“Huh?”
Vas smiled as the elevator doors opened. “There were four hundred and forty-four high demons who pledged their allegiance. The oath is different.”
That was a lot of high demons. I opened my mouth to question him some more, but the elevator doors opened and we stepped off the elevator and into a spacious entryway.
The room held a long, rectangular table which spread almost wall-to-wall across the vast room. Vas was striding toward the table, his eyes lit with pleasure as he greeted a demon I hadn’t met before.
I turned my eyes to the head of the table, where Samael was getting to his feet. Every molecule of my body seemed to jump to attention.
His silver eyes were dark as his gaze scanned my body, and I could practically see the magic wrapped around him like a blanket.
I attempted to focus on the way my feet sank into the soft carpet beneath my feet. On the mournful wail of a cello, played over a hidden sound system. I breathed in the scent of the cut flowers on the table next to me, along with the mouth-watering smells coming from the kitchen off the main room.
It was a lost cause. I couldn’t divert my attention as Samael approached, and the closer he got, the harder my heart thumped in my chest. I instinctively took a step back when he was within touching distance, and he gave me a long, slow smile that told me he was noting my retreat… and the reason for it.
I scowled at him. My body’s reaction to him was my business. No one else’s. Not even his.
“You’re just in time,” he said, taking my hand in his. I glanced around, allowing him to keep my hand for the moment. All eyes were currently on me, and I wasn’t going to engage in— and lose— a power struggle with Samael in front of this crowd.
Eat and leave. That’s all I had to do.
“This is Danica Amana,” Samael said to the room. “She is my newest bonded.”
All eyes dropped to my arm, and murmurs began almost immediately. I scanned the table, ignoring the faces of those staring at me in favor of checking out their arms. No one else had a gold design similar to mine.
“For now,” I muttered, and Samael’s silver eyes went liquid.
“For now,” he said, although anyone could tell he was placating me.
The joke would be on him in just over a week when I solved his little mystery and boogied out of his life.
“Danica is helping with our investigation into the murders.”
“Not just murders,” a woman said, scanning me. From the disdain written all over her face, she wasn’t impressed with what she saw. “Word has spread, Samael. Everyone knows about the black smudges.”
Her hair was a glossy, merlot red. Her skin was as smooth as glass, without a flaw to be seen, and her bright blue eyes glittered as she examined me.
Samael simply nodded and held out a chair for me. It wasn’t until I sat down that I realized I was sitting on his right. From the sneer on the other woman’s face, she very much did not believe I deserved the privilege.
You’re welcome to it lady.
“We’ll talk about that after dinner, Lilith,” Samael said, and my mouth dropped open.
The demon’s expression softened into something closer to amusement. “Yes, I’mthatLilith,” she said to me. “Don’t believe everything you’ve heard.”
I smiled at that. “How did humans learn your names before you came through the portals? And how did they get the lore so wrong?”
“The portals were briefly open many times throughout the short history of this world. Before Lucifer’s paranoia, demons were free to come and go as they pleased— as long as they had enough power to travel through the portals without needing to be summoned. For the most part, we preferred the underworld.” Her eyes flicked to Samael. “Until we didn’t.”
I opened my mouth to question her further. Lucifer actually existed? But Samael was already moving on, introducing me to the other demons around the table.
There are some men who radiate sexuality without even trying. Samael was one of them. The demon I was introduced to next was another. He had bright red hair, green eyes, and a smile that made me think dirty, dirty thoughts. His name was Asmodeus. “It’s a pleasure,” he said.
Bael was here, and so was Sitri, but Agaliarept was still unconscious. Lilith I’d remember, since she was the only other woman here. On her right, a demon named Botis nodded at me, immediately resuming his conversation. Abaddon was next. He gave me a grin.
Samael glanced at me and rattled off the next names. “Sathanas, Mammon, Azazyel, and Belphegor.” I blinked at the last, and the demon gave me a shy smile. “Most people just call me Bel.”
The remaining names were a blur and I wished I could’ve taken notes. I’d likely remember the names of thirty percent of these demons at best.
