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“I don’t know. A growing feeling I need to be there.”
He scoffed and sat back but didn’t lose any of the tightness in his jaw, neck, or shoulders. “A growing insanity is more like it. You can’t.”
I raised an eyebrow at him. “The fuck I can’t. I can and I will.”
Lux cut in, trying to reason with me. “Mav, it’s a fight to the death. One winner. The risk is inconceivable for us.”
If we exposed ourselves by entering and winning things like Devil’s Delirium year after year, the hunters would surely find us. But I’d never entered it before, and I didn’t intend to win. I’d just phase out when I got the info I wanted.
It was probably the resistance group, Lords of Light, that’d prompted me to think about Gustav Valorsyn and his Halloween deathmatch. What intel had they gathered about Valorsyn? He’d challenged the last supernatural boss of Crimson City five years ago, a complete unknown. He rose out of the streets penniless and angry, won, clamped down on magic, created the Devil’s Delirium, and now was the most powerful, loaded supernatural in the county. That was all I knew.
But my time with the Lords of Light triggered a cascade of questions that wouldn’t stop itching.
Shoving my fist right into the chest of Valorsyn’s baby to rip out its heart and see what made it beat was my first step toward finding out.
“Relax, I’m not going to win,” I said with a dismissive wave of my hand.
Lux raised his eyebrows. Zara smirked. She wasn’t stuck up, but she still had all the expressions down pat.
I explained. “They don’t keep anyone’s details except the winner. Everyone gets a number, and that’s only to make sure they know they’ve admitted enough contestants. I’ll phase out as soon as I figure out what’s pulling me in there.”
“Probably certain death by hunters, dickwad,” said Stone.
I twisted my lips, pantomiming a pensive mood. “Doubtful.” I didn’t think they could get me, but if they were luring me there, I wanted to know why. If we wanted to continue to evade them, we had to stay up to date with their tactics. Tactics that were evolving over the past few weeks. Shoving our heads in the sand was the best way to finally get captured. I wouldn’t allow that.
The door opened, and a chilly breeze swept in, momentarily silencing the club’s hum. A demon with a fierce expression stepped in, his eyes taking everything in before he relaxed and moved to the bar. Only the toughest demons hung out in the mortal realm. The harsh damage banishment did to them as their bodies regenerated in Hell was a long recovery process. Contrary to vicious religious rumors, they usually didn’t bother anyone. They were tourists or immigrants just trying to integrate into a foreign land.
But humans had an innate fear of demons, so the guy standing next to him at the bar trembled with anxiety. He probably had no idea why.
“Poor bastard,” Zara remarked, her tone dripping with sympathy. “He’s not staying long. Can feel the fear rolling off him.”
“It’s delicious,” I said, watching the man with pity and a tinge of mockery. “He shouldn’t have drifted in here.”
Our conversation paused as a group of fae entered, their ethereal beauty and haughty expressions drawing attention. Unlike Zara, most fae were snooty and stuck up, always thinking they were superior supernaturals. Zara rolled her eyes at them, making us chuckle.
Then I saw her.
She stood out like a beacon in the darkness of the club,glowingin a way no one around her seemed to notice. Her thick, dark hair cascading in waves over her shoulders shimmered under the lights. Her presence was magnetic, pulling me toward her—which was shady, but I couldn’t fight it.
“Do you see that?” I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.
Lux followed my gaze and frowned. “What? The skeleton girl in the catsuit?”
I nodded. “The one that’s glowing.” My voice was tinged with derision. Who else would I be talking about in the vicinity of the gorgeous glowing woman?
Cross raised an eyebrow. “Glowing? Like, literally radiating light?”
I nodded again, transfixed. “Yeah. Look. Can’t you see it?”
Stone’s grasp on his glass tightened. “Careful, Maverick. Could be a trick.”
“You think everything’s a trick,” I mumbled. Ignoring his warning, I stood and made my way toward her, weaving through the crowd. As I approached, the glow intensified, and my heartbeat matched the pulsing bass. She looked up, her eyes meeting mine, and for a moment, everything else faded away.
On the dance floor, the music enveloped us, and we moved in sync, her body fitting perfectly against mine when I was close, beckoning me back when I was not.
I asked for her name, but she didn’t answer. She just blinked up at me, frozen and tight like I was Death coming to steal her away.
I could be persuaded to play that part if she wanted.
