“No, just seduce him. Marriage isn’t necessary yet.”
“Yet?” There it is. There’s the shriek.
A tumbling laugh skims from Rome’s lips, and my glare slides to him.
I’m stunned how fast the look shuts him up.
Maybe he does have a few ounces of intelligence rattling around in that obnoxiously pretty head of his.
There’s a tense seriousness on each of their faces. No. Not seriousness. Desperation. I guarantee they’d never admit it, but they’re desperate. They want change for some reason.
And they want me specifically to be on their side.
“You’re an outsider,” Avian explains. “You have no loyalty to the kingdom of hell unlike the women in our realm. We want your loyalty.”
They’re smart. They’ve thought this through.
“Doesn’t hurt that she’s fucking beautiful.” Rome surprises me with that comment, and though it’s spoken like a harsh insult it warms me in a way.
I knew it. I knew he thought I was pretty.
The pretentious, lying fucker.
“So…I put my life in literal hellacious danger to traitorously feed you the son of Satan’s secrets…and you give me…” A dramatic pause lingers for so long the three idiots finally pick up on my lingering pause.
“Oh, uh, I don’t know. A way out of your shitty life? How about that?” Rome spits those words at me, and Avian turns on him. In under half a second, his fist is thrust into Rome’s gut, and the Hell Cunt doubles over with a satisfying grunt.
“She’s a lady. Speak to her as such,” Avian growls, his arm still flexed hard. Meanwhile, my panties have never been wetter.He’s adorably sweet and protectively aggressive?Is there anything more a high-classladysuch as myself could ever ask for?
“My life isn’t shitty.” My chin lifts high with all the pride a shifter like myself will always hold. And maybe a little higher because that’s just how much confidence I’ve been raised to carry.
“It ain’t pretty though, is it, beautiful?” Roman’s words are like a stab to the chest, and the pain that I feel there is all-consuming.
Because he’s right.
I don’t want the path I’m following.
I’ve known these guys for all of ten minutes, and the challenge they’re offering me is exactly what my father trained me for. I’m meant for battle and adventure. Danger and mystery.
I just want—I wantmore.
My arms lower casually to my sides. I relax my shoulders, my spine and my neck. They watch me in apprehensive silence. They know too much about me. They’ve done their homework and they seem to know what I’m capable of and what I want and don’t want in life.
They know I don’t want what I have. Why does it sting to realize they seem to know that more than I do.
I… I want a life they’re trying to give me.
A slow sigh crawls up my throat and it feels like a weight is pulled right off of me with the simple exhale and acceptance of it all.
I should be saddened by my choice.
Instead, a small, secret,unspeakablepart of me is…thrilled.
“Lead the way, boys,” I whisper with the smallest smile touching my lips.
All three of them look as stunned as I feel in this moment.
Zilo lifts his big hand and gestures to the vagueness of the dark night set out ahead of us.
