone was flat, but annoyance flared in his dark eyes, forcing me to glance away.
“Look at the inscription.” I pushed it closer, trying to keep my attention on anything except him.
Instead of reaching for the jewelry, he stepped closer. “Cain.” His voice, smooth and even, hinted at disappointment.
“Yes, Lord.” I didn’t hesitate in his command. His beauty—stunning, magnificent, terrible, and cruel—was torture of its own kind. Not many humans could stand to be in his presence for too long without going mad or throwing themselves off a cliff.
I could tolerate it longer than many but only through sheer willpower and desperation.
“Son.” That one word, low and silky, held an undercurrent of irritation. “This had better be leading somewhere.”
What had I been thinking?This is a bad idea. Why didn’t I do more research before summoning?But I knew why—I’d hoped to impress for a chance at those coveted wings.
“How strange.” He stretched his hand and tugged the chain from my grasp.
Turning my stare to the golden infinity symbol, I gave an inward sigh of relief, glad to give my eyes a break from Lucian’s crushing beauty.
“Hmm.” His fingers twisted the jewelry toward the light overhead, then his thumb rubbed the engraving on the tiny cross. A line formed between his eyebrows, and he jerked his chin in my direction. “Where did you say you found this?”
With his full attention back on me, I hesitated. Telling him how I retrieved it wasn’t the issue. Stealing was a laughable sin, but it waswhoI’d stolen it from making me pause. A part of me, a verysmallpart, wouldn’t mind playing with Phoebe for a little longer. Her immunity to my mark was a puzzle I’d enjoy solving without help.
If there were more people like her, perhaps I wouldn’t be shunned, forced to live apart from society.Exactly as my father had intended. A fitting punishment for Abel’s murder. Or so he’d thought. But I’d turned the mark to my advantage.
When Lucian had offered me a new life in exchange for something that didn’t even matter to me anymore—my soul—I didn’t hesitate to embrace new brothers, a new family.
Lucian’s wings fluttered out and curved around my body, pushing me closer. “Where. Did. You. Get this?” Black wisps of power slid from the tips of his feathers, snaking through the air toward me like hungry eels.
“From a...” My throat wouldn’t force the rest of my sentence out. I closed my eyelids.
This is the whole reason I summoned him, to get guidance on dealing with Phoebe.Why on Earth did I hesitate?
A sharp coil of pain slithered around my neck, burning the flesh and lifting me from my feet.
“From awhat?” he hissed.
I pushed my own power out to give myself air to breathe, but there was nothing. Usually, as long as I didn’t go too long without claiming a soul, the black ether rested deep in my bones, always eager to appear at my beck and call.
“I have given you so much, Cain, have I not?”
The noose of power around my throat squeezed tighter, and my eyes flew open.
Silently choking, I could only nod and sweat. His darkness swirled over me, climbing my legs, sliding up my hips, then slipping under my shirt and searing my skin with little tongues of flame. Not enough to be full blown second- or third-degree wounds, but hot enough to let me know he could easily increase the temperature.
“Do you know how close you are to getting your wings? It would be a horrendous letdown to not be able to grant such a powerful gift to one of my Chosen.” His mouth quirked into a cold, cruel smile. “And you know how I hate to be disappointed.” He dropped me to the floor.
I crumpled at his feet, gasping. Being human, I still needed the same things humanity required: air, food, and water.
Chosen? Was he truly being serious?
