My heart squeezed, pounding in my temple as I hurried along Lilith’s trail and my stomach churned with disgust as I picked up on Abaddon’s scent: wet pavement and steel. Scenting its metallic tang entwined with Jessica’s soft, sunny scent made the spirit inside me blind with rage.
First, I’d rip off his legs, then his wings. Then I would carry them up top and have that Gabriel fellow deliver them to my brother at the pearly gates with a message that I’d be coming forhisbody parts next.
My family thought I was such a monster? Very well. I’d show them the kind of monster I could be.
Before I could sink too deep into a mire of my revenge, I registered a figure sprinting toward me from the direction of Devil’s Head.
My heart lurched, seeing who it was.
“Cerberus!”
Something was wrong, horribly wrong. As my faithful friend came closer, I could make out the gruesome claw marks slashing his face. Blood wept from the deep cuts, soaking his chef’s uniform.
“Sire! Oh, thank The Fates! Sire, you must come quick!”
“Cerb, what’s happened to you?”
“I was hunting for mushrooms in the place I always do, Sire, when I found Abaddon nearly forcing himself on the queen!”
“You left her with him?”
“I fought him as best I could, which wasn’t very good at all, I’m afraid. But it bought her some time. I tried to lure him away, but I thought it wise to flee before he could use the crown on me. She knows those tunnels better than anyone, Sire. With any luck, she’s found a good hiding spot.”
I shook my head, running my hands through my hair. “No, that’s not like her. She won’t cower, I’m afraid, even when she should.”
“I’m afraid you might be right, My King. We must hurry. You can ride on my back until we get to the tunnels, My King.”
I nodded, standing by as my chef stood back to shift. Like Lilith, he never really cared for his other form much. To him, his human body was his true form. So the fact that he was so willing to shift into the terrifying hell beast all to save his queen was exactly the kind of loyalty I needed.
In a blink, standing in front of me was the wiry, mousy man and the next second was a three-headed hound the size of a bus.
In this form, he truly was the terrifying beast of legend, at least cosmetically. While Abaddon had been disappointed to discover the shifter’s docile nature when he’d taken up the crown, I’d been delighted. I’d much rather have unlimited cake than a hound to do all my intimidating for me when I was perfectly capable of that myself.
He knelt down onto the ground so that I could climb onto his back and grabbed two fistfuls of his coarse, brown fur.
“Let’s go get our queen, old friend.”
10
My muscles screamed as I used every shred of my strength to bash the rock against the demon’s skull.
My lungs emptied on a gasp when it barely staggered him.
“But it knocked off the crown.”
I flung myself at the crown the second it clattered to the floor, scattering myself across the stone. I fumbled with it, not knowing quite what to do with it other than jam it on my head as the archdemon thundered toward me with his serrated teeth bared and his claws outstretched.
He was fucking terrifying.
“Stop!” I cried, launching to my feet in a panic.
There was a pulse of magic that even I could feel in my human form, rushing over my body like static shock. Then to my complete bewilderment, he froze in his tracks. I blinked rapidly, confused as to what was going on.
I wasn’t the only one completely lost. Abaddon wore the thunder-struck expression of a man who’d just been bested. His blue eyes flicked up to the crown on my head, and his brow slashed with rage.
“Take that off!”
Holy Mother of Christ. The power of the crown had worked. That didn’t make any damn sense. Even when Lucifer wore the crown, the power didn’t work on archdemons. And the king before him.
