“The heavens, that their beauty not be lessened,
have cast them out, nor will deep Hell receive them —
even the wicked cannot glory in them.”
― Dante Alighieri, Inferno
Zach was staring at me intensely when I walked towards him, his burning gaze followed down my face, and then lower, causing havoc inside my whole body. I didn’t have to read him to know that he was planning to take me to his bed tonight, as soon as he locked up Nameless in the police cell. I wished that I could share his optimism. Nameless was a half demon and he could easily use illegal spells to escape and he wasn’t working alone either. On top of that I doubted that he would have been lured by expensive jewellery. This whole operation seemed tricky, but I had to stay open-minded. Zach had his own sources and Nameless had proven on a number of occasions that he liked stealing from humans.
Between his thoughts about having me on top of him, Zach kept wondering if he brought in enough people to the party. Men were odd creatures. Even at twenty-six years old I still couldn’t tell if he was more interested in shagging me or being in a relationship with me.
Zach opened the door for me and Emma. He chose a black tuxedo for tonight. Emma whispered to me when we were walking down that he looked really handsome and yummy, whatever that meant. She was right, Zach was very good looking and as soon as our eyes locked, a strange kind of heat pooled deep in my body. My hormones were letting me know that tonight I could head home with a man, a human man that didn’t necessarily have to be royal.
“You look gorgeous, Maxine, so stunning that I don’t think I can control myself around you this evening,” Zach said, almost in a whisper when he opened the passenger door for me. Emma was already inside, blabbing about her expectations for this evening. I had on very high and uncomfortable heels that my bestie had picked up for me.
Deep down I was a nervous. Zach was obviously convinced that I was over the prince and he had a chance to make me his tonight. Earlier on I had promised myself that I would stay away from the bar. This whole operation was important and I didn’t want to screw up anything again. Thomas was risking a lot by showing up in the manor filled with police. This evening he could easily slip my letter to Arthur somehow and that made me feel nauseous all of a sudden. My thoughts drifted off to my father and that stranger from outside my flat that asked me to look into the death of my mother. Then my thoughts drifted away to Alexis. That bitch was really getting on my nerves, because now I had to divide my focus and deal with her too. After her visit in the monastery she’d no doubt gained a lot of interesting information about my past, about my dead human mother.
“Hey, Flower, are you still with us?”
Zach’s voice brought me back to the car. Everything seemed complicated again. I had to fight to protect my secret but at what cost? Alexis had turned into my enemy and she was determined to prove her theory. Maybe this wasn’t worth it, maybe I should have told Arthur the truth.
I pushed away these thoughts and looked back at Zach. Thinking about fluff wasn’t going to help, so I needed to get it together.
“I’m fine, I have a lot on my mind,” I explained. I didn’t even realise that we reached the manor. Emma was most likely keeping Zach entertained for the whole journey while I was lost in my own busy head. We were somewhere on the outskirts of London. There were other people walking inside. The large residence was beaming, with colourful lights set up outside. Butlers were directing people to the showrooms in the manor. My stomach was in knots when I recognised a few royal guards. Arthur wouldn’t dare to cause a scene in from of his family. He wouldn’t be that stupid, but he had proven to me on a number of occasions that he didn’t care about the opinion of other people. He wasn’t even afraid to upset his grandmother, the Queen.
“Oh lord, this is really beautiful. Do you think we will have a chance to meet any royals this evening?” Emma asked, shaking with excitement.
“Probably, it’s their party. Just watch the space. I’m sure that Prince Arthur will show up,” I said, being already aware of his presence. Emma squeaked even louder. For her this whole thing was a novelty. She was a single mother, and probably she had never met anyone famous before.
“Max, what’s wrong? You’ve been distracted from the moment you got into the car,” Zach asked, pulling me to the side, while Emma continued on her own towards the manor. I bit my lip, wondering if there was any point warning him about Arthur. We weren’t even together, but I wasn’t planning to tell him that a couple of days ago I slept with my royal ex whilst drunk.
“Nothing, I’m just nervous. Arthur is going to be here and he had already warned me that he would be difficult.”
Zach dragged his hand through his hair, not taking his dark eyes off me.
“I can handle your Prince Charming, Flower,” he chuckled. I grabbed his elbow, wondering if he realised that any incident with the prince would harm his blooming career.
“Well, it’s not as simple as that,” I said. “What about your missing sister?”
His frown deepened, and I felt his stinging pain. He was obviously still thinking about her. I felt guilty that I didn’t stay with him that day on the platform, that I didn’t comfort him.
“She’s still alive and once this case is over, I’ll go back down to the tunnels and look for her,” Zach said, and I sensed that he didn’t like talking about it.
“Hey, you guys, come on, we can’t be late,” Emma shouted after us. Zach didn’t say anything else, and I didn’t press on that subject. A moment later we joined her. Zach showed the invitations to the butler and we were through.
“A few of my guys are already inside. The guards are aware of this operation. Everything should go smoothly,” Zach said as we walked through to the large banquet room filled with glamorous people, great decor and a few reporters that were snapping pictures on the other side. When I still worked for the royal family I always remained in the shadows, never engaged in any official events. Tonight I was out of my comfort zone, being in the crowd and knowing that people could easily recognise me. This was unnerving.
“So what is the plan?” I asked, feeling tense and on edge. There were too many familiar faces around, people that stared at me. I even saw a glimpse of George laughing somewhere close, which meant that his brother was inside already.
“There is no plan. Just keep your eyes open to anything suspicious,” Zach muttered, running his fingers over my naked back. He was distracting me, and my body reacted every time his finger connected with my skin.
“Madame Brodeur, may I have a word?”
Rodriguez showed up right in front of me. Of course, Lucifer had his people everywhere. I’d forgotten that the demonic world liked keeping tabs on the royal family.
