by Bella Klaus
Hades leaned forward, his brows rising to his hairline. “You mistrust Miss Griffin?”
Valentine didn’t reply.
The Demon King rubbed his chin. “It’s understandable, considering the young woman’s parentage. Why don’t you leave her with me for a few days, and I’ll get to the bottom—”
“No,” Valentine barked.
I pursed my lips, wishing he would make up his mind. Was I a woman who loved him or an agent of Kresnik?
Clasping my hands, I leaned forward. “King Valentine has only been seen by his personal physician and refuses to see a specialist who might inspect the integrity of his soul.”
Hades shook his head. “Of course he shouldn’t. The contents of a man’s head are his own business—”
“The Vampire King is a valued member of this Council,” the Angel King said, ignoring his colleague. “We’re already one monarch down. If another is somehow impaired—”
“You are all forgetting one important thing,” Valentine snarled. “I was of sound enough mind to defeat Kresnik, remove a valuable pawn from his grasp, damage his body, and rob him of a considerable amount of power.”
“Which resulted in the abduction of my best enforcer.” Hades gave Valentine a slow clap. “Good show. Kresnik was content with the body he was currently occupying. Now he’s torturing poor Theodore for the location of his indestructible, immortal, and ever-regenerating form.”
I gulped. Even though Hades was against restoring Valentine, he made a great point. I doubted that anyone in this room could destroy a body that had withstood thirty thousand years of torture.
The Shifter King’s expression twisted with anguish, and he glanced from Hades to the Angel King before lowering himself into his seat with a sigh. From the way he acted, it looked like he also agreed that Valentine should restore his memory but didn’t want to speak against him because they were friends.
Glittery magic shimmered and popped about the table in a tall column. In the blink of an eye, Healer Atman appeared on its surface, his mouth falling open with a gasp. He glanced around at his surroundings, caught sight of all the monarchs, and dropped to his knees.
“Your Majesties.” Healer Atman’s voice trembled. “How may this humble man be of service?”
I slid a glance to the Fae King, who shook his head and pinched the bridge of his nose. This was his magic—he had spirited the healer from his ward, so why did he bother looking so exasperated?
“Your presence here was a mistake.” Valentine rose to his feet and strode toward the only door in the room, where Captain Zella stood with Corporal Penumbra. He flung it open with a flick of his wrist to reveal a hallway lined with enforcers all the way down to the escalators. “You may return to your duties.”
The door slammed shut and the Angel King rose off his seat to offer Healer Atman a hand. “Stay where you are, Jenken.”
My brows rose. Did the Angel King know everyone’s preferred names?
“Actually, it’s about the soul nucleus you extracted from my energy body,” I murmured. “Could you return it to its owner?”
The healer frowned. “Doing so would require their consent…”
“Then leave,” Valentine said. “Because I refuse to have foreign objects implanted into my mind, my body, or my soul.”
My shoulders sagged, and I exhaled a weary breath. Part of me understood his concerns—he hated Kresnik for the amount of deaths he’d caused the vampire royal family and he didn’t want to face memories of ingratiating himself with a monster.
And there was always his generous mistrust of my motives. For all he knew, the soul nucleus was something that would bring him to Kresnik’s side.
I exhaled a long sigh. It was a miracle that Valentine still had most of his sanity after everything he had endured. But how long could he continue ruling people when he couldn’t feel compassion or love?
“Your Majesties, I apologize for interrupting,” said Captain Zella.
“What is it?” asked the Witch Queen.
“There’s an incoming message from someone who is calling themselves Kresnik.”
Valentine turned to the healer and growled, “Leave, and do not mention anything you heard in this room.”
Healer Atman hurried across the room, bowed at the exit, and stepped through the open door. As soon as it clicked shut, Captain Zella extracted a remote from her pocket and pointed it at the ceiling, which shone a circle of light on the table, turning it into a screen.
