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“Everything fell apart.” Derek White’s deep voice was low, rumbling through the dimly lit space between us like a slinking panther in the shadows. His voice was full of mystery. There were layers I didn’t understand. He’d lived through centuries.
I mean, technically, so had I. But I had the pleasure of forgetting everything and starting all over again from scratch each time I died and reincarnated. White didn’t have the luxury of forgetting. And I wondered for the first time if maybe, just maybe, he had good reason for being such an asshole.
“In a lot of ways, the demon realm was more sophisticated than the human realm at that time,” he said calmly, like this was just any old history lesson, rather than a demon talking about a whole other realm. “There was focus on trade. We bargained not only in goods, but in information and knowledge, in business and art.” He sipped his drink and rolled his broad shoulders, settling back even deeper into his throne-like leather chair. “But in other ways, we lagged behind. Everything in our world was built upon social class. The world operated on a system much like Earth’s feudalism, with many smaller territories that all looked to our king for governance.”
His chiseled lips twisted into an unpleasant, wry expression. “It’s a long story, and not one that is particularly pertinent, but suffice it to say, the king died, his house fell. And all the fiefdoms were left to squabble amongst themselves for power.”
A soft touch on my shoulder left warm, tingling traces of energy behind, and I glanced to the side to find Orion there, silently offering me a tray of food. I arched a brow at him. Really? Snacks?
White chuckled softly, the ripple of his deep voice doing things to my stomach that I really didn’t want to analyze right now. Geesh, Troy, get your head on straight! Murdering demon, remember?
“It’s alright,” the dark-haired demon said fondly, just adding to my weird desire to forget that he was the enemy. “You get used to his fussing.”
Orion rolled his eyes and bent to set the whole silver platter on my lap. Then he silently glided away to mess with something at the bar. White’s ridiculous millionaire’s office suite was over the top, even for a demon.
I shrugged and picked up a little skewer with cubes of cheese and meat on it. Popping the food in my mouth, I waved at White to continue with his storyteller routine. He shook his head at me, and a smile tugged at the corner of his mouth, but he controlled himself and wisely didn’t comment on the plus-sized girl wolfing down his fancy cheese.
“I was responsible for a small fiefdom,” the demon said, his dark eyes downcast, staring into the dwindling depths of his scotch like it held pictures of the past. “We were involved mainly in trade. Art, books—things that couldn’t protect us from a suddenly hostile political environment.” He tilted his head back to rest against his chair and gave me a leisurely, unconcerned shrug. “So, I escaped here to the human world with whoever I managed to bring along on the journey between realms. Other demons had the same idea. The gods didn’t like the invasion of what they considered their property. There was fighting. Another war.”
I finished the strawberry I was chewing before raising my hand like a child in a school classroom. White gave me an exasperated look and I somehow resisted giving him the finger. He was giving me actual information for once, so I should probably respect that. At least long enough to hear the whole story.
“I can remember you with us, walking freely in the realm of the gods,” I said, suddenly feeling unsettled. I could remember that, though the memories had been distant and unimportant until just now. Sure, I had memories of my past life now, but they were faded, like I was seeing them through a thick fog. But it was as if speaking about White brought the image into focus. I had a clear memory of the tall, dark-haired demon striding down white marble halls at my side, wearing silver armor that would put a LOTR set costume to shame. I tried not to get lost in the memory of how I’d laughed at something he said. How he’d smiled with actual warmth—with fangs, red eyes, and big, twisted black horns on full display. “How did you end up there, among us, if the gods and demons were at war?”
His dark eyes delved into mine, as if he could see into my soul. “Luck? Circumstance? Fate?” He shrugged, looking away. “Whatever it was, I managed to form a portal through the veil between worlds...and ended up coming out right between the gods and one of my worst demon enemies. When I dispatched the demon, rather than fighting the gods, the gods were willing to let me fight on their side. They recognized a useful tool when they saw one.” His phone started vibrating on the table beside him and he reached for it. “I needed to stay on earth. Becoming the gods’ new demon weapon was a fair trade. And along the way, I fell in love with a demigoddess who resided in her father’s palace in the god realm.”
He glanced at the phone screen and sighed. “Excuse me.”
Orion was at my side again, and I gave him an exasperated look when he held out some sort of fruity cocktail. “You know, this isn’t happy hour. And you aren’t my waiter.”
The visible side of his perfect mouth curled upward, and he set the drink on the end table beside me. “I like to care for others,” he said easily. “Besides, it gives me something to do.” If he thought I couldn’t hear the world of emotion behind his statement, he was dead wrong. I could sense things about the energy that surrounded people these days. I wasn’t sure what had happened to the incubus to give him all those scars, but it was obvious he was desperate to feel useful and needed, that it grounded him somehow, maybe distracted from whatever else was rattling around in his head.
I sighed. One mystery at a time, I supposed.
