by Gaja J. Kos
That I had willingly brought myself before a demon lord.
Or that this demon lord was nothing like the image Raya had set up of Shadow World’s rulers.
Alin sat on a couch littered with toys, a toddler with electric blue hair that matched his mom’s in the demon lord’s lap. I wondered if, like her and his two older siblings, the baby boy would grow up to be a necromancer. There weren’t that many of them in the supe society, and the energy he was giving off was unlike any I’d felt before. Different even from the wisps I’d caught from Lana and Alin’s two other children when they’d introduced themselves before hurrying off to watch some show they were apparently enamored with, Lena hot on their heels, the epitome of a cool aunt.
Seeing the lot of them together reminded me of my own family. And, in a way, assured me that I was making the right choice.
I glanced at Lana as she entered the room with a bottle of red wine to go with the finger food she’d somehow managed to whip up in the short time between the call and our arrival. Given that Lena had used a summoning circle that teleported us to Lana and Alin’s lair directly below their house, we really were talking minutes.
Lana opened the bottle then said to Alin, “Come on. I’ll put him to bed so you two can talk.”
The kid all but glued himself to his dad. I snickered—and so did Lana.
“I swear any Shadow World dealings attract him like shiny objects do crows.” She shook her head, then reached over to pry her son from Alin’s embrace.
Not that Alin was of any help. The russet-haired demon lord who definitely gave off the vibe of the powerful crime lord he’d been before he’d found his mate seemed about as reluctant to let go as the kid.
After some maneuvering and quite a few laughs at the adorable protestations coming from the little hellion, Lana left the room, leaving me alone with Alin.
My future liege, if all went well.
He poured me a glass of Refošk, then one for himself, but didn’t touch it just yet. “I presume my sister-in-law has already grilled you on this, but—are you absolutely certain? I could offer you aid even without you pledging allegiance.”
The sincerity and generosity of his offer rendered me speechless. I washed away the emotions closing up my throat with a mouthful of wine.
“Thank you.” I placed the glass back on its coaster. “Hearing you say that means more than I can express. But I think you can tell that my powers are growing.”
When Alin nodded, I went on. “I managed to get by on my own after I parted ways with my wolf pack. It wasn’t always easy, but coming from a family of werewolves and with werewolf friends surrounding me at every step, I knew how to navigate that life. This”—I raised my hand and let demon fire flick across my fingertips—“isn’t the same. I’ve recently learned I could take particle form, too. I’m part demon as if I’d been born this way.”
“But without the benefit of actually growing up in a demonic environment,” Alin concluded for me. “I understand. And I will gladly have you as a member of my court.”
Relief slammed into me, unwinding the tension I hadn’t even realized had built up in my muscles. Though Lena had been convinced Alin wouldn’t turn me away, I hadn’t truly allowed myself to believe it until the demon lord himself confirmed his acceptance of me face-to-face.
He finished the rest of his wine and rose. “Let’s do this the proper way.”
The faint swirl of energy gave away his intentions.
“In the Shadow World?” I asked nonetheless.
A smile whisked across his lips. “You’re correct. Your powers match those of born half demons. Like the mortal realm, Shadow World is your home, too. It’s only fitting we welcome you to it from there.”
“I…um…don’t know how to get there.”
Alin’s good-natured laugh soothed the uproar of doubts within me. “All in due time. Right now, you will travel with me. And once our business is done”—he gave me a look that confirmed he meant more than just my pledge to his court—“I will teach you how to enter and leave the Shadow World. Even construct you a lair of your own, if our realm won’t provide it to you by itself.”
Stunned, it was all I could do just to take his offered hand and let him whisk me away.
Bring me home.
My demonic traits might have started to feel natural over the months I’d been honing them, but never, never had they felt as alive as when I’d manifested in a comfortable chamber within the Shadow World.
Alin gazed at me with a knowledgeable look, something akin to satisfaction softening his rough features.
