Inferno of Darkness (Divisa Huntress Book 2)

by J. L. Weil

  I drank in the sight of him, my eyes running from the tip of one wing to the other. “You are utterly gorgeous,” I murmured, eager fingers reaching to stroke a silky wing. I rubbed the feathers between the pads of my fingers.

  His eyes drifted shut, the muscles on his chest quivering. “You are mine—my princess of darkness.” His canines sank into the space between my neck and shoulder, and I erupted in pleasure beyond any imagination.

  The power of what he was declaring didn’t register, not really, not at the moment, but later, when he wasn’t inside me, moving in delicious languid strokes, the depth of his vow would hit me. But for now, I never wanted him to stop—never wanted him to let me go.

  Mine, my demon purred.

  Mine, his demon answered.

  And together we surged over the edge, our bodies linked, our demons intertwined, and our souls one being.

  Everything changed in that instant.

  There was no turning back.

  “Good morning, luv,” my mate whispered, his voice a cool breeze through a star-strewn night.

  I closed my eyes again briefly to let it rush through me. He is really here. Beside me in bed. I could reach over and touch him. How many times since our separation had I dreamed about this moment, waking up beside him, his eyes sleepy, midnight hair disheveled? I looked at him now, and the image was so much better than any dream. Hi,” I replied, my throat groggy with sleep.

  His lips curved into a devilish smirk. Fingers traced up my back in a lazy pattern, leaving behind tingles of darkness that cooled my flushed skin. “It’s amazing how angelic you look in sleep. One would never know of the hellcat that lives inside you.”

  I groaned, burying my cheek deeper into the pillow. “Please tell me you weren’t watching me sleep.” I was known to hog the covers and drool on occasion. The thought of Ashor staring at me while my mouth was hanging open filled me with horror.

  “Who can resist the little moans and sighs that escape your lips? It makes me wonder what you were dreaming about.” His eyes drifted to my mouth.

  Shit. The sun was barely cresting over the horizon, and he was already starting in on the sexual antics. I was doomed. What girl in her right mind could resist the temptation that was Ashor? I was finding it increasingly difficult to keep my hormones in check and was surprised how simple it had been for me to drop off into sleep last night. My exhaustion had been great, but I had to believe it was the peace I felt in my soul that contributed to the best sleep I’d had in months.

  “Wouldn’t you like to know,” I retorted, peeking up at him from behind a curtain of blonde hair.

  The blinds were still drawn, keeping the room dim, regardless that beams of sunlight were doing their best to break through. He dipped his head and nipped at the sensitive spot below my ear. “I can guess,” he whispered, causing a shiver to tiptoe through me. “If it was anything like mine.” His tongue darted over my skin. “You taste sweeter than I remember.”

  “And you’re still a wicked tease.”

  “One of us has to keep our wits about us,” he murmured, sneaking an arm around my waist.

  His cool fingers were a shock to my warm skin, causing my muscles to twitch. “You have more secrets than anyone I know,” I replied.

  “That may be true, but it's not without reason,” he said quietly.

  I twisted my head to the side to look him in the eyes. Big mistake. He was so close now, our lips a breath away. My throat went dry as he smoothed strands of my hair away from my face. “Are you going to kiss me now?” I asked, unashamed and impatient. He had tucked me into the bed last night with only a brush of his lips over my forehead.

  The edges of his mouth curled. “You might be the only female in existence who has the nerve to demand anything of me.”

  My gaze drifted to his lips. It was obvious we weren’t even going to make it twenty-four hours without devouring each other. I didn’t see the point in pretending otherwise. I could delude myself all I wanted, convince myself that I had the strength to walk away from Ashor at any time—that he might have my soul, but I’d never give him my heart or body. Yet, it had only taken a single glance at him lounging against Hell’s Gate for me to see through every lie I’d told myself these last months.

  I wanted this damn demon. And I wanted him now. Before the castle woke up and Verena summoned us.