Valentine wrapped a hand around my arm, pulled me a few feet away from the table, and tucked me under his arm. It was a gesture most might interpret as protective, but given everything that had taken place between us earlier, it was more possessive.
“Bring the caller onscreen,” said the Witch Queen.
With a nod, Captain Zella clicked the remote again, bringing up an image of a white screen that reminded me of the one in Ritual Room One. A shirtless man sat tied to a chair with chains that burned red with heat. Bruises and burns covered his bronze skin, but it was nothing compared to his face, which they’d beaten into a swollen mess.
He bowed his head, slumping forward with sweat and blood and tears dripping onto the chains with a sizzle and a cloud of steam. Behind him, strips of torn leather hung from outstretched wing bones that were shattered in several pieces and burned.
I placed a hand over my mouth, trying not to gag, and burrowed into Valentine’s side.
“Theodore,” Hades whispered.
Kresnik stepped into the frame, clad in a pristine white jumpsuit with his red hair slicked off his face. Madness shone in his eyes, which were now as pale as mother of pearl.
Gone were the injuries he’d sustained during his fight with Valentine and the vampires, but that didn’t mean anything, since Kresnik had the power of a light mage. He could project any image he wanted, just as Roman and Leman had been able to do, letting us be fooled that he still clung to his vast reserves of stolen power.
That didn’t stop me from gulping.
“What a pleasure it is to see the Supernatural Council,” Kresnik said with a broad smile. “Its makeup has changed somewhat since I was last granted an audience with you ingrates.”
“And half a millennium later, and you’re still unable to get to the point,” Hades said, feigning a yawn.
“What do you want?” asked the Angel King.
“My daughter,” Kresnik snapped.
My stomach plummeted to my feet, and I nearly retched out loud. A few heads twitched toward me, and Valentine stepped further away from the images on the table.
“I understand that you’ve been quite prolific,” said the Witch Queen. “To which of your offspring do you refer?”
Kresnik snarled. “I have captured twelve of your enforcers as well as a group of demon hybrids trying to pass as human in London.”
“You must love this young woman immensely,” Hades drawled. “But why would you believe we were in possession of your daughter?”
Silence stretched out for several moments, broken only by the ragged breaths of the demon suffering in the background. My stomach clenched. Was my magic so important to Kresnik’s campaign that he would go to such lengths to retrieve me?
Kresnik had to be struggling to keep control at being mocked. I held my breath, hoping he wouldn’t start torturing Theodore to prove a point. The remembered pain of the giant needle sent a shudder down my spine, and I huddled into Valentine’s side. He ran a soothing hand up and down my arm, the way one might calm a spooked cat.
“Perhaps I might appeal to your sense of camaraderie toward a former council member,” Kresnik drawled. “I possess the soul of the King Antonius, who has been unable to get any form of rest since I transformed him into a preternatural.”
Valentine stiffened, and a growl reverberated through his insides. I glanced up to find his fangs lengthening, and the flecks of his dark irises turning red.
I stilled. The Academy taught everyone the history of the Supernatural Counc
il. Some of its members, such as Hades and the Angel King, had served since the start of Logris. Others were replaced frequently, such as the Shifter monarchs, who constantly faced challenges from younger subjects. Valentine’s father was one of the more stable kings and the only reason he’d lost his throne was because of Kresnik.
King Antonius was the previous Vampire King.
Hades paused for a few heartbeats before saying, “If you have his soul, show us proof.”
Kresnik chuckled. “Why don’t you check your rosters of Heaven and Hell? Check Elphame, too! If you don’t return my daughter with her blood and power intact, I will—”
A battle cry rang through the air. Theodore, who had been unconscious on his seat, burst through his chains and rushed forward. Kresnik whirled around, only to be knocked aside by the charging demon.
“I told him nothing, my lord,” Theodore bellowed as he trampled over the camera, turning its lens toward the ceiling.
Feet clambered over the recording device, kicking it from side to side, across the wood floor, turning it around to face the tiered seats around the ritual room.
“Stop him,” Kresnik yelled.
