The Dearg Due wanted my reactions, so I refused to give them to her.
She sighed and moved on. And then I was lying on Samael’s bed. He was standing in front of me, wings spread. They snapped shut as he humored me enough to turn, glancing over his shoulder at me with a wink.
“Perhaps I can see why you would want to bone with this demon.”
I rolled my eyes.“It’s ‘bone this demon.’ If you’re going to steal modern vocabulary from my mind, at least get it right.”
“Bone this demon. I will remember.”
She watched as I slept with Samael for the first time.“I never got to do this, you know. Never got to enjoy this experience.”
“I’m sorry that was your life.”
“I have taken many other first times to make up for it. But not yours. No, I think there is something better. Something you are attempting to hide from me.”
Her claws dug into my head now, drawing blood. Kyla went nuts, the sound leaving her throat almost like a roar. I managed to choke out an order for her to stand down. I wouldn’t go through all of this andnotget what I needed.
The next memory rolled through my head. And it hurt.
It was directly after I walked through that library and read the Nephilim prophecy. The moment I realized Samael knew what I was. Had known for some time.
“Now, every demon alive knows the Nephilim is alive,” Samael told me.
I watched my face. I looked like he’d stabbed me in the gut.“Tell me you didn’t know who I was. Tell me you didn’t know I have the power to take down your oldest enemy. The man who slaughtered your family.”
I could see Samael’s expression as he gazed at me. I’d thought that expression had been blank, but I’d been so upset myself that I’d missed the devastation in his eyes.
Then I was holding Misty to his throat. The Dearg Due laughed and laughed.
“Tell me.” I demanded.
He stayed silent and I choked out a dry sob.
“You knew who I was this entire time, and you let me stay ignorant. Worse, you were probably planning to use me to take down your enemies. Deny it.”
The Dearg Due sighed. “This is what men do.”
“You haven’t exactly had the best experiences with men,”I replied.
The Dearg Due watched the memory for a little longer.“I believe you can keep this one,”she purred.
I’d been holding on. Clutching desperately to the one memory I couldn’t give up, but the Dearg Due had eons of experience digging out what she wanted.
She struck.
A choked sob left my throat as I watched myself in Samael’s penthouse. I hadn’t noticed at the time, but his expression seemed… softer. He looked almost content.
We’d just finished dinner. The remains were on the table inside, surrounded by the flowers and candles he’d arranged for me.
“I’m in love with you,” I blurted out.
He hadn’t believed me. I could see it in his eyes as I watched the memory in excruciating detail.
“You would play with me even now?”
I frowned at him. “I didn’t expect it to happen. God knows I didn’t want it to. You infuriate me, challenge me, annoy the shit out of me. You’re bossy and controlling, and dealing with your ego is no fucking picnic, let me tell you.”
The Dearg Due watched silently as I paced back and forth, Samael’s silver gaze drinking me in like I was something he’d never thought to see. Something entirely unexpected but welcome. I knew what was coming next. I attempted to shut the memory down, but I had no hope against the Dearg Due’s vicious power.