  I climbed on top of his chest, our hearts hammering in uniform harmony. “Again,” I murmured, my chin resting on him.

  “You are going to kill me. Is that your plan?” His voice was lazy and low, like a tranquil cat in the sun.

  “Would it be such a horrible way to die?” I teased, every pore in my body humming from sex with Ashor—with my mate. It was indescribable, the connection I felt with this demon, and there was only more to explore.

  He chuckled, the sound causing his chest to rub against my already puckered nipples. “Inside you? It would be what I imagined Heaven to be.”

  My face heated, and I bit my lip. I’d already been to “heaven,” but I was ready to go back. My nails traced over the patterns of his demon marks on his chest. My body buzzed and I never wanted to leave the bed, let alone face what waited for us outside this bedroom. “I thought you would be smug over the fact that I can’t get enough of you.”

  “Don’t mistake my tiredness for anything but an extremely satisfied male.”

  I rolled my eyes. “I’d heard stories about sleeping with demons,” I admitted, wrinkling my nose.”

  “And?” Ashor prompted, resting a hand behind his head.

  I grinned, nipping at his lower lip. “The stories don’t even come close.”

  Violet eyes fixated on my mouth, hunger lighting them up with specks of gold. “It’s because I’m a prince.”

  A soft chuckle tickled the back of my throat. “You really are insufferable.”

  Like lightning striking through a sky of darkness, Ashor flipped our positions, his wings fanning out behind him. The sight of those demon wings had me gasping. His head bent close to my ear. “And you are insatiable, luv.” He ran a finger down my neck, between my breasts.

  “Can you blame me? Look at you. You’re like the perfect specimen of male…” My eyes lifted to the wings he tucked closer to his back. “And then some.”

  Ashor smirked. “I’m so glad you approve.”

  I rolled my eyes. “As if you don’t know how gorgeous you are.”

  His breath was a cool chuckle on my skin seconds before his lips wrapped around my nipple, tongue flicking over the sensitive bud. Need slammed into my core, but it wasn’t just my need. Through our newly forged connection, his desire for me joined mine for him; however, it was more than. I could feel my own want for him through him. It was an endless circle of feelings created from just a single touch. “You are more beautiful than I ever imagined. I’ve never seen anyone, anything as beautiful as you.”

  If he kept talking like that, he was going to embarrass the shit out of me. We’d done enough talking as it was. Before he could further put color into my cheeks, I sealed my lips against his and pulled him against me.

  “Do you plan to keep me in bed all day?” he mumbled sometime later. He was lying on his side, face propped up on his hand, looking fairly smug after round two.

  Lying flat on my back, I kept my eyes closed and smiled in the direction of his voice. “The idea has merit.”

  “You are part succubus,” he so dutifully reminded me.

  I scrunched my nose. “Ugh. Don’t keep bringing that up. Besides, I don’t think that has anything to do with it, and I doubt Verena would allow us to stay locked in this room all day.”

  I’d had plenty of sex—although not necessarily tons of partners—because I wasn’t a nun, and none of the other guys came close to what I experienced with Ashor. The Prince of Darkness had his own category when it came to making love.

  It made me think this was what it could be like between us. Incredible morning sex. Lazy days naked in bed. If only he didn’t have
a whack job of a mother hellbent on ruling the underworld. Couldn’t she just be satisfied being a queen? She had her own kingdom. What the hell was she going to do with five?

  Destroy the world, that’s what, a voice reminded me.

  Fuck.

  My dreams of staying in bed all day with my demon mate went out the window as the reality of our future settled on my shoulders like a thousand pounds.

  16

  The deal was done. The Prince of Darkness and I were tethered now—our flesh tied eternally, his body to mine and mine to his. His pain was mine and mine his, as if we were one body.

  How frightening, to know I’d never be able to hide something from him again, but on the flip side, I would be able to tell when he was keeping secrets, which Ashor did perpetually. Our emotions were a tangled mess, and I didn’t have the energy to try and decipher which ones were mine.

