That was the aim, anyway. It should only last maybe ten minutes, a half hour tops. Long enough for him to get his phone friend’s dinner without contaminating it with his sex juices or whatever.
I let out a long breath as I tap the button to the rooftop again. It’s been a long time since I last used my magic like that, and guilt lays heavily in my gut. Then I remember that I’m now late thanks to this guy’s arrogance and push my feelings down.
He’ll be fine. It’s not like I’ve warped his mind, I’ve just tweaked how he’s feeling for the moment.
The elevator doors open and I take a step out onto the rooftop. This hotel is pretty fancy, and the rooftop is gorgeous. The hotel has it set up as a little garden, complete with pergolas with trailing fairy lights and the thick scent of jasmine in the air.
Kind of romantic for a business meeting, but it’s nice to get out of Willow Ridge. I can see all of Shadwell laid out from up here with lights in every direction. I can also hear murmured voices somewhere up here, but I can’t see who they belong to. Stepping further onto the roof, I slowly make my way closer to the edge where there’s a pergola set up and even more twinkling lights.
“How long have you been up here, man?” A deep male voice asks. It’s the kind of voice that you feel right inside your chest whenever they speak. There’s a rasp to it too, like the person lives a life filled with drinking whisky with barbed wire chasers.
“A couple hours. I needed the quiet.” The responding voice is softer, more melodic, but still male.
“I thought you liked hotels. Figured they were busy enough to drown out all the noise.”
The melodic voice snorts. “I like conference hotels, man. All those people have the same emotions. Boredom, mild interest, loneliness. That’s a lot easier to deal with. This place is just a damn mess.”
I shift on my feet, aware I’m eavesdropping and feeling uncertain about how to make my presence known.
Before I can clear my throat or call out, one of them turns their head and shifts out of the shadows, and I catch sight of them for the first time.
My eyes widen as I take him in. He has long, dirty blonde hair that falls below his shoulders, and eyes that are a deep blue. Looking at him gives me this sensation I’ve never experienced before—like I’m meeting someone who is so distinct in their appearance and their whole vibe that they might as well be from another planet.
He’s incredibly good-looking. Like breathtakingly so.
When he shoots me a shy smile, my stomach flips and I just gape at him, feeling like a mud crab that just came up to the surface in comparison.
“Hi, I’m not sure I’m in the right place,” I tell him, feeling oddly breathless. “I’m looking for Julia?”
“Sinjin,” the other voice says my name before they too step out of the shadows.
Fucking hell, if the voice wasn’t distinctive enough, this guy’s appearance is a whole other ballgame. He’s tall—a few inches over six feet—with skin that’s a dusky red and his eyes are pure black. There’s a long scar that snakes down from his forehead to his cheek and the way he’s looking at me is intense, kind of scary.
I haven’t seen many of his kind before, but I’m pretty sure he’s a demon. I’m also pretty sure he’s Iri Dium, the bassist for Orpheus Underground.
Chapter 4
Sin
“I’m glad you could join us,” he says.
I glance around, looking for the woman that I met earlier. It’s almost like I’m expecting her to jump out of the bushes. But as far as I can tell, we’re the only people up here.
“Where are Dorian and Cal? Shouldn’t they be here for this?” The long-haired guy asks.
“I thought we’d keep it to just us.”
“And what about, uh, Julia?” I ask, my voice coming out at a higher pitch than I’d like. “I figured she’d be here too.” Her texts didn’t give me any indication she wouldn’t be here.
Cal. Dorian. Iri... and the unnaturally good-looking one must be Micah.
My throat is dry as I ask, “You’re Iri and Micah, right?”
“Ding-ding-ding,” the long-haired guy says, his grin widening. “I’m Micah, lead singer of Orpheus Underground, and this is Iri.”
I let out a breath. “Wow, I guess I wasn’t expecting to meet any of you guys in person.”
“Jules was meant to be here too. But she’s dealing with another issue at the moment,” Iri tells me before stepping back and gesturing for me to take a seat beneath the pergola. I perch at the edge of my seat, still in half a mind to get the hell out of here.