“Feels good, doesn’t it?” he asked and strode over to a simple antique dresser I suspected Liva, the third of the Nightwraith sister trio, had a hand in picking out.
I eyed Alin as he took a silver dagger from the topmost drawer. “How come I’ve never felt this way before? I mean—when I visited demonic lairs?”
“Lairs are…part of this world, but cordoned off.” He absentmindedly turned the blade in his hands. “This”—he gestured to the chamber, the shadowy grayscape beyond the window—“is the heart.”
Drawn by the sight, I crossed the room and braced my arms on the windowsill. The blend of gray and black held no distinguishable form, yet I…felt the Shadow World beyond. The paths, the structures, the foreign yet familiar texture that sat at the very creation of the demonic realm.
A memory drifted to the forefront of my mind—Voit taking me to that idyllic enclosure after Raya had kidnapped me.
That had been the unfiltered Shadow World. Raya’s godsdamned throne room, too.
But not only were my powers barely kindling at that point—I had been a bit too preoccupied and much too pissed off to really pay attention to how the realm spoke to me.
“I’ve always had a love-hate relationship with the Shadow World,” Alin said as he came to stand by my side. “Although the majority of the hate part stemmed from its denizens. The realm in itself…”
“Is beautiful,” I whispered and touched my fingers to the cool glass.
Like my wolf’s craving to explore expanses of undiluted nature, the demonic side yearned to roam the shadows. I drew my hand back and looked at Alin.
A faint but warm smile adorned the lord’s lips. “It will be my honor to show you around.”
As soon as I finished the pledge, was what he didn’t have to say.
I nodded to let him know I was ready.
Alin moved into the center of the room, the black carpet muffling his steps as he crossed onto it. I followed dutifully and positioned myself until I was facing him head-on. Somehow, my body had known precisely what to do, no verbal instructions needed.
“The process itself will guide you,” Alin said, as if reading my mind. “It’s…archaic, so you will end up on your knees.” He gestured to the carpet. “For which I apologize.”
“Don’t worry about it.”
If me kneeling was the worst of it, I was one happy demon-wolf.
“And it will require you drinking my blood,” he added.
A snort escaped me before I could rein it in. Thankfully, Alin didn’t take offense, simply rolled his eyes as if he, too, found the procedure a bit over-the-top dramatic.
“Not a problem,” I assured him. “Though we might want to move off the carpet.”
Sure it was black, but even if not visible, he’d still need to get the blood out eventually.
Alin’s mouth quirked up, and he brought the blade to his forearm, decidedly not moving off the rug.
“It’s spelled.” He pressed the silver into his skin, and the first whiff of blood crept into the air. “And”—I crashed down to my knees, the rug’s thick texture softening my landing—“it’ll save you a few scrapes.”
A thread of mirth coursed through me, but I was unable to do anything as the ritual held me in its grip—anything but bring my lips to Alin’s bleeding arm as he offered it to me.
His blood coated my tongue, my senses, but the metallic taste faded
into the background as the demon lord’s energy poured into me. A part of me wanted to gasp at the sudden fullness, but my mouth refused to latch off the wound—off the power embedded in Alin’s blood. His energy settled into spaces I hadn’t even known had presented a gaping void. A demon without allegiance.
I’d been broken in more ways than one.
Berlin might have given me back my old self, but had I settled for what my night out with Finn had given me, I never would have been whole, my demonic side an empty vessel without purpose. Without direction.
Without a home.
I glanced up at Alin, who kept regarding me with an almost fatherly countenance, then closed my eyes as something shifted—as my energy began to seep into him.
My fingers sank into his arm, mouth still on the bleeding wound as Alin accepted me as I had accepted him. One final wisp of power flowed from me into the demon lord.
With a metaphysical snap I felt with my entire being, the bond between us locked.
I released Alin’s arm, but the ritual wasn’t done with us yet. The primordial magic of it kept me kneeling until Alin said, “Rise, Lotte. As a full member of my court.”