Zach narrowed his eyes but didn’t say anything when I walked away from him. This was going to be awkward, because I had been working with Zach, trying to find a man that wanted to ruin the royal family, behind Rodriguez’s back.
“Arthur has informed me that someone is in possession of sensitive letters that used to belong to his mother,” Rodriquez said, sounding pissed off. Okay, he most likely didn’t like that he wasn’t informed about this earlier on. He was also aware that Watchers were keeping a close eye on me.
“Yes, a demonic thief apparently had stolen them from his own father who used to work for the royal family. Detective Zachary believes that there is going to be a movement here tonight, that the thief is planning to make an appearance,” I explained, not sure if I was supposed to talk to him about this case. Arthur didn’t want anyone else to know, even Rodriguez. The old demon must have pressured him to reveal why I was suddenly brought in to the palace. He must have figured out that there was something going on.
Rodriguez was moving his hand over his shiny beard, trying to break through my wards again. Nosey old git.
“Miss Brodeur, may I remind you that you’re obligated to answer to me and any—”
“Mr Rodriguez, I’m fully aware of the protocol, but the prince himself asked me to keep this information to myself. We are working hard to retrieve these letters. I’m not able to discuss any other details,” I stated, bloody angry that Arthur had put me in this position. He should have told Rodriguez everything in the very beginning. That’s why I hated hell’s business. Lucifer wanted to control everyone and everything. His rules were slowly beginning to piss me off.
“Maxine, there you are. I have been wondering when you were going to show up.” A vibrant voice caught me by surprise. Arthur approached before I had a chance to disappear.
“Your Highness,” I muttered, aware that Rodriguez wasn’t done with me yet. On top of that I’d disobeyed him.
“Bill, I’m going to kidnap Miss Brodeur for a moment if you don’t mind,” the prince said, wrapping his warm, human fingers around my arm. Rodriguez smoothed his demonic beard, and his eyes told me that soon enough we were going to have long and very interesting conversation.
“No. Your Highness, I don’t mind at all,” Rodriguez replied, turned around and walked away, stinging me with his energy.
“Come on, Flower, let’s find a more private spot.” Arthur nudged me and then proceeded to drag me down through the entire room. People were staring, and his aunt was somewhere on the other side of the room, next to Natalie. Where the hell was Zach all of a sudden? I needed him to tell Arthur that there was something going on upstairs.
We passed through the main corridor and headed towards the room filled with different pieces of jewellery.
“What do you want? I’m not here for a party. I don’t have time for your games. Besides, everyone is staring at us,” I hissed at him when he found a cosy spot behind the pillar. I was getting a familiar sense of deja vu. The room was filled with a few elderly elegant ladies that were admiring gold chains behind the thick, probably bulletproof glass.
“I have planned a special dinner for us on the roof terrace,” he said, running his fingers over my arm. The goosebumps broke over the surface of my skin. “And I wanted to tell you that you look bloody amazing in red. I wish we could get away from here, get to your flat or a hotel.”
“I told you that night in my flat was one off. Now walk away and let me work,” I told him, thinking about Ricky without clothes on. This was supposed to distract me from the fact that I was drowning again. Arthur brought back that looming guilt. The screams from the past would keep coming back every time I stared at Arthur’s blue eyes. “This has to stop, you chasing after me. Your ex-fiancée is in another room. Don’t you care about her feelings?”
“Is everything all right, Maxine?” Zach asked, appearing in front of us all of a sudden. I had no idea how he managed to find me so quickly. Arthur’s energy shifted as he narrowed his eyes at his rival.
“She’s fine, Detective, and this is a private conversation, so I would like you to leave,” Arthur snapped, angry that Zach had dared to interrupt us. I had never seen him being so hostile towards anyone. I was hoping that we all could act like adults. In the end I was single, and what I had with Arthur was now in the past. Even though his thick skull couldn’t understand it. That night in my flat shouldn’t have happened in the first place.
“I asked her, not you, mate,” Zach snarled back, releasing a lot of anger towards the future king. Yep, this wasn’t going to end well.
“Right, Arthur, I think we are done here. I’m here because of the case and because you asked me to work with Zach,” I said, using my demonic energy to calm the situation down. Zach was now standing so close to Arthur that their chests were nearly touching. The atmosphere shifted and the air turned icy. My energy wasn’t doing what it supposed to. Zach couldn’t afford to lose control just because Arthur was stubborn.
“I think we should get something straight, Detective. Maxine and I had an understanding. She’s currently romantically involved with me, so I suggest you to back off,” Arthur barked, pushing Zach away from him. Zach stumbled on his feet. Now the ladies that were admiring the jewellery earlier on were looking at us. It was obvious that the prince and Zach were ready to fight over me.
“Arthur, stop this nonsense. You can’t claim me and this isn’t the time or place to discuss it,” I said, worried that those two were about to get into each other’s throats. Zach was on the verge of losing his temper, but I couldn’t let him ruin his career just because he wanted to prove to me he was ready to kick Arthur’s arse. This evening was too important, and I felt an odd energy nudging me over the nape of my neck. Someone was inside the palace, a demon or maybe another creature. The energy felt hostile, almost foreign to me.
“You broke her heart, you arsehole, and I don’t give a flying fuck if you’re the prince or Mother Teresa. She’s dating me, and if she didn’t tell you then that’s too bad,” Zachary snarled and then two things happened all at once. Arthur lost it, he grabbed the detective by the collar, and then Zach swung his arm ready to throw a punch.
I roared at top of my lungs and let go of my energy, ceasing the time. It wasn’t something that I controlled, and right then I felt like it was the only solution. The two men became frozen statues. I felt hopeless, not knowing what to do and how to split them up apart. On top of that there was a demon inside the manor, a demon that had something that belonged to me.