Until there’s news, I’ll amuse myself with Auri’s treasures, waiting for the day when I get to level up and start collecting my own spoils.
TWO
MAC
The transitionto the underworld is no less jarring than it was the last time, and as my feet land on solid ground and my lungs adjust to the sulfur-thick air, I blink several times to focus. I’m vaguely aware of Auri’s voice, going on about something, but he sounds a thousand miles away. When he falls silent, I look in his direction, still a little unstable.
Auri is looking at me expectantly and I realize I didn’t hear a word he just said. He smirks and his hair flutters again in the nonexistent breeze.
“As I was saying, why don’t I give you a quick tour of my compound, and then we can head into my office so I can give you the details of your assignment?”
Assignment? This is probably bad. Like, epically bad, but I guess I’ll figure that out later.
“Sure, yeah, sounds good,” I mutter in a daze.
My eyes wander over the richly decorated halls Auri leads me through, heading deeper into the compound. There are plenty of shiny, priceless things that catch my eye, but none of them particularly excite my dragon. That’s what so many people don’t understand about dragons—we don’t hoard indiscriminately. Sure, we’ll happily scoop up random gems and treasures, but themajority of what we hoard has to speak to us on a deeper level. It’s primal. It’s instinctual. I couldn’t tell you why my dragon had to have this particular ring or that specific dagger, I just know that when I see it, I know if it should be mine or not. It smells right, it feels right. It’s like love at first sight.
Auri is prattling on about the compound as we walk, boasting about the number of rooms and security guards, but I’m barely listening. All I want is for him to give me the assignment I inadvertently agreed to so I can figure out what to do next.
He slows and gestures into the nearest room, which looks like some kind of rec space with a large TV mounted on one wall, a pool table, and a small kitchen. In the middle of the room is a table with three men seated around it, apparently in the middle of a card game. My nose twitches with the mixture of their scents, difficult to untangle when even the air around me doesn’t smell the way I’m used to.
“I’d like you to meet my most prized possessions,” Auri says proudly. “My favorite little pets, my own personal mercenaries.”
“I will literally rip your fucking throat out, Aur,” a man with shaggy brown hair and piercing silver eyes growls. Something about the tenor of his voice reminds me of my brother Arson’s mate, Drayden, so I’m guessing he might be a wolf shifter. But despite the threat, his voice doesn’t hold much venom, and Auri doesn’t so much as flinch.
If anything, he smiles a little wider, like he’s even more proud that one of his “pets” is cheeky enough to talk back.
“You think that would kill me? That’s adorable.” Auri chuckles. “As I was saying, these three are my personal mercenaries, their servitude signed in blood and sealed with a binding deal. Atlas is my gargoyle. Show them how strong you are, sweetness.”
The man sitting at the far side of the table with his hair buzzed short and a set of shoulders that he probably couldliterally rest the world on, doesn’t even look up from his cards, just raises one massive hand and flips his middle finger at the demon. Auri laughs again, unbothered by the defiance.
“Roman is my wolf shifter. An alpha, no less. He’s fun on a full moon.” Auri gives an exaggerated wink, and the man I thought was a wolf just grunts in response. “And then there’s Cassius?—”
“Vampire,” the third man finishes for him in a bored drawl. He’s tiny in stature, and looks even smaller compared to the two giant beasts at the table with him; a twink by all accounts, with ivory skin and blood red irises.
I shiver instinctively at the chill of death that fills the room. Although maybe that’s all in my head. Vampires freak me out, so sue me.
“Yes.” Auri’s still grinning ear to ear. “And now, my newest prize.” He reaches over to run the back of his hand along my cheek.
I’m a prize? Terrific. I’ve really done it this time.
“You’ll have plenty of time to get to know them later,” he assures me before he continues on through the house, leaving the three mercenaries behind without another word. “I have a few more pets scattered around. Drax, for one.”
We round a corner, and the sound of loping paws draws my attention seconds before the cutest, shaggiest monster I’ve ever seen comes into view.
“Is that a hellhound?” I ask as the three-headed beast with glowing eyes and three lolling tongues gallops towards us. I’ve heard about them and seen drawings, but never one in real life.
“It is.” Auri preens. “Very selective breeding, hardly any available to the general public. Come here, Grim. Give Daddy a kiss.” The demon crouches down and the puppy crashes into him, all three heads licking and snuffling his face at once.
Auri baby talks to the dog—dogs? Is a three-headed dog technically one animal or three? Do all three heads have their own brains or are two of the heads more like extra limbs? Trying to work it out starts to give me a headache, so I give up and just appreciate how adorable the slobbering little weirdo is.
Auri finally straightens himself back up and Grim trots along beside him the last few feet to the office. He types in a security code to open the door then waves us inside. His office is as opulent as the rest of the house, with a high ceiling and a massive mahogany desk in the center of the room. The walls are lined with floor-to-ceiling bookcases and the smell of leather and old paper is so heavy in the air that it makes me sneeze.
“Have a seat.” Auri gestures to chairs in front of his desk.
“I’d rather get to the assignment part.”
He chuckles. “I wouldn’t be in such a rush if I were you, dragon. You’ll be spending a lot of time here until you’ve fulfilled the contract.”
