I’d heard him rustling around at six. I, on the other hand, had slept until noon.
“I have a couple of things for you.” Winking, he leaned forward and lifted a gleaming sconce off a massive stack of pancakes. My stomach grumbled at the sight of the fluffy circles. “You also have a visitor out on the balcony.”
Frowning, I glanced over to the open sliding doors. A black-and-white pigeon perched on the back of one of the wrought-iron chairs. I sucked in a whistling breath and stood.
“Don’t tell me that’s Hendrix.”
“The one and only.”
My mouth dropped open as I plucked a chunk of pancake from the stack and padded over to the balcony. There was a single black spot above Hendrix’s left eye. It was him alright. With a grin, I threw him a pancake. He caught it in midair and swallowed it whole.
“How?” I asked, turning back to Asmodeus who leaned back in his chair with a smug smile. “Surely he couldn’t find me.”
“Pigeons are smarter than people give them credit for.”
This had to be some sort of demon thing. He’d called Hendrix here. With his mind. Or something. Whatever he’d done, I didn’t really care. It was an oddly touching gift. Grudgingly, I gave him a smile.
“Well, I don’t know how you got him here, but it’s good to see a familiar face.”
“You’re welcome.” He motioned to the stack of pancakes. “Don’t forget to eat. We have a big day ahead of us. Tonight, we’ll attend a party together. It will be our first official outing as a couple.”
My stomach dropped. Right. That explained the pancakes and the pigeon. He was trying to soften me up before dropping the news about our impending date.
I eased back into the apartment, trying not to rush toward the pancakes like the greedy squirrel I was. “That’s soon.”
“It hasn’t taken long for news to travel. People are already talking about you.” He folded his arms. “It will be good to put in an appearance while we’re fresh on their minds.”
“So strategic.” Throwing all caution to the wind, I dropped into the chair and pulled the plate close. To hell with it. I wanted these damn pancakes.
“I got to where I am today by being strategic,” he said. “It’s the only way I know to be.”
“Doesn’t that get lonely?” I asked as I jammed a forkful of pancake into my mouth. It practically melted against my tongue.
“I have plenty of people close to me.”
“Who?” I asked.
“The bouncers you met last night, for one.”
The Legion. That’s what the angels had called them. Were they all demons? Caim and Phenex and the other three guys? It explained a few things if they were. They’d been just as intense and unnerving as Asmodeus was, and Valac had made me feel like knives were being dragged across my mind.
“And what about you?” he asked, leaning forward with an intent expression on his face. “Where are your friends?”
“You’re looking at one.” I pointed at Hendrix, who had flown into the penthouse to join us. Strangely, Asmodeus didn’t seem to mind a pigeon on his dining table.
“And the others?”
I swallowed down a lump of pancake. Suddenly, I was no longer hungry, even though my stomach still growled. “I don’t really have any, other than Serena. I’m pretty much all I’ve got.”
I braced myself for his next question. I knew what it would be. It was inevitable. Everyone always asked.What about your family?I didn’t know how to answer him if he brought it up. Rarely could I discuss my parents, my sister, without tears forming in my eyes and blurring the world away. And I had zero desire to cry in front of a fucking demon who’d made a deal for my soul.
“Well,” he said, leaning back into his chair.
“Well,” I repeated.
“Maybe it’s time you changed that.” His chair scraped against the floor as he pushed it away from the table. “You have one wild, precious, and very short life, Mia, made better by the people you surround yourself with. Make the best of it.” With a sigh, he turned toward the door leading into his bedroom. “I have some business to take care of for most of the day, so I’ll be out until tonight. Make yourself at home. We’ll leave for our date at eight.”
Asmodeus vanished into his bedroom, leaving me with a mouthful of pancake and a hell of a lot of questions. Stunned, I replayed his words in my mind. Had he really just said I had one wild and precious life? And not to waste it? That wasn’t a very demony thing to say. Were the angels wrong?