A plume of fire filled the lens, and the screen went black.
My jaw dropped, and all the air left my lungs. Theodore probably didn’t even make it to the door. But more importantly, what were we going to do about Valentine’s father?
“What the hell was that about?” The Shifter King turned to Hades with a scowl.
“Where is my father’s soul?” Valentine’s cold voice cut through the chatter. “My grandfather said it was sent to Heaven.”
I wrapped my arms around Valentine’s middle, my pulse pounding in sync with his heart. Kresnik hadn’t been bluffing—I knew it deep in my bones. Since he’d originally turned Valentine’s father in secret, he could have done anything with his heart and therefore his soul.
What state would King Antonius be in after five hundred years of solitary confinement?
The Angel King raised a hand and snatched a scroll out of the air. Unrolling it, he frowned down at its contents and shook his head. “There’s no Antonius Sargon in Supernatural Heaven. Perhaps he’s in Hell.”
By the time we turned to Hades to ask him about the roster of Hell’s inhabitants, the wretched Demon King had disappeared.
“Where did he go?” I asked.
The Fae King chuckled, his quicksilver eyes dancing. “He’s not going to release vital information without getting a little something in return.”
Valentine snarled. “We’re leaving.”
“Wait,” the Fae King said. “Isn’t anyone going to discuss Kresnik’s offer?”
“No.” Valentine strode to the mirror, where Corporal Penumbra was already adjusting it for transportation. I supposed she’d guessed we were going to Hades’ office.
“Do we need an escort to leave this room?” I asked.
The corporal shook her head. “Only for inbound transportation.”
As we stepped into Namara’s white office, the imp rose from her seat wearing her glamor and a glowing whip hanging from a belt on her form-fitting cerise dress. Behind her desk, the floor-to-ceiling windows shuttered, blocking out the daylight.
“Miss Griffin,” she said with a bright smile. “I’m glad to see you looking so well. Did you enjoy the hot choc—”
“Where is he?” Valentine charged toward the door that led to Hades’ inner sanctum.
“You can’t go in there.” Namara rushed out from behind the desk.
Ignoring her, Valentine kicked open the door.
A cloud of heat wafted out of the room, along with the scent of liquor. I wrinkled my nose. Wasn’t it too early for alcohol? Valentine stormed inside, his steps so long that I had to jog to keep up with his long strides.
As I stepped into the wood-paneled space after Valentine, I turned to the mahogany mezzanine at the top of the dual staircase, looking for signs of the Demon King, but a giggle came from the other direction. Two figures lay on the sheepskin rug by the fireplace. Hades and a red-haired woman who threaded her long fingers in his hair, both wearing matching black dressing gowns.
My mouth dropped open. The man had only had a few minutes’ head start on us before he’d disappeared. How could he have undressed himself and be entertaining women already?
Valentine growled.
“Someone’s here.” The woman slapped Hades on the shoulder.
“Ignore them,” he said between kisses.
Valentine snarled, the sound making her scramble out from beneath him, clutching her silk gown to her chest. The curtain of hair covering her face parted as she raised her head and stared at me through wide eyes. Recognition flickered across her features, and she parted her lips to speak.
I blinked, wondering if there were two Namaras and one of them was entertaining her boss with a variation of her glamor. Hades’ companion stood about five-ten, with deep red hair that flowed down to the black lapels of her dressing gown that barely covered her curvaceous figure and long legs.
Without meaning to, I glanced at Valentine to see if he’d noticed the half-dressed woman, but his gaze was fixed on Hades, who posed at the other side of the fire with his elbow on the mantelpiece.
“Well, well, well,” the Demon King drawled. “What brings the happy couple to my domain?”
The woman’s brows drew together. “Mera, it’s me.”
I stepped back, mirroring her frown. Her voice was familiar enough, and her broad smile was welcoming, but I would have noticed being acquainted with someone so pretty and with such similar looks to mine.
“Ummm?” I tilted my head to the side, taking in her deep blue eyes, button nose, and full lips set within a heart-shaped face.
