“Daxon!” I snapped.
“Sorry.”
“Seren, why didn't you tell us this morning about Danu mentioning King Astaroth?” Tiernan asked.
“You guys had just decided to be cool about Star,” I huffed. “I didn't want to wreck that. And I thought I could handle it on my own.”
“Unfortunately, I can't,” Star muttered.
“You see?” Kill waved at him. “We need to do something to help him.”
“How about one of those dog collars that zap the animal when they do something bad?” Daxon drawled.
“Daxon, shut the fuck up,” Tiernan said, shouldering him out of view. “He does not need shock therapy. He's the King of Hell, not a rottweiler.”
“How do you even know what shock therapy is?” Daxon asked from off-screen.
“I was a Lord of the Wild Hunt. I lived on Earth for many years. Recently. I even know Instagram and Ticking Tok.”
“TikTok, babe,” I whispered.
“Yes, that.” Tiernan rolled his eyes. Then he looked at Raza. “What do you think?”
Raza's shoulders were hunched, which made his wings seem even bigger than normal. The claws at the joints flexed. Not a good sign. He grimaced, and that didn't help either. But then he sighed and the line of his shoulders softened. “I have no idea. I experienced moments of extreme rage and helplessness when Seren was rejecting me. The only cure for it was her acquiescence.”
“Her acquiescence?” Killian huffed. “You mean her sleeping with you?”
“No, you cretin,” Raza growled. “I mean herreluctantacceptance of her feelings and me as a suitor.”
“I wasn't trying to be rude,” Kill said. “It was the sex for me. But I guess that came quickly after heracquiescence.” He waggled his brows at me.
I rolled my eyes. “You make me sound easy.”
“Hardly,” Raza scoffed. “I've never fought so hard to gain a lover.”
“Aw, that's nice to hear.” I grinned. “Thanks, babe.”
“Seren, I'm saying that I know of no solution to King Astaroth's . . . issues. Especially since they stem from Anu. Severriel, what's your take on this?”
Sever turned to face me, his expression grim. “I don't want you to hear this.”
“Sever, I found you passed out in bed with a bottle on the floor beside you,” I said. “I know it got bad for you. Plus, Henry told me.”
“I don't think you do know, love,” Sever said gently. Then he set his shoulders and looked back at Raza. “At first, it wasn't bad. I could ignore the impulse to go to her. Then it got worse. My emotions became unstable. Rage, despair, pain.” He shook his head. “They grew stronger and stronger until I had to use alcohol to get some sleep. Very potent alcohol.” He grimaced. “I began to stay as drunk as possible for as long as possible.”
“I can't do that,” Star said. “I rule a planet.”
“Even if you didn't, you can't spend the rest of your life drunk.” I looked from him to Sever. “You know, there's something we could try that's so obvious and simple that we haven't thought of it.”
“If you suggest having sex with him—” Kill started.
“Killian!” I cut him off.
“What then?”
“Pray,” I said.
“What?”
