The black snake hissed and bared his fangs at Zagan, who promptly turned to flee the room. Grinning, I followed him again as we left Addie and Iyla in the living room to continue the meeting with her contractor and designer. We settled in Zagan’s home writing and recording studio. I flopped down onto the red couch, and he took a spot adjacent to me.
“So,” Zagan hedged, studying me with his vivid blue eyes. “Serenity, huh?”
I reached for the guitar that Zagan kept on hand and leaned back against the couch. I strummed the instrument mindlessly and responded, “What about her?”
Zagan shrugged. His eyes remained locked on mine as though to say he knew my nonchalant response was bullshit. “I sensed some … tension between you, her, and the other guy.”
I refocused on the guitar and tuned it to play one of our songs. “No tension on my end. I’ve made her my new toy, if you will. Bumped into her a couple of times, both on purpose and not.”
“I take it today was an unplanned run in?”
I snorted. “Yeah. I didn’t know she works for the company that’s doing Addie’s new place. I was surprised when I saw her in your kitchen. Though, I’m not mad about it.”
“I would ask if you like her, but I know that’s a dumb question with you.”
I stopped strumming the guitar to look up at him with mock sincerity. “You know me so well.” I placed a hand over my heart. “I’m touched, Z.”
Zagan’s pierced lips pulled at the edges in the hint of a smirk. “And just to get my facts straight, that guy she’s with is the one Perseus told us about, right? The one Harper used to piss him off at her party?”
“The very one,” I answered as I resumed my idle playing. “He’s a real piece of shit. I’ve been watching both him and Serenity since I bumped into them at the bar, and he’s vile. Serenity can andshoulddo so much better than him.”
Zagan’s brow rose, and he studied me for a moment before speaking. “That’s … thoughtful of you.”
“Don’t be an idiot,” I growled with a glare thrown his way. “I’m not trying to come in between them because I want her for some sort of relationship or bullshit like that. Granted, her pleasure is … well, it’s unlike anything I’ve had before. But other than fucking her and playing whatever part I need to in order to rub my victory in Bradley’s face, there will be nothing between the two of us. I’m doing this because, at this point, my life’s purpose is squashing bastards like Bradley.”
Zagan nodded casually and shrugged. “And Serenity is just the collateral damage.”
My fingers went slack and strummed incoherent notes, filling the air with a rush of messy chords. My eyes collided with Zagan’s, and I frowned. “What do you mean?”
“If you’re inserting yourself into her life, making her see she deserves better bybeingthat yourself for a time, don’t you think she’ll develop feelings for you? Feelings you have no actual intention of returning?”
“So what?” I snapped, unsure why I was getting so riled up over this. “She’ll be better off at the end of the day without him.”
“You don’t think using her in this little game with Bradley makes you the same as him?”
“I’m nothing like him,” I argued, furious that my best friend could even say something like that. “When the fuck did you start caring about humans and their feelings so much?”
“Since the day I fell in love with one,” he answered without hesitating.
All of the bitter anger swept out of me, replaced by numb resolve. Did I think Zagan and Iyla loved each other? I didn’t know. Love was a load of horseshit, but I couldn’t deny that there was something strong between them, something that existed outside of their unexpected bond. The same could be said of Perseus and Harper. Something sat deep within them, calling out to the other like a beacon to guide the other person home.
I was sure my fellow Incubi were confused or being tricked, but hearing Zagan repeat that he loved Iyla for the second time in this very room had my arguments drying upon my tongue. I wouldn’t be able to convince him he was wrong. I wouldn’t be able to tell him that he was talking like a human and not the demon that he was.
So instead of trying to make him see his delusion, I sighed. “I need some air.”
Zagan watched me replace the guitar on its stand. “Come back when you’re done. I’m calling all the guys over later to break the news to Pers that he’ll have to wait another month to kill Drake.”
I grunted in response. We were giving the human man who’d assaulted Harper to Coldin, who could only kill once a month since he wasn’t a free Letum demon. That being said, Zagan had Coldin kill Babette a few days ago, which meant Perseus would have to wait his turn to get his revenge.
Without another word, I morphed into shadows and went to pay that very man a visit. I reappeared in my basement where the human scum lay curled up in the fetal position on the stone floor. He still had on the same disgusting white briefs that he’d been wearing when Perseus dropped off him here. While the material had small yellow and brown stains that night, they were fully saturated in blood, feces, urine, and vomit now. We didn’t let him change. He deserved to rot in his filth.
Smiling wickedly, I greeted, “Good to see you, Drake.”
The frail man’s head whipped up, giving me a clear view of his teary fear-filled eyes. He began trembling and tried to slide away across the floor, but the injuries he’d already sustained from his few weeks here prevented him from getting far.
I let my demonic form out, which made his terror spike. My black horns stood amid my short, dark hair, and my fingernails sharpened into deadly black claws. The eyes Drake now stared into were black with a red vertical slit down the middle. I smiled wider, letting my sharpened fang-like canines glint in the dimly lit basement.
Flexing my clawed hands, I sighed. “I’m in a foul mood today. Care to help me feel better?”
