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AFTER THE MEETING ENDED, Raum was one of the first people to leave. He saw Azazel watching him suspiciously as he hurried across the square to the Demon Guildhall. Raum took the stairs three at a time up to the top floor, but he didn’t enter his office. He climbed the final flight of stairs to the roof and paused to drink a sip of the potion. He tucked the bottle back into his pocket, then opened the hatch to climb onto the roof. When he changed into his demon form, he couldn’t smell his own scent and figured the potion was working.
He hid behind the peak of the roof and waited for Ember to go on the move. When she finally flew away from the headquarters, he followed in her wake. Just as he’d figured, the demoness followed one of his enemies home again. She coasted high above the carriage that ferried Lord Graham to his mansion and watched his house for a couple of hours. She then headed westward to scope out Lord Kreaton’s mansion. Finally, she flew to the Fae District to spy on Lord Dallinar’s private tower.
Raum knew firsthand how determined Ember could be when she had a goal in mind. She’d come very close to extinguishing his life, but he didn’t have the same protective shield that his enemies possessed. She didn’t stand a chance against them, but she was bullheaded enough to continue with her vigilante plan, whatever it was.
Unwilling to lose his intended partner, the demon lord went on the move when he saw Ember give up on her vigil for the night. He headed for the closest entrance to the catacombs and swooped down to land on the ground. He changed into his human form, then descended into his District.
Hurrying through the tunnels to the pit, Raum could feel Ember drawing closer by the second. She was almost within eyeshot, so he switched back to his demon guise and flew up to the ceiling. The tunnel she used to enter her lair was even smaller than he’d expected. He held onto the edge with his claws, then transformed back into his human body. He pulled himself along the narrow passageway, wincing when his shoulders scraped against the rough rock walls.
Raum shook his head at the dismal cave the hellion had chosen to be her home when he reached the end of the tunnel. He did a doubletake when he saw familiar black wallpaper lining the rock walls. It was embossed with the same intricate designs as the wallpaper that had appeared in his bedchamber. “She is the one for me,” he murmured in satisfaction. Apart from a musty pile of old blankets, there was nothing else in the tiny chamber.
The demon lord slithered headfirst through the opening. He somersaulted in midair to land deftly on his feet. He straightened his tie, then pressed his back into a corner when he heard Ember at the entrance to the passageway. Gold light from her eyes lit the cave, but she didn’t scan the chamber before dropping to the ground. She stiffened and spun around when he spoke. “I love your home,” he said, keeping his tone casual. “You have a very minimalistic style.”
“How did you find me?” Ember hissed, readying her talons to attack him.
“You carry some of my demonic essence inside you,” he replied, figuring honesty was the best policy despite it feeling decidedly unnatural.
Ember put a hand on her chest and frowned. “Is that what I can feel in here?” she asked.
He nodded once while circling around to put himself in front of the only exit. “I’ve marked you, my dear,” he explained. “No matter where you go, I can find you.”
The demoness narrowed her eyes, then leaped at him. His human form was far stronger than normal. He caught her by the forearms before she could claw his eyes from his head. “Get it out of me!” she growled. He spun her around and pinned her to the wall before she could use the talons on the ends of her wings to attack him.
“I’m afraid I can’t,” he said. “It seems to be permanent.” He’d never left his essence inside someone before, but it was a part of her now. He couldn’t have extracted it even if he’d wanted to.
A look of fierce concentration came over Ember, then she lashed out at him with his own demonic essence. He absorbed it without feeling any pain, then reached into her through the link he’d inadvertently created between them. Finding her human form, he forced her to change. “Well, well,” he said in admiration. Unlike him, she didn’t retain her meager amount of clothing when she shifted. He was a full blood demon with complete mastery over both of his forms. She didn’t have his ability to control herself as well as he could. “This is a pleasant sight,” he said with a smile.
Ember looked down at her chest and rolled her eyes. “What is it with men and their fascination with boobs?” she asked.
“I can’t really explain it,” the demon lord said with a shrug and without taking his eyes off her luscious breasts. “Yours are particularly fetching.”
Instead of trying to pull away, she took a step forward until they were standing chest to chest. “You really like this body, don’t you, Raum?” she said huskily.
His eyes rose to hers and his grip on her arms loosened slightly. “I like your human form when I’m in my own human form,” he admitted.
“Do you want to touch me?” she asked coyly.
His groin reacted to the seductive look in her lovely gray eyes. “I want to do more than just touch you, Ember,” he said and scanned her body again. “I want to take you to my bed and ruin you for all other men.”
A faint blush rose in her cheeks and she pressed her breasts against him. “Then do it,” she demanded. “I don’t have a bed, but I have a pile of blankets.”
Raum glanced at the makeshift bed, then cursed himself for allowing her to distract him when she changed her form. She didn’t turn into her demon guise, but into her werewolf form this time. Much stronger as a shifter, she yanked her arms free and shoved him away. He tried to grab her and she slashed his forehead with her claws. Half-blinded by the blood that sheeted down his face, he watched her claw her way up the wall and disappear into the tunnel.
“That did not go how I’d planned,” he muttered, then used the claw marks she’d made in the wall to climb up to the tunnel and went on the chase.
His wounds healed even before he slithered through the passageway and landed on the ground. Ember paused on the far side of the pit to glower at him. Her amber eyes shone with a hint of gold. “Why can’t you just leave me alone?” she growled.
“I need you,” he replied, holding his hands out to indicate he meant her no harm. “I know you’re planning to try to take our enemies down on your own. You will inevitably fail,” he warned her. “Together, we can defeat them.”
Changing back into her demon form, she regarded him scornfully. “The price for trusting you would be too high, my lord,” she said coldly, then sprinted off towards one of the exits to the surface.
Raum rubbed a hand over his jaw and sighed. He’d known it would be hard to get the demoness to trust him, but it seemed the task was impossible. “It’s time to play the ace I have tucked up my sleeve,” he decided. Frankly, using this ploy was the only trick he had left. Unfortunately, he wasn’t sure if it would work. He would leave Ember alone for a few nights before he would track her down again and try to convince her to join him. The demon lord was pretty sure he only had one shot left. If this didn’t work, then he would be forced to search for another potential match. The thought left a disturbingly hollow feeling inside him.