  It didn’t matter. Our feelings seemed to mirror one other’s, a combination of supreme satisfaction—thanks to the mind-blowing sex—and dread. We had our night together. Now it was time to face what was coming.

  We finally dragged ourselves out of bed an hour later, and after a quick use of the bathroom, we moseyed out into the common area to find breakfast had been left for us. Over a piece of toast and coffee, Ashor dropped the bomb I was avoiding. “You need to go back, luv.”

  It was like he’d lit a fuse that went straight to my chest. Panic raced, making my heart pound. I leveled him a look and exhaled. “I’m not leaving without you.” We might never belong in each other’s world, but it was a problem we would have to work on, because after last night, I didn’t want to be apart. Just another hurdle to overcome. “Are you going to tell me what you planned to do?”

  I cursed his lopsided grin as he replied over a cup of hot tea, “No.”

  “Ashor,” I growled, feeling traces of his humor and trepidation skip within me. “You can’t allow your mother to kill the Queen of Envy,” I hiss-whispered.

  A magnanimous brow lifted. “I didn’t realize you had an attachment to Verena.”

  I snorted, taking a nibble from the corner of my toast. “I don’t. If I had it my way, I’d set the entire underworld ablaze and watch it burn to ash.”

  “Such violence,” he purred in that wicked voice. “Your anger goes deep.” He rubbed at the center of his chest as if he could feel it burning there.

  My lips tipped downward as I picked up a few crumbs that had fallen onto the table. “Your world hasn’t been nice to me. As children of demons, we’ve had very different upbringings.”

  “Indeed,” he agreed. “But in the end, our purposes have aligned. We both want the same thing.”

  “Do we?” I countered. “Because I’m not sure what you want or what your angle is. Why would you agree to take a blood oath to your mother, of all demons?”

  “To redirect her focus, even if only for a short spell,” Ashor said.

  “You traded one queen’s life for another.”

  Ashor’s face was an unreadable mask, devoid of any feeling. “I did. And would do so again if it got you off my mother’s radar. My oath will give me what I need.”

  I pulled up one of my legs onto the chair, taking another bite of toast. “And what is that?” I inquired.

  “Time,” he replied simply.

  I shook my head. “You’re keeping something from me.” A sly grin appeared on my lips as I brushed away a crumb. “I can feel it.”

  Ashor frowned. “I have no choice but to fulfill my oath. If I don’t, my mother will come looking for me, and it would give her the perfect opportunity to take a crack at the mortal queen’s throne.”

  The air got serious between us, my features turning grave. “You know I can’t let that happen.”

  “I do, which is precisely why I can’t leave Gardeness,” he said, popping a piece of buttered and jam-covered bread into his mouth.

  I wanted to spend the rest of the day bathing in the afterglow of being with Ashor, exploring our new bond, but it wasn’t possible, and I resented the underworld for taking that away from us. “I don’t like this,” I said. “It feels wrong.”

  “It’s Hell, luv. Nothing about it feels right.”

  Except you. I stared down into my coffee cup, wondering how the fuck I got myself in this mess. “Okay, so the plan is to prevent your mom from becoming a psychotic dictator by giving her the Queen of Envy.”

  “Pretty much.”

  “What the fuck, Ashor? Explain to me how that is helping, because, to me, it seems as if you are aiding your mother’s crusade.”

  He set down his bread. “Which is exactly what she needs to believe. You’ve played this game before.”

  My shoulders dropped as I exhaled. “It’s dangerous and might very well backfire. If she does gain power to the Kingdom of Envy, she will have more power than any other higher demon. Doesn’t that worry you?”

  “I only have one worry, and she is standing in front of me,” he said gently.

  I sighed, shaking my head. “You’re such an asshole.”

  He bit back a chuckle, his violet eyes lingering over my lips. “The things you say with that mouth.”

  “Don’t try and distract me.”