Orion drifted away to take up a spot at White’s massive desk, pulling a stack of paperwork close and resuming whatever he’d obviously been working on before I interrupted their evening. It was weird, knowing that Orion and White were these crazy powerful demons from another dimension, but here they sat, running businesses and doing paperwork.
“I see,” White was saying, his voice gone sharp. “No. I’ll handle it. Your magic won’t be enough.” A pause, those dark eyes drifting to me. “Ah, yes, she’s here with me. No. She’s not leaving until I handle the issue.”
There was some angry grumbling from the other side of the conversation, but White simply ended the call and slipped his phone into the pocket of his crisp slacks. I stared up at him, shifting to set the cheese platter aside. “Just because I decided to listen to your version of history and not stab you with a god-knife, doesn’t mean you get to tell me what I can and can’t do, you know.”
He paused and looked down at me like I was an interesting puzzle. “You really ought to work on that defensiveness of yours, Miss Vindler.”
I huffed at him and stood, planting my hands on my hips. “Oh really? Please, tell me how I should be less defensive around the monster who murdered my sister and ruined my life.” I waved generously in sarcastic invitation.
He clenched his teeth so hard a muscle flexed in his lean jaw. His dark eyes went sharp, and his facial expression said he was considering whether another murder might be in order. Seemed to be his go-to for dealing with defenseless women.
I wondered if I could make it to the towel-wrapped dagger lying forgotten on his desk before he snapped my neck.
My eyes slid to the desk to find Orion tucking the knife carefully into a drawer, out of easy reach. The sneaky asshole. The incubus stood and moved to join us with this fluid grace that only certain non-humans could master. “Who was the call from?” he asked in a smooth, soft voice.
I narrowed my eyes at the scarred beauty in the butler suit. He was doing something with his energy that made me want to melt into an unconcerned puddle of bliss. “Knock it off.”
He pressed his lips together to keep from grinning and averted his light blue eyes.
White sighed at his assistant’s antics. Or at my constant need to rile him up. I wasn’t quite sure which. Then he turned to retrieve a small, supple leather bag from his desk. “Halstad was calling to inform me he found a breach in the city’s defensive ward. That’s probably how your sister got in to visit you. Though why I didn’t sense it immediately is still a mystery.”
His chiseled features sharpened as a black scowl crossed his face. “But I will find the answers.” He tucked the leather pouch into his pocket and slipped on his fancy-assed suit jacket before heading toward the door. “Our conversation will have to wait, Miss Vindler. I have to repair the ward. The security of the city has to come first.” He cut a glance to his hovering secretary and then back to me. “Stay here. Between Orion and the extra magical protections on the building you’ll be safe until I return.”
I rolled my eyes. “Yes, oh Lord and Master. Please protect this poor widdle girl from the big bad world.”
He snorted. “That has always been my intention.”
Then he was gone. The shiny elevator doors slid closed behind him, and I was left alone with his incubus secretary in the presidential suite, or whatever, of his ridiculous fucking casino. I ran a hand through my hair, leaving the thick brown mass a mess of kinky waves. I wanted to insist I was going home, since I still didn’t have any answers. And because I hated being told what to do.
But I wasn’t that stupid. I don’t know why, but my encounters with the gods so far gave me nothing but bad vibes. I didn’t like that my supposed-sister, Elandra, had somehow known right where to find me. And if that ward was keeping the violence outside the city, then I probably was safer here in White’s stronghold. Plus...there was expensive cheese and smoked meat.
I turned to find Orion standing nearby just...watching me. The expression on his beautiful face said he was waiting for me to go all irrational female and try to escape. He’d stop me, I knew he would, but he wouldn’t enjoy roughing me up.
I sighed and went to slouch on the couch I’d occupied moments before. “Just when I thought I was going to get some damned answers,” I complained.
Orion pressed his lips together as if considering something, then he seemed to make up his mind. “Perhaps I can continue the story.” He met my eyes and shrugged. “My employer is likely to...leave out pertinent details, I’m afraid. You may wish to know the full story?”
I narrowed my eyes at him. “And you’re all chatty now because?”
He smiled, his eyes twinkling. “Well, one could argue that Mr. White’s permission is implied, since he was telling you the story himself until he was interrupted.”
I grinned and patted the seat beside me. “Come on. You can stop playing butler now. This cheese is amazing. And have some of the little star-shaped cookies.”
His smile was like a full moon coming out from under the clouds, brilliant and haunting as it flitted from under the veil of caramel hair that covered the scarred side of his face. I noticed he wasn’t wearing his usual gloves. Maybe he didn’t wear them in private. His slender fingers scooped up a handful of the little cookies and he winked at me. “They are my favorite. The spices remind me of an herb that we used to make treats for children in the demon realm.”
He sank down to sit beside me, and I watched some of the carefully constructed layers fall away from him. This was going to be much better than pumping White for information. I might actually get the truth.