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Well played, sir.
“The room we seek is below this floor,” Nova whispered into my ear, giving me every reason to curse him.
The illicit rumble of his voice suggested the seductive demon was more than a little turned on by what was going on here, and I silently celebrated my astute insight. Slowly but surely, I was figuring out the clever bastard.
And then reality hit a second later when Nova’s fingers caressed my naked arm, and I was one touch away from forgetting why we were here in the first place. The last thing I needed right now was to be distracted.
If I were honest with myself—and I rarely was—if not for the task at hand, I may have perused a bit and given into curiosity. Aidan always taunted me by saying I’d make a great queen someday, whatever that meant. Said I had all the raw material and just needed the technique and direction to dominate the world of men. And he always smiled in the most obnoxious way when he mentioned it, like he was a clever asshole and not a stupid-as-shit one.
Drove me crazy.
But with Aidan, I couldn’t help but roll my eyes and complain I already did that; it just ended with a lot more blood and death than it would in some BDSM play.
Hovering his hand near my lower back, Nova navigated the crowd with an ease befitting his gentlemanly nature. Eyes followed the two of us as we passed, and many of them spoke of lust and envy. The low hush that fell over the room as we moved from one end to the other meant we failed to blend in. But Nova didn’t want to disappear in the crowd; he wanted to stand out and put the lurking demons on edge.
“This will be your grand introduction to demon society, and we want them to squirm when they realize they have no idea who you are or where you came from,” Nova explained before we reached the club.
“Isn’t that the opposite of staying under the radar?” I countered, scoffing.
Nova’s bewitching smile spoke of secrets and danger, and I couldn’t deny it made me squirm a little in my seat. “It would be impossible for these demons to identify you as a half demon with my blood coursing through your veins. It’s one of the many advantages of our particular contract. They can only be certain that we share a powerful union, and it’ll put many of Lucifer’s followers on edge because I’ve never once entertained another since her.”
Sighing to myself, I combed fingers through my hair in agitation. “But won’t that seem a little weird to Lucifer’s cronies? Won’t it make its way back to her somehow?”
The sparkle in the demon’s green eyes hit the second he glanced over to me. “Precisely.”
Nova wasted no time heading for a guarded door at the back of the room. His eyes bled to vibrant red, and the demon protecting the door visibly swallowed in discomfort. It was evident the dude recognized Nova right away, and the fear hit his expression very quickly after their eyes met.
Face losing color, the guard struggled to open the door and give us access. “Sir, I had no idea you were coming,” the guard stammered, eyes sliding over to me with interest. “Or that you’d have a guest.”
I itched to reach for my dagger to slice into the demon’s throat, but until Nova said the word, I’d keep my weapon-wielding hands to myself. From the way the guard stared at me, I suspected my killer intentions had reached my eyes, and I worked quickly to calm myself down.
The burly, dark-skinned demon’s jaw clenched, close to saying something, but Nova cut in before he could, “I wanted my visit to be a surprise to Donovan. You understand, yeah? So, you’ll permit me to quietly go below, hmm?”
The demon’s dark eyes returned to Nova before the over-muscled brute bowed his head and moved out of the way. “Of course.”
Nova lowered his voice as he respectfully escorted me through the door first. “And I’d make yourself scarce, Yousef. Unless you’d like the information I have on you to find its way to the wrong people.”
The guard’s eyes ignited with dread, and then he scurried out of the club like he was on fire. I watched the massive size of him disappear into a mass of bodies, and then light from outside broke through the darkness for a half second before it was gone.
It didn’t surprise me that Nova had all the little details figured out. But more than that, I wanted to know what he had on that guard. From how it sounded, even in Hell, information was everything. I fought with my fists, but Nova fought with his massive influence and network.
Well, he’s a damn good fighter too, but something tells me he’ll avoid a fight if he can.
The corridor led directly to a set of stairs that headed underground. Lights beamed every few feet as we descended, but Nova stayed quietly smiling even as the distinctive smell of blood permeated the space.
That’s a bad sign. Looks like I’m about to see a lot of shit I don’t want to see.
I went for my dagger, but Nova swiftly reached out and captured my hand. He didn’t speak, only kissed my wrist before holding it hostage for the rest of our descent. Jaw clenched, I did as I was silently bid and followed him as he strolled with purpose towards a door. When the door swung open, several dismembered bodies were strewn up on hooks.
And as my eyes dropped to the blood-painted stone floors, there was a group of human women and men tied up together by chains, in different states of shock and crying. It was clear most had been beaten and very likely raped, and their next destination was whatever torture awaited them before they were hung up like livestock on hooks.
I’m going to take my time killing all these fucking bastards.
I counted twelve demons in total, their demon faces clear as day even with as little light as there was in that underground torture chamber. I’d make these demons pay for the lives they’d stolen, and it was like an itch I couldn’t scratch not to slam my bat home into one of these ugly fuckers.
Bile rose into my throat as one woman was dragged by her hair over to a table where an assortment of carving knives was laid out. The demon dragging her lifted his crimson gaze to where we stood, and his face morphed with obvious distaste.
“I thought I warned you never to come here again, Nova,” he spat before slamming the woman down onto the stone block table. “I’m not afraid of you or your demon lackeys…” Then the demon stalled as his eyes glided over to me. “What’s this? You made a contract with someone?”