  His pupils flared. “It is you who distracts me.”

  “Good.” We shared a sizzling stare that made me want to combust. “So what’s our next move, princeling?”

  Ashor was no longer grinning, but instead wearing a menacing frown. “Our? There is no us in this.”

  I folded my arms, donning a scowl of my own right back at him. “You have another think coming if you think you are going to leave me behind. Again. I haven’t forgiven you for the first time. You don’t want to get on my bad side.”

  “Lexi, can we not argue about everything?” he drawled. If the prince ever came close to rolling his eyes, this was it.

  “Get used to it. This is what it’s like being mated to me.” My voice remained steady and sure. “You’re welcome.”

  He ran a hand down his face, the shadow of hairs scratching over his skin. “I swear fate is testing me.”

  “You can’t expect me to sit at home twiddling my thumbs not knowing what is going on, yet being able to feel your every emotion. If something happens…” Just the thought of him being harmed gutted me.

  “It is true you aren’t safe anywhere, but down here, my mother will be able to hunt you down, use you to get to me. You will be giving her my one weakness. And I can’t promise that I will be able to get you out again.”

  “I don’t want to be your weakness. If you haven’t noticed, I’m not helpless.” Especially now. There was something about our bond that was different. Ashor’s darkness was a part of me.

  “Oh, I know just how lethal you can be.”

  “I can’t sit here and do nothing,” I retorted. “I will find a way with or without you.”

  Ashor swore low and viciously, and the first stirrings of victory fluttered within me. “If you insist on putting yourself in danger, you’re going to need your demon. Are you prepared to not just accept that part of yourself, but unleash it? Embrace it? You’re in the big leagues now.”

  Did that mean he was relenting? Images rose of Ashor in his full demon: glorious silky black wings, razor sharp canines, and the glowing eyes. Our human side prevented us from fully shifting into a demon like my mother or Kali. A Divisa’s transformation kept traits of their human side, but which traits differed for each of us. I was half afraid I’d grow horns.

  I sucked on my lower lip, weighing the consequences. Giving in to the one thing I’d worked my entire life to suppress went against everything I stood for. I would essentially become the very thing I hunted.

  Could I do that?

  Would it make me a hypocrite?

  What would my family think?

  “Can you promise me that I will be able to shift back at will?” I asked.

  He nodded. “With proper training and full acceptance, you will work together, not against one another. You won
’t lose yourself, but you will gain something so powerful.”

  I held his gaze, letting him feel the truth behind my words as I said, “I don’t want more power.”

  He smiled crookedly. “That’s what everyone says until they’ve tasted it.”

  “I have tasted it,” I informed him. My mind went to the dark flames. They frightened me, what I could do with them. My flames didn’t burn like Angel’s, but sucked the very life out of a person, soul and all.

  Ashor tilted his head, regarding me in a way that made me feel as if he could see straight through all my barriers. “Seems someone has a secret of her own,” he mused.

  No more secrets. Not anymore. That was part of the sacrifice of being mated. I took a gulp of my cooling tea and set the mug back onto the table and announced, “I have something to show you.”

  A single dark brow inched up. “I’m intrigued.”

  Summoning the unusual shadowy flames inside another queen’s home felt a bit… weird, and kind of naughty. “I don’t know how it works,” I started off explaining as I concentrated on that dark cloud inside me. “Sometimes it just happens.”

  Ashor sat up straighter, watching me intently as I rapped my fingers on the table. “What just happens, luv?”

  My eyes found his. “The flames.” And as if they heard me call their name, the darkness kindled inside me. I closed my eyes, centering all my attention on the growing seed in the heart of my chest, crumbs of darkness that cast themselves into my veins. My demon giggled with glee as the flames spread, and I fought to keep a handle on both before they spun out of my control. It took all my focus, my brows pinched together as I gripped the edge of the chair.

  It was Ashor sucking in a breath that snapped me out from that inward place I’d gone.