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