The tension along his jawline relaxed, and he let out a steady breath. “I love you, Lilith.”
I smiled, coming up on my tip-toes to kiss his lips. His lips against mine were warm, and I trailed my fingertips up his horns, causing him to tremble under me.
“Mother.” Priamos materialized beside us.
I untangled myself from Aziel, who chuckled, wrapping his arms around my waist and pulling me so my back was against his chest. “Priamos, what’s going on?”
“King Zelek has requested an audience with you. The Order of the Void is present, and Viktor has been sighted in New York’s ring.” He bowed.
I wrinkled my nose. "What was he spotted doing?"
"Do you really want to know?" Titan's mouth curled in disgust.
The image in the crystal ball of Viktor lunging at the trembling new-blood popped into my mind, and I winced. "I think I have an idea."
"Thaddeus and Kai are already there. Do you want to wake the other vampire?" Titan arched a thick brow.
I shook my head. "I fed off his essence. Let him sleep."
He smirked, holding his palms up to face me. "Very well. Let's go to the throne room."
"Is Gabriel there?" Aziel asked in a gruff voice, slipping his hands off my body as he walked beside me.
"He's part of the Order, so yeah." Titan rolled his eyes before holding his arms out for me to walk into the portal. "After you, milady."
Aziel gave a low growl, and I smacked his chest. "Behave."
Titan snorted a laugh, but I let my hellfire catch on his shirt, and he patted it out with a huff. "Sorry, sorry."
I went through the portal and into the throne room. The heat from the walls emitted at a higher level than usual. Sweat droplets formed on my temples and ran down the sides of my face, making my hair stick to it.
I grabbed the scrunchie from around my wrist and pulled my hair into a messy bun on top of my head. Aziel and Titan came through the portal behind me, and we walked toward my dad, who sat on his throne with a smoldering expression on his face.
"Took you all long enough," Gabriel muttered.
"Sorry to take up so much of your precious time." I rolled my eyes, slipping a hand into Thaddeus's as I stood between him and Kai. Aziel stood beside Thaddeus as Titan went toward the Order.
I wasn’t about to take my throne next to my father, because we had business to discuss. What he did to Aziel was fucking overboard.
"Where's the other vampire?" Kalyke asked.
"None of your business," I snapped.
"He's going to be on this mission as well," Selene mentioned.
What fucking mission?
"He's sleeping," Aziel replied.
Dad cleared his throat. "Due to Viktor being spotted at an abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of New York City, I want to strike while we have the upper hand. Mortala and Priamos haven't been found out yet, but the longer they're undercover, the higher the chance of them being caught and blowing the operation."
Kai's hand rested on the small of my back. "So we need to catch him off guard."
"The Draven clan is skilled enough to handle this mission," Titan spoke up. "They've worked for us for over three hundred years. I know they will be able to handle this.”
"You honestly think three vampires will go against a once royal vampire who is an abandoned and feeding off new-bloods and win?" Dad snorted. "Lilith and...Aziel will go too."
"With all due respect, King Zelek." Gabriel stepped forward, sweeping a stray lock of hair out of his face. "They battled Viktor before, and it didn't end well."
