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WHEN EDEN FINISHED eating and Sebastian had polished off a glass of blood, he took her into his arms. His speed was breathtaking as he sprinted across the city. The assassin didn’t mention that she’d been to the asylum in the Night Cursed District before when she found herself standing on the rooftop. Light snow was falling and they pulled their hoods up to shield themselves from the icy flakes.
Kade Sinclair appeared right on time. He nodded at Sebastian in greeting, then his eyebrows rose when he saw Eden. “Hello,” he said warily. “Who are you?”
“I’m Eden,” she told him. “I’m half fairy and half succubus. I’m an assassin for the Immortal Triumvirate.”
Kade took an instinctive step back from her. His eyebrows rose again when Sebastian put a protective hand on her shoulder. “She means you no harm, mon amie,” the master vampire said. “I took your advice and spoke to Madam Quilla. She confirmed my suspicions that Eden is my match.”
The warlock was understandably wary about being linked in even a small way to an assassin. “Why do you want to rebel against the Immortal Triumvirate?” he asked her bluntly.
“Because they turned me into a monster and used my body against my will,” she replied, standing up straight and meeting his eyes squarely. She remembered him now. They’d walked past each other on the street a few weeks ago. Had it been a coincidence, or had they been destined to meet?
Kade sensed her desire to be free from her masters and figured it was coming through his link to Sebastian. He could feel a new type of magic connected to the vampire. He could also sense vampiric magic on the succubus. “You two already seem to have formed a bond,” he said with a frown.
“What are you?” Eden asked him curiously. “Sebastian told me you’re half fae.” His looks would have given that away anyway. He wore a dark red cloak with the hood pulled up to frame his ridiculously handsome face. His amethyst eyes were intelligent and she saw blond hair beneath his hood.
“I’m also half warlock,” he replied. “The combination has made me far stronger than a full blood fairy and I won’t go insane when I’m old.” He returned to what he’d sensed about the pair. “How did you two become linked?”
“Our magic chose each other,” Sebastian informed him. “Eden has agreed to become bound to me, but there is a problem.”
“What’s the problem?” the warlock asked.
“I’m already bound to the Immortal Triumvirate,” Eden said. “You need to break my link to them and you need to do it soon.”
“What’s the urgency?” Kade asked. He knew something was going on that he needed to know more about.
“Lord Kreaton ordered Eden to kill me,” his ally said as if that prospect didn’t bother him at all.
Kade’s mouth dropped open a little at that news. “How can you disobey a direct order from them?” he asked.
“The spell Lord Dallinar cast on me is designed to tell them when I’ve killed my target, but it doesn’t control me,” she explained. “They know when I’ve killed my targets and Lord Kreaton will know I haven’t fulfilled my mission yet. I’m worried he’s going to summon me to him soon to explain why I’ve failed.”
“Can you examine the spell, mon amie?” Sebastian requested. “You will have a better chance of understanding how it works than we will.”
“Be careful,” the assassin warned the warlock when he moved to stand in front of her. “Lord Dallinar might sense it if you poke and prod the spell too much.”
“I’ll be cautious,” Kade said with a reassuring smile. The succubus was breathtakingly beautiful. He was glad her magic didn’t ensnare him now that he was standing so close to her. He focused on her forehead rather than her eyes and delved into her with magic. Immediately, he sensed a complex spell that had been placed on her long ago. It was deeply entrenched into her mind and it wouldn’t be easy to dispel it.
“What can you sense?” Eden asked when the warlock remained silent for several minutes.
“It’s just like you said,” he replied. “The spell only has one purpose and I can feel it’s linked to three different beings.” He assumed the Immortal Triumvirate were those beings. “It’s mostly fae magic, but I can sense black magic mixed in with it. Only someone with great power and access to dark magic can undo this.”
“That’s what Padavion said,” Eden said to Sebastian. “Do you know someone who can use black magic?” she asked the pair.
They exchanged a look, then Kade nodded. “The third member of our triad can use black magic.”
“The demon?” Eden said and wrinkled her nose in distaste at that idea. “I’d rather not be tainted by demonic magic.”
“I would just need to borrow his magic to dispel the enchantment,” the warlock told her. “I will be in control of the spell and you won’t become tainted by him.”
Left with little choice, Eden nodded reluctantly. “We need to get this done,” she urged him.
“I need to send a letter to Raum,” Kade said.
“Raum?” Eden broke in incredulously. “You forged an alliance with the Demon Guild Master?” She couldn’t have been more shocked at that revelation. Of all the beings in Nox for them to link themselves to, he would have been her last choice.
“We didn’t have much choice at the time, chérie,” Sebastian said with a slight grimace. “He slaughtered the man we’d initially chosen to become our third.”
“What a surprise,” the assassin said with an eye roll as Kade finished dictating the magical letter to summon Raum to them. An envelope secured itself around the note, then it zoomed off. Eden figured Ephrem Prager had been their initial choice. Raum must have used a hellblade to kill him, which explained the charred wound in the werewolf’s chest. It would be just like the demon lord to toss the body to the ground like garbage.
Several minutes passed before the sound of flapping wings alerted Eden and Sebastian that someone was approaching the asylum. Kade’s hearing was nowhere near as acute as theirs. Eden’s jaw dropped in amazement when she saw Raum in his demon form. He was the size of a dragon and similar in shape. His thick hide was midnight blue. He had huge wings, wicked spikes running along his spine and long horns on his head. His glowing blue eyes studied her as he swooped down to land on the roof of the asylum.
The demon transformed into his human form as he descended, then stood in front of her dressed impeccably in a charcoal gray suit. “I see one of you gentlemen has found his match,” he said when he regarded her.
“Eden is mine,” Sebastian said and put a possessive hand on her shoulder.
Raum heaved a sigh of envy. “Mr. Sinclair and I will have to continue our search,” he said. “I can only hope I will be paired with someone as beautiful as you, my dear,” he added and bowed to Eden.
The succubus had to force herself not to lift her upper lip in distaste. Raum’s minions had been hunting Sorcha for the past few months. If they ever got their claws on her, they would tear her apart. He looked polite and friendly on the surface, but his civility was just a thin veneer. She knew he was just as evil as her hated overlords. “It’s nice to meet you,” she lied. Sebastian squeezed her shoulder in support and she leaned back against him, glad for his solid presence.
“I take it you’re going to perform the binding spell?” Raum said to Kade.
“Not yet,” the warlock replied. “We have to dispel an enchantment that was placed on Eden first. I’m going to need your help to do it.”
“Of course,” the debonair demon replied. “I shall do whatever I must in order to defeat our enemies.”
That was one topic that they were all in perfect agreement with.
