The Demon's Song - By Kendra Leigh Castle Page 0,64

taken the spot on her right, acting as though she’d known her much longer than fifteen minutes or so. An unhappy Meresin had been dragged in behind Phenex with an unpleasant look on his face. Sofia noted how he took pains to sit as far away from Dru as possible, though he did give Sofia a cordial nod before retreating into menacing silence. He toyed with a ball of crackling violet light, rolling it between his fingers with a focus so unnerving that Sofia had to make herself stop staring.

Luckily, there were plenty of other things to keep her attention.

The brush of Phenex’s dark wing against her shoulder turned her attention from watching Justin, who had wandered in about five minutes after everyone else, arguing over the optimal layout of dungeons with a white-blond Fallen named Murmur.

“That’s not a subject I thought you’d find interesting,” Phenex said into her ear. Sofia turned her head to find the corner of his mouth curved up in amusement. The concern in his eyes, though, surprised her.

“Murmur’s voice reminds me of yours, in a way.”

“Oh?”

The hint of jealousy made her smile. “Mmm. Either one of you could read a phone book and it would be compelling. I doubt he sings as well as you do, though.”

“He doesn’t,” Phenex replied. “He used it for other things. If you have a secret he wants to know, there’s no denying him. He was the Questioner of Souls.”

“Ah,” Sofia said slowly. “So he’s all about the dungeon…amenities…then.” She cast another glance at the icily handsome Fallen who burst into laughter at something Justin had said before lifting a bottle of beer to his lips. He didn’t look like an interrogator. And Justin was far more relaxed than Sofia had thought him capable of. A beautiful, petite woman with a sleek ebony bob and big blue eyes poked him in the shoulder, then proceeded to whisper something in his ear, grinning wickedly. Vivi, Sofia knew. Justin’s wife. She seemed like a lot of fun for someone who’d been a vampire hunter not too long ago. Dru had promised a better introduction later. It was obvious she loved her sister-in-law.

“Your friends seem awfully normal for a bunch of mythological creatures,” Sofia said.

“What’s normal?” Phenex asked. “Plenty of humans are weirder.” A pair of servers clad in severe black and white silently set their dishes in front of them. It was an enormous burger and fries for Phenex, a rustic Italian pasta dish for her. The burger made her smile. Even not having known him for very long, the fact that he’d ordered something like that at what looked like a reasonably fancy restaurant didn’t surprise her at all. He liked what he liked.

Me included, Sofia thought, and felt her face heating.

A warm biscuit hit her square in the chest. She caught it before it could bounce into her dish, then whipped around to see where it had come from. It didn’t take long.

“Naughty,” Gadreel scolded her. “I see those red cheeks, Sofia. I sense impure thoughts.”

Phenex gently took the biscuit from her, examined it for a moment, and then, in a blur of movement, pelted Gadreel with it. It hit him squarely in the forehead before landing in his bisque, making it splatter.

Gadreel bared his teeth. “I was playing.”

“So am I. It’s a game called Whack-a-Douche. I just set the all-time high score.”

“Children,” said Levi, who had been in quiet conversation with a tousled brunette Fallen named Caim. “If we get kicked out before I eat again, I will personally make sure all of your next assignments involve sewers.”

Sofia didn’t miss the fact that even Levi’s arctic eyes held a hint of amusement, though he was unquestionably the most stoic of the group. Scales, she thought, remembering what Phenex had hinted their leader’s other form was. She really couldn’t picture it. Levi looked like some ancient warrior, not a monster.

“I thought it was funny,” a deep voice rumbled on the other side of Phenex, and she watched as Raum, with his ebony curls and white wings, gave Phenex a fist bump.

“You would,” Sofia heard Ember say from the other side of him. She leaned over to roll her eyes at Sofia, who couldn’t help laughing. This dinner really was bizarre in its sheer normalcy. Remove the wings and the really suspicious red liquid in several of the glasses and she could be anywhere.

When Phenex finally turned his attention back to her, she swiped one of his fries and brandished it