Something about her was familiar in the way she stood. Despite her demure appearance, she looked like the sort of woman with a sharp tongue, a quick temper, and wasn’t afraid to kick a man’s—
My eyes bulged. “Coral?”
Nodding, she rushed at me with her arms wide.
Valentine stepped between us and snarled.
I tugged at his arm. “She’s my sister and a very powerful fire user who isn’t afraid to turn a vampire into jerky.”
Hades strolled to the drinks cabinet, flicking a hand to open its doors. “Now that you’re here, you may as well stay for a drink.”
Valentine rushed to Hades’ side. “What do you know about my father’s soul?”
Before I could see how Hades reacted, Coral swept me up in a bone-crushing hug. “Where did you go that night? We lost you in the crowd and didn’t even notice you were missing until it was too late.”
She stepped back, her gaze sweeping down my form.
I rubbed the back of my head, blinking over and over at her youthful appearance. “What are you doing here? How are the others?”
“Pluto gave us all a place to stay. He’s been keeping us hidden until he works out a way to kill Kresnik.”
“Pluto,” I said, my voice flat.
“Yes.” Her brows drew together. “Didn’t Valentine tell you about him?”
In the background, Valentine and Hades hissed at each other in an ancient language, moving about so quickly it was hard to tell if they were fighting or playing tag. I couldn’t focus on them because my mind was too busy trying to sort through these new revelations.
Hades was keeping Coral and the others, even after he’d promised to leave them alone. Hades was in the process of seducing or had already seduced Coral given the skimpy dressing gown and his earlier boast about entertaining a… What did he call her? A fascinating and exceedingly important young woman.
I gulped.
The same young woman whose blood had resurrected Kresnik.
The same young woman whose life-force was probably linked to Kresnik’s.
Blood roared through my ears, and the fists of fury pounded on my eardrums. Hades had lied to me yet again.
Coral’s brows drew together. “Mera?”
I c
leared my throat and placed a hand on her slender bicep. “Where do you think you are?”
“Top floor of the Oxo Tower, why?”
“This is the Supernatural Council.” I pointed at the two men yelling at each other on the mezzanine. “That’s the Demon King.”
She shook her head. “Are you sure? I saw the Demon King when one of my friends got sentenced. He’s middle-aged and—”
“That’s him,” I said through clenched teeth. “This is his office in the Supernatural Council Building.”
Coral pursed her lips, breathing hard through flared nostrils. “So that story about him being a demon hybrid who escaped Logris with Valentine’s help?”
I shook my head. “He’s shameless and will say anything to get what he wants. What’s he done with everyone else?”
Coral’s gaze darted toward the mezzanine. Eyes widening, she grabbed my arm and pulled me out of the trajectory of a ball of black flames. The fire landed on the wood floor, creating a brimstone-scented scorch mark.
Wincing, I turned to Coral. “Please don’t tell me he’s keeping you in a mysterious safe house in a location you don’t recognize.”
She drew back, her brows forming a deep ‘V.’ “Why would you describe it so specifically?”
The sound of something heavy landing on wood made me spin to the side. Hades fell onto his oversized desk, cracking its surface in half, snarled, and disappeared. I whirled around to where Valentine stood on the right-hand-side set of stairs that led down from the mezzanine.
“It sounds like he’s put you in Hell or at least in a pocket dimension,” I said over the sound of the males’ cursing. “How on earth did you meet him?”
Namara approached us from behind and placed a hand on my arm. “You’ll be safer on the other side of the doorway, ladies.”
My insides twisted into knots. Not out of worry for Valentine. If he could face down a crowd of ancient vampires, Hades wouldn’t be too much of a problem. More concerning was the Demon King’s reluctance to hand over important information about the whereabouts of King Antonius.
There was also the issue of what the hell Hades was doing with all the people who had escaped Kresnik, but if Coral was getting friendly with Hades, it had to be a sign that they were all still well.
