“’Fraid not, punkin.” He jerked his chin toward Mildred the Crone, who was watching them while she cleaned. “She put one hell of a whammy on you. I could fry her for you, though. Return the favor, if you’d like.”
“Don’t tempt me. You’re almost as bad as Belial.”
He scoffed. “I’m worse than Belial. You should remember that, if you have your memory.”
She returned her gaze to him. He had his long hair pulled back into a sharp ponytail. It made his face all the more alluring. More masculine, as the beauty of his hair didn’t compete with the perfection of his chiseled features. “Nay, Shadow. You’re more ruthless to those deserving, but you still have a soul and a heart. The two things that Belial lost a long time ago. I might not have my powers at present, but I’ve seen you when I did, and you can’t hide the truth from me.”
He looked away sheepishly. “Don’t say that shit out loud. Someone might hear you.”
That was his worst fear. For his enemies to know that he wasn’t the cold-blooded bastard they thought him.
And he had a lot of enemies. Too many, in fact. They never left him in peace.
Her heart ached for him. “I will keep your secret.” Rising on her tiptoes, she kissed his whiskered cheek. Then, she whispered in his ear, “You know that Valteri is the son of Jaden.”
“Aye,” he breathed.
“Does Jaden know?”
He glanced around the room before he answered. “No. According to my agents, he only knows about Caleb and Xev.”
Xevikan Daraxerxes was a terrifying demonic beast. Shadow’s halfbrother through their mother, Azura, he served as the right hand of the Malachai demon. In fact, he was Adarian Malachai’s Šarru-Dara, or Blood King, who fed power to the Malachai so that he’d be able to destroy the world should Azura and Kadar ever break out of their prison and unleash the Malachai so that they could rule the world again as its dark gods.
And why was Xev enslaved to the Malachai? Because he’d betrayed his own mother by fighting for Ariel’s side during the Primus Bellum—the first war of the gods. Rather than serve the dark gods, Xev had changed sides to fight for his wife, who was a warrior, like Ariel, for the Arelim army.
The same was true for Caleb Malphas. Because he’d fallen in love with a human and switched sides to protect humanity, he’d been punished, too.
At the end of the war, Jaden had turned his back on them and refused to help them escape their unjust convictions.
No one knew why.
Xev and Caleb had done what was right and decent. And they were spending eternity being tortured for it.
Just like Shadow.
“I can’t let Valteri share his brothers’ fates.”
“Nor I. I’m sick of the gods and so is Thorn. Watching them play these games with the innocent.”
“Then how do we fix this?”
Shadow snorted. “That’s always the rub, dearest. Damned if I know.”
Valteri narrowed his gaze as he scanned the letter from William. His grip tight, he again read William’s dispensation of all the Ravenswood lands and titles to him.
I should be grateful.
An image of Ariel drifted through his mind, her arms open, her lips curved up into a warm, welcoming smile. Even now, he could hear her laughter as she danced around him.
For the first time in his life, he could imagine himself with someone. See himself growing old with a woman by his side.
Even more terrifying, he could imagine children.
Hischildren.
Valteri shook his head, disgusted by the mere thought. He should know better than to even consider such a fantasy.
It’s not for me. I’m a warrior. Through and through.
