“Their names are Merodach and Kelaeno. They are the ones helping Bastian find what he needs. And once they do that, they’ll be coming for you.”
“If Orek fails, you mean.”
His gaze burned into mine. “Yes, I’m sorry. The situation is only going to get worse for you.”
I studied his face, my head spinning to come up with the answer of his true allegiance. He knew so much about Bastian’s plans, so they had to be close, but he was willing to risk everything to help me. “Why the espionage, Cadan?”
“I’ve already told you.”
“The risk is too great,” I insisted. “There must be something more. What’s in it for you? Are you going to betray me?”
That smile came to life again. “Even if I said no, would you believe me?”
“I don’t know. I don’t even know if it’s Bastian you’re spying on or if it’s me.”
“Why can’t you believe that I want you to stop him?” he asked earnestly.
I narrowed my gaze. “Why don’t you do it yourself?”
He didn’t answer me at first, and a strange look came over his face as his shoulders stiffened. His eyes broke away from mine and searched around us before returning. “It’s complicated.”
“No more complicated than our own arrangement.”
His brow flickered with amusement, the uncertainty washing away in an instant. “Arrangement? And on what terms is this arrangement?”
I ignored that. “Is it because you aren’t strong enough to kill him, or because you don’t want to?”
His gaze moved slowly over my mouth and back up to my eyes. “Both.”
“You’re still loyal to him,” I said. “And now to me, for some reason.”
“I suppose you’re right.”
“You’ll have to choose a side, Cadan.”
He grinned and gave a single soft huff of a laugh, though his eyes looked sad. “That is also true.”
I wasn’t sure what to make of him. He was gorgeous and very mysterious, and I was indisputably drawn to him. Those things all made him dangerous, even if I believed he wouldn’t raise a hand to me. Simply being his friend was dangerous to us both. I picked my book off the floor and set it on the end table before I sank back into the soft chair. “What is this necklace supposed to do, anyway?”
He sat down in the chair opposite mine and dragged it closer. He leaned forward and spoke softly. “It was crafted by the Grigori Cardinal Lord of the East, Aldebaran. He tricked Constantina, the eldest daughter of the Roman emperor Constantine, into taking it.”
“I remember her,” I said, frowning as the memories flooded back to me. Constantina had been the driving force behind some of the earliest witch hunts, seventeen hundred years ago, executing innocent people and then taking everything valuable they owned for herself. The Grigori weren’t exactly like the Fallen imprisoned in Hell, and they were bound to earth to help humans in penance. That meant they were not entirely evil, but they were also not entirely good. Aldebaran knew of Constantina’s evil, and her underlings gave her the necklace cursed with angelic magic. Ever the greedy tyrant, she took it without hesitation, and within a month she was dead.
“If Bastian needs angelic magic,” Cadan explained, “he’d want it straight from a Grigori Lord. The Lords hold the secrets of all angelic magic and medicine. The power of the Constantina necklace came from Aldebaran, and in its purest form.”
“Were you around when the relic was created?”
I asked. “No, I’m not that old,” he said. “I was born during the Fourth Crusade.”
I gave a nervous laugh. “Oh, not that old. Only about eight centuries.”
“My father is over a thousand years old,” he mused. “Only the most powerful of my kind live to be ancient.”
I wondered exactly how strong Cadan was. “Is your father still alive?”
He hesitated in answering. “He is.”
“Have you ever met a Grigori?”
“I have.”
When it didn’t appear that he’d elaborate, I asked him, “And?”
“She hates me.”
“Really? That’s so surprising,” I asked, my sarcasm obvious.
“I tried to kill her.” The statement was crisp and matter-of-fact.
“Well, then you can’t blame her.”
He smiled widely and I smiled back. “I suppose you’re right.”
“I hope there’s a good story to go along with that,” I said. “Don’t you humans have a Valentine’s Day ritual coming?” he asked. “I believe I understand how it works. Two of you pair up in the name of love. That would make for a good story. Especially if I were involved.”
I glowered. “Don’t change the subject.”
“You seem so sore. No date?”
“I don’t need one.”
He tilted his head