Stefan… I had no way of knowing if he was okay. I’d left him out cold in his wrecked car. Wrath could have gone back and finished him off. Surely, if Stefan had been hurt, Akil would have told me. He had Prince FM in his head. He’d know if anything had happened to Stefan.
Trying Ryder’s cell again, I considered Akil’s confession. My father had tasked him to watch me. All this time, he’d been obliged to keep me close, not for himself, but for the Prince of Lust, Daddy Dearest. If that was the case, why had Levi come to collect me all those months ago? Perhaps because Akil had lost his title and was deemed weak. Asmodeus wanted me protected, and Akil’s ability to carry out his orders had been compromised. So my father must have sent Levi to collect me instead.
However, more disturbing than any of that was Akil’s confession that he cared. It should be impossible. If Akil’s words were true, then that put him at odds with my father’s wishes. As princes went, Asmodeus appeared powerful enough to order his brethren around. What would happen when the time came for Akil to hand me over?
The thought that my father was out there, waiting for me, sent a feverish heat washing through me. If Val had his way, it wouldn’t be long before I met our dearest father. If I survived that long. If any of us did.
I had to let Akil replace Damien’s tainted touch with his own. There was no way around it. I’d become so accustomed to Damien’s darkness sucking on my soul that I wondered just what I was agreeing to by letting Akil in. There was no choice here. If I didn’t agree, I’d cut loose and go nuclear. There wasn’t a way to come back from that, even if my half-blood body survived, my humanity probably wouldn’t. When Damien soul-locked me, it had been a vicious attack. Akil had mentioned that ours should be pleasurable union, very different from the physical and mental rape I’d endured beneath the claws of my owner.
My cell died. With a curse, I tossed it onto the kitchen countertop and turned, finding Akil standing in my kitchen. A feminine yelp slipped from me, prompting him to smile. “Holy hell. At least knock, or something.” I tightened my robe and tucked my damp hair behind my ears.
He’d swapped the sweats for black pants and an amethyst button-down shirt and had left his hair a ruffled mess, which worked just fine for me. He noticed me checking him out and arched an eyebrow. Damn him for being so devilishly delicious.
“What’s it like out there?” I flicked on the kettle. I needed coffee. Now. Intravenously, if possible.
“Better. I’ve made contact with the demons on this side of the veil. They’ll step in line or die.”
Subtle. I flicked him a glance. “And what about the king?”
“He’s…preparing.”
“Right. Like you’re doing right now. How convenient.”
“I’m not the King of Hell. If I was, I wouldn’t be in your apartment, wondering what it would be like to untie your robe, touch you in places I know will make you gasp, and breathe in your scent while my city crumbles.”
I ignored the deliberate attempt to bait me. At least I tried to ignore it, but a tiny slither of lust escaped my control and dashed the fine hairs on my arms. “What is the king thinking about then?”
“How to control his wayward subjects without a queen by his side.”
“Can’t he just find another queen?”
“It takes a special kind of demon to be queen, one who can both equal the king and negate his power. Chaos and control. Had we known this would all come to pass once the queen was killed…” A low growl rumbled through him. “Well, the past is filled with graveyards of fools. While the king survives, there is a chance the worst outcome can be averted.”
“If the veil falls?”
“It can be restored, provided the balance between chaos and control is reasserted.” I didn’t hear him move, but I knew he stood behind me just from the warmth pushing against my back. He gathered my hair in a hand and drew it away from my neck. When he spoke, his whispers tickled my skin. “Have you considered what to do about your unwanted visitor?”
I had a quip ready, something about kicking him out, but Akil’s soft lips touched my neck, sending shivers through