Page 28 of King’s Kismet

He nodded, his steps silent as we followed the sounds of Hyde whispering furiously. That was a major change from the sniffles I’d heard earlier, but that was also the thing I couldn’t put my finger on.

Someone else was here and alive.

I picked up my pace, charging through the door into a new room with a sloped floor. The massive space appeared to be a deserted packaging area for the crops Oren produced and traded, allowing the spilled products to slide downward to their intended goal.

Sloane stood closer to the far left corner, blocking Hyde from view. She was drenched in blood, only a few shining strands of her silver hair untouched. Her black clothing glistened under the man-made magically rigged lighting.

And a basilisk coiled across from her, between us and the girls. Its upper body was raised off the ground, just high enough to look her in—

“Close your fucking eyes,” I shouted at Lo, then lowered my voice. “Arwen—”

“Don’t look it in the eye. I know.”

She clicked her tongue, a feral grin lighting the porcelain skin of her demonic form. Horns curved above her head as her tail lashed in agitation, always careful not to hit Hyde. Lo spread her fingers, glancing down at her talons with a razor-filled frown.

The air seemed to get sucked out of the room as her aura grew. Her height didn’t change, though her expression morphed from hostile to downright murderous in milliseconds.

Hyde stood from her crouched position, bruises dotting what I could see of her skin. Her lip was busted, teeth red as she smiled.

It wasn’t a happy smile.

It was victory, triumph... The look that said she wasn’t scared because she knew this would be the outcome all along. But no matter her state, she would fight with and for her friend against the giant serpent.

The Drake family was no stranger to basilisks. Hyde and her father could both shift into serpentine forms.

Sloane charged forward in a blur of motion, using her body as a demonic bullet. She ripped through the neck of the basilisk, somehow holding one of his gigantic fangs in her grasp as she stopped before me.

Without a word, she held the tooth out to me. Lightning flashed in her solid black eyes as she tilted her head to the right. I snatched it from her, not sure why it was important…

Now wasn’t the time to ask questions.

She wasn’t her.

She was the true devil.

And tonight would either tarnish or repair her reputation amongst the Underworld’s citizens, though I knew she didn’t care.

Better they feared her so they didn’t make the same mistakes as her victims.

I had no doubts that she would slaughter the entire demonic species to keep Hyland safe.

Sloane spun on her heel, pouncing on the basilisk as it gurgled and thrashed across the room.

Hyde stood witness, unflinching, as scales and meat flew through the air.

Arwen turned his head, his expression telling me he was thinking too hard about what was happening.

I didn’t share his worry. Blue’s horde had been one of the biggest thorns in our side for years. Now? He was a nonissue. His horde was no more, and there wasn’t a single soul in this realm that would stand with him against Lilith’s protégé. Lucifer’s monster. Sam’s devil.

I was an incubus-nightmare hybrid with the capability of mixing my powers to fuck with the minds of those around me. To force them to believe their dreams were fears, their pleasures were pain.

But even I couldn’t penetrate Sloane’s defenses in this state.

She had just stared this basilisk in the eye and walked straight through him like he was made of smoke. Her power was fueled by anger, her appetite engorged with the fear she inflicted, her temper only calmed by one.

Hyland Drake.

If one treasure meant more to Sloane than any other, that was my sister.