My mind spun as I climbed to my feet.
“You are sworn to me as I am sworn to you.” His gaze fell heavy on mine, the words fortifying the cord between us. “As long as you are loyal and wish no harm to me or to my court, as long as you do not counter my commands, you have my protection. Even if it claims my life.”
As that last word rang out, the ritual released me. I swayed, and Alin caught me with his bloody arm. He steadied me with a gentleness I never would have imagined a demon lord might possess.
There was nothing but warmth and reassurance in his eyes as he inclined his head. “Welcome, Lotte Freundenberger, to the family.”
I slept like the dead that night.
One second, I was pumped up on adrenaline, unsure just how I’d be able to wait until the next day to put our plan in motion, the next—blank. Thankfully, Lena had come to wake me up with time to spare, a large breakfast already set on the table, courtesy of Caz. But most of all, I was glad for the change of clothes Lena had procured for me. Since I’d left Frankfurt with absolutely nothing, slipping into lightweight, formfitting black pants and a tank top was fucking divine.
As was the abundance of mag-tech strapped to my belt, secured in its respective holsters, and stashed in the small bag I’d slung over one shoulder as Lena and I approached a nondescript building in Maribor. Headquarters of Alin’s old gang—and my new allies.
Afanasiy lingered in the sunlight by the unmarked door, a damn stunning sight that made me forget, even if only momentarily, about all the bad shit between us.
“You still love him, don’t you?” Lena said low enough so the warm breeze wouldn’t carry the words over to the demon in question.
“I don’t think I could ever stop,” I confessed. “But that doesn’t mean I’m willing to let him get away with hurtful crap.”
A grin stretched across Lena’s face, and she bumped my hip with hers. “A newbie demon giving the Blade of Raya a run for his money. I like that.”
I snorted—but didn’t deny that I liked it, too.
The easy atmosphere between us, however, changed once we set foot on the premises. I waved at Afanasiy to let him know I’d be there in a second, then turned to Lena. “Thanks. For everything.”
“Wish I could do more.” She glanced at the still-closed doors. “Feels wrong to sit this one out. Especially since it’s linked to Kauer.”
I pulled her into a hug.
While I might have gotten ICRA to forget Lena’s past kills and make her bounty-hunting business legit, she wasn’t entirely free. Yelena was Lena’s demon lord first, mother second. A very unpredictable demon lord at that, who rarely budged from whatever idea set its talons into her head.
“This stinks,” Lena grumbled into my shoulder, then drew back.
“Hey, you’re trying to get Yelena to join the fight against Kauer.” I readjusted the bag’s strap that had begun to slip. “Sitting one fight out is a small price to pay for what you’re doing.”
“Yeah, if I succeed.”
“You’re doing your best. What Yelena chooses in the end won’t be on you.”
Lena’s mom had never truly recovered after she’d lost her second-in-command. Tevan had been her balance. Her anchor. I harbored no particular love for Yelena since she treated Lena more as an asset than a person, but I also couldn’t ignore the fact that the demon had sat on that damn throne for so long and with such power riding her body, this deterioration wasn’t something she’d chosen. Wasn’t her fault.
At least none of her actions reached Raya’s lows.
That, on the other hand, was one bitch I could definitely blame.
Lena squinted up at me. “Have some fun for me, too, yeah?”
“You bet.”
After we hugged and Lena took the umbilical cord back to her lair, I strode over to Afanasiy at long last.
“Raya will be pissed,” he commented, but the spark in his violet eyes suggested the prospect pleased him.
Now that was some undeniable improvement.
I let the smile that tugged on the corners of my lips bloom. “And the best part is that she can’t do shit about our raid because Alin is simply helping one of his subjects out.”
