Inferno of Darkness (Divisa Huntress #2) - J.L. Weil Page 0,83

ever depleted your powers before?” I asked, curious just how deep his well of darkness was.

“No, but I’ve never actually tried to run it dry.”

My fingers traced over the exposed demon marks crawling up the side of his neck. “You have more power inside you then you let be known. I can feel it harbored inside you. How are you able to keep it contained?” His mother had to release her ever-growing darkness when it became too much for her body to hold. Was Ashor’s not the same?

A crooked grin curved at the side of his lips. “Some secrets are better left unrevealed.”

“That doesn’t work with me.”

He arched a brow. “It doesn’t?”

I opened my mouth and then promptly shut it again as the doors to our suite swung open. A male succubus who looked like he was plucked from the Garden of Eden with perfectly carved features stood in the doorway. His golden locks curled over his forehead in a way that made a girl want to brush them back. Like most demons in Verena’s court, he oozed sex on a stick. If I wasn’t a mated female, my lady parts would be tingling.

“Queen Verena requires your presence at once.” The statement was said with haste and no room for negotiations, yet was delivered in a voice as smooth as velvet.

Ashor and I shared a look. She was the last person I wanted to see after what she had done to me, but I also wanted to know why. What did she gain by toying with my mind?

The prince lifted me off his lap and unfolded himself from the chair to stand tall beside me. “Shall we, luv?” Ashor held out a hand to me, an expression of intrigue and caution lining his brow.

We were both thinking the same exact thought. The queen has made her choice. This was it. She was either with us or against us. Her choice in the next few minutes would decide all our fates, including whether she lived or died.

I couldn’t see how he would be able to find a loophole out of this tangled situation. Was it possible the direction she’d chosen had anything to do with Verena attacking my perception? Why had she wanted me to believe Ashor had abandoned me? I couldn’t find any correlation, but maybe there didn’t need to be.

It didn't help that Ashor was keeping things from me. No matter how hard or long I poked or prodded our bond, I learned nothing of his plot. Perhaps he hadn’t yet decided, which was why it was blocked from me. Or he was using a Lexi-proof shield that kept me from discovering the truth. Feelings were messy things. And I had much to learn about the inner workings of being mated to a demon.

“Do you think she has made her choice?” I murmured, voicing that question that was on both of our minds as we followed the succubus down the opulent white hallway.

He frowned. “I don’t have a good feeling about this. Keep alert and stay close.” Those were his last words to me before we were ushered before the queen.

Verena was seated on her throne, a toned golden leg exposed and crossed over the other. Her gown rode high up her thigh to the side of her hip. She tapped tapered nails over the arm of her throne impatiently. “Finally,” she said when Ashor and I walked in, annoyance etched over her gorgeous features.

“Have you made your…” Ashor’s voice trailed off. Ribbons of alarm tore through our bond, and I glanced at the prince. His jaw was clenched, and he paled. A roaring ripped inside my ears, drawing out all other noise.

The sharp metallic scent of blood hit my senses, and my nostrils flared. It was overwhelming, to the point I knew someone was on the verge of death.

“Cayden,” he muttered.

I swayed at the name. Dizziness spun inside my head at the sight of Ashor’s best friend sprawled out at the bottom of Verena’s dais like a slab of freshly slaughtered meat. How Ashor had identified the body astonished me, because there was nothing of Cayden in the demon who lay unconscious at the queen’s feet. His black fluid stained the floor in a bloody mess.

My eyes flicked over the queen, and I was shocked by the expression on her face. She didn’t look upset, but more put off by the mess covering her floors. “Your mother sent me a gift,” Verena said with an air of one