Page 80 of Pride: Kneel Before None

Traitorous coffee.

I released the mug and dropped my hands into my lap.

“No? Tighe is wasting away inside Blackscale, and the demon who put him there is trying to play games with his life.”

Her face softened as she leaned forward, dropping her voice into something soothing and reassuring. “Oh no, your brother is safe. Nothing will happen to him while he’s there. I can promise you that.”

“You can promise me that?” I scoffed. “Did you tell Tighe that too when you went to go see him?”

She reached across the table to take my hand, her thumb brushing over the back of it in small and gentle motions.

“I had to see him for myself. He needed to know that ensuring his safety is my top priority. Being locked away in Blackscale can be challenging on the psyche. I didn’t want to risk him slipping into a place where the mind becomes jagged cliffs and gluttonous shadows.”

It sounded like she knew from experience. Though I had no reason to believe she did.

I watched as her hand continued to rub circles across my skin. Beneath the surface, Ace’s hellfire remained dormant but prepared to erupt if circumstances demanded it.

Without words exchanged between us, the background noise of the café breathing life into Superbians via caffeine and concoctions was nothing short of melodic.

Finally, I looked away from our hands, meeting my mother’s eyes instead.

“What do you know about our family’s history? Not Dad’s, yours.”

Her thumb stalled its movements.

A slip of a smile curved over the painted red of her lips. “I thought you’d never ask.”

She slid her hand away from mine to sit back in her seat, settling in for what promised to be a lengthy conversation.

“Drink your coffee, Genevieve. There is much for you to hear.”

I sure hoped so. And it had better start with who was responsible for turning me into a paranormal vacuum who fucked and sucked the powers from others, then blew them back out.

My hands grabbed the coffee mug again. This time, the steam rising from its contents cleared, revealing the beverage had turned a shade of frostbitten blue.

“Tell me something I don’t know,” I challenged.

That’s when she looked at me not as her daughter, but as her protégé.

“Be cautious of what you ask for, my little vice. Some truths are too risky to ignore and too expensive to sell.”

I reflected a facsimile of her mercurial smile right back at her.

“The odds are mine, and I enjoy fine things. Try me.”

CHAPTER 25

“Iced chai tea latte with matcha cold foam?” Ignatius offered the plastic cup filled with a beverage that looked like green mold floating on top of dirty dishwater.

My hard glare answered for me.

He withdrew the beverage and shrugged.

“It’s all the rage amongst the humans. Eases stress.” A meaningful pause that he excelled at weaponizing. “You look like you could use a sip or two.”

I stood by the main entrance of Sevenfold, a shoulder against the wall with my arms crossed in front of me. Since I’d discovered my Little Spade had gone on another unsanctioned escapade this morning, I’d waited here for her return.

Rip was out there, waiting for the perfect time to rain his bullshit down all over my empire. Yet Eve was galivanting about Superbia like she hadn’t a care in the world. It took everything in me not to tear apart this whole fucking city to see where she had gone.