While Germany, for the most part, fell under Raya’s jurisdiction, and as such, represented home for those belonging to her court, the country was also my home. My territory to cover as a wolf. Had I been a regular half-blooded demon, I would have belonged to Raya automatically upon birth. But fate had ensured I was anything but regular.
My “claim” on Germany, as Alin had called it, preceded my becoming a demon.
Raya could bitch all she wanted, but with my unique circumstances, she couldn’t kick me out of the mortal territory she supposedly governed. I wouldn’t be able to make a base for myself in her slice of the Shadow World—not that I’d even want to—but Munich, as well as Germany as a whole, remained mine.
I hooked my thumb behind the bag’s strap. “I should get going.”
Though a part of me wanted to let this companionable silence stretch between us for at least a while longer, I had an entire team waiting for me inside. And assholes to take down.
Afanasiy’s almost wistful expression seemed to mirror my inner desire. He parted his lips, but something changed in the second before he would have voiced whatever it was teetering at the tip of his tongue. Closing off somewhat, he reached into his back pocket and pulled out a USB.
He offered the drive to me. “I hope this serves you well.”
My eyebrows flew up. Honestly, when I’d asked him to get the lair’s layout from Isa, I’d expected the schematics to come on paper.
Afanasiy had certainly upgraded his dwelling since the last time I’d been with him in the Shadow World.
I wrapped my fingers around the USB. “Thanks.”
“Are you certain you don’t want me with you?”
Damn that whisper of hurt in his voice… Did he really not get why I told him to stay behind and keep an eye on Isa?
I shuffled my feet, then scolded myself internally for acting like a damn insecure pup and placed my palm on Afanasiy’s hard chest. His surprise seeped into my skin.
“Of course I want you there with me,” I said. “But not if the cost is having Raya imprison you again.”
His bruises might have faded, but the memory of them definitely lived on.
“Afanasiy, I won’t pretend to understand why you refuse to change courts, even if you claim you’re loyal to the people under her rule, not just her.” My fingers twitched against his chest, Afanasiy’s heartbeat beneath a steadiness I craved. “But I respect your decision. I’m already antagonizing Raya enough for the both of us. And I truly do have this covered.”
He placed his hand atop mine and bowed. “I look forward to hearing your report.”
“Buy me dinner and you
’ve got yourself a deal,” I said, then hurried away before the impulse to kiss him took over.
Dinner was enough.
Dinner meant we were willing to bridge the gap between us. Discuss the shit that went wrong. The hurt it had left us with.
Without giving each other any false promises.
Still, I breathed just a little easier as I slipped through the door and entered a rudimentary space where Alin’s—no, Ilya’s, I mentally corrected—gang apparently gathered together before outings. The artificial light shone down on a downright army of supes, quite a few of Alin’s demons among them, but I had no trouble singling out their leader.
Alin’s former second-in-command and now head of this entire operation was a tall vampire with a mass of golden-blond curls and devastatingly good looks that commanded the room. He carried himself with that confidence that could never be perceived as aggressive or loud, but was simply a natural part of him.
To say I was thrilled to have the vampire in my corner would be a massive, massive understatement.
More than likely noticing my attention, he cut a path across the room straight to where I was still standing just beyond the threshold.
“Ilya.” We shook hands. “Pleasure to meet you.”
I flicked my gaze across the practically packed room. “Lotte. And the pleasure really is mine.”
“I’m pretty sure a lot of my guys would argue.” Ilya’s smile was all fangs and the kind of mischief the predatory side of me related with all too well. “We haven’t done a raid like this in a while.”
The truth, too. While still within the bounds of a professional setting, spirits were running high and thick enough to taste.
I might have deluded myself into thinking this trait that made a whole bunch of us predatory supes embrace danger regardless of personal risk had skipped me, but ever since Isa strode into my life, I realized it had only lain dormant. It took me a while to come to terms with it, but in situations such as this one, surrounded by individuals who wanted nothing more than to throw themselves into life-threatening situations, I was glad I had.
A Freundenberger through and through.
