Even if it hurt like hell.
* * *
Vassago
I was in a dark mood as I made my way back to the tower, landing on Bael’s office balcony. He glanced up, a distracted look on his face.
Since he’d arranged for this meeting, he’d left the doors open, so I stepped into the office and glanced around.
It felt weird being in the tower and knowing Samael was in the underworld. He’d tasked Bael with keeping things running here while he decided what he wanted to do with his holdings in this realm. Leaving Durham would also create a power vacuum, which could place humans in danger. Samael didn’t care about that. But his queen did. And he doted on Danica.
“You wanted to see me?”
“Daimonion is in Peru.”
“How do you know?”
“Our spies.”
I’d missed that one. Daimonion must have just left. “What the fuck is he doing in Peru?”
Bael gave a languid shrug. “Don’t know. I’m assuming you want to hunt him.”
I gave him the look that comment deserved, and the ghost of a smile crossed his face. “You need to go talk to Samael.”
“Why?”
“The underking is willing to give you time and space for your revenge, but you still need to keep him updated.”
I ground my teeth. “Fine.”
Bael angled his head. “Ag would expect Samael to micromanage the shit out of you, and you know it.”
I shrugged. Ag would have lost his damn mind if he’d known I’d planned to go after Daimonion. The assassin had centuries on me. But the underworld had allowed me to access powers that should have taken me several human lifetimes to earn. As far as I was concerned, it was game on.
“Fine. I’ll go talk to him now.”
“How was the bar owner?”
I shot him a look, and he smirked. “I see all, I hear all.”
“Fine. We’re done.” The words sounded bitter even to my own ears. “We never even got started. For the best.”
Bael studied me, and I was pretty sure he saw more than I wanted him to.
“Laters.” I stalked to the balcony and launched myself into the air. The closest portal wasn’t far, and I nodded to the guards as I crossed.
I hadn’t visited often over the past few months. I’d been too busy hunting Daimonion. And yet, the assassin constantly stayed two steps ahead of me. I let out a low growl and landed in front of the palace gates. Danica would expect me to land on any of the balconies. She considered me family. But today, I wasn’t a brother coming to say hello. Today, I was one of the underking’s demons, and I needed his permission to travel.
The gates slid open, no longer covered by the deadly garthia plant. I’d thought Meredith’s task was to help bring down that plant, but later, I’d learned she’d fought next to Aubrey and Selina, mostly working as a distraction while they fought the hellhounds.
I forced that thought out of my mind. Meredith didn’t want anything to do with me. Never had, never would. She’d made that perfectly clear. And if she didn’t want the hands of a demon touching her now, she definitely wouldn’t once they’d been covered in Daimonion’s blood, along with the blood of any demons still loyal to him.
Samael was sitting on his throne, looking bored as hell. Danica was next to him, one hand clasped in his, her other hand stifling a yawn. Her eyes lit up as they met mine, and I couldn’t help but grin at her.
In front of the throne, a group of demons were droning on about land rights. I winced.
Danica had never wanted to live here. Of course, she was making the best of it, and she’d never leave Samael’s side. But it was further proof that love fucked you up.
