Would they look at me with pity or disgust or anger? What did Lana do?
I let the gate swing shut, the clang of metal against metal echoing across the garden.
I'm not staying because I'm trapped. I'm staying because I'm choosing to… for now. There's a difference.
I walk back to the house, taking measured breaths. I don't know what comes next between Asmodeus and me. I don't know if I can ever forgive his lies. I don't know what kind of being my child will become.
But I do know this… I am not helpless anymore.
27
ASMODEUS
“Forneus.”
My majordomo appears in an instant, bowing deeply. Most of the blood and viscera have been removed from my throne room, the surfaces restored to their original dark luster. Forneus was wise and stayed at my largest Lethe villa, away from the madness that reigned here.
“Yes, my lord?”
“Inquire if my brother is home,” I instruct him. “I’m overdue for a visit.”
One more curt bow. “Yes, my lord.”
As I wait for him, I think about Simone and our unborn baby. How is she doing? Is she eating? Somehow, I managed not to check in on her myself, though I did ask Forneus to make sure she has fresh food and plenty of water. But it’s getting harder and harder to resist. I’m not sure I can stand being away from her another night.
Forneus reappears, immediately bowing again. “My lord. You are expected and welcome at the archduke’s seat.”
I presumed as much. When I was a child, I spent more time at Ashtaroth’s court than in the vicinity of my parents. As a fathermyself, I’ve been equally negligent of my children. And we think so little of humans when we’re just as susceptible to nature and nurture as they are.
“Make sure my consort has everything she needs,” I say to Forneus, my final instructions before I will myself to my brother’s fortress.
When I materialize in his throne room, I’m greeted by more than one familiar face. There’s my brother, of course, Simone’s red-headed team member by his side.
Another one of Simone’s team members stands nearby as well. The only other female from the group that day when I first laid eyes on my little fairy. She’s standing next to my nephew, who somehow seems more mature than when I saw him last. And next to him, where I’d expect Armaros, is a different Fallen, one with white hair. He seems like a beacon of purity among the gathered.
“Father,” Naamah greets me, relief in her voice. I have to remind myself it’s been quite some time since she’s seen me, even though it feels like far less for me.
“Daughter. You’re…”
“About to pop,” she interrupts me, patting her large, rounded stomach. “You’re going to be a grandfather. Again.”
Indeed, no one knows how many grandchildren or great-grandchildren I have. But this will be Naamah’s first child. I wonder why she decided to procreate now.
“Congratulations,” I tell her, surprising myself with how much I mean it.
She must sense it too, her perfectly groomed black eyebrows rising with evident surprise. “Thank you, Father. This is my pet,” she adds as an afterthought, pulling a leanly muscled Cambion to her side like he’s not taller and heavier than her.
Another of Simone’s teammates. How curious.
“Kevin,” he says. “S-sir.”
I smirk at his fear—this is how it should be. My daughter did well.
“I would ask where in Satan’s name you have been, Brother, but I know he himself was involved in at least part of your disappearance.”
I scoff at Ashtaroth. “You don’t know the half of it. Did he tell you time passes differently in the Burning Pits where he had caged us? As far as I’m concerned, I was only gone for less than a day, but it’s been?—”
“Almost two years,” Naamah says, pouting. “We were all looking for you.”
