Cipher (Demonica Underworld #8) - Larissa Ione Page 0,15

Bael’s prison, a sick joke, a fleeting sliver of time meant to make you hate normal life even more.

God, he hated it here. This was why few Unfallen angels willingly entered Sheoul to complete their fall from grace. Most of them lived a nomadic life, constantly fleeing those who would capture and drag them into Sheoul, just as Cipher had done. He’d spent a couple of decades on the run, hiding in the human realm in the guise of a homeless man, until he’d run into Hawkyn.

Unlike the last time he’d seen Hawkyn, the Memitim hadn’t tried to kill him for what Cipher had done to his Primori. Instead, Hawk had offered him sanctuary. Well, he’d offered it after an epic battle in which they’d beaten the shit out of each other in a good old-fashioned fistfight.

Life had been good in Sheoul-gra. He’d rarely had to leave, and when he did, he was usually with powerful friends.

Unfortunately, he’d let down his guard. He’d taken one too many risks, had gotten too far from his friends during a battle, and now he was paying for his mistakes.

He might be reckless, but he wasn’t an idiot. He knew this could only go one of two ways. He’d either give in and join Bael’s team, or he’d die an agonizing death, only to be fully conscious moments later as his soul found itself at Bael’s mercy. Would Bael use it as a plaything? Perhaps trap it inside Cipher’s preserved body, put on display while he slowly went mad? Or maybe Bael would keep it as an offering to Satan on the day the King of Demons was released from his prison.

Cipher knew which option was the most likely. Even now he could feel evil seeping into his very cells, darkening his outlook, his sense of humor. Oh, sure, there was always a chance that he could escape and get back to Sheoul-gra, but the reality was that he had only one choice to make.

Pledge fealty to Bael now...or pledge fealty to him later.

Either way, Cipher would give up the list and betray everyone he cared about.

They don’t care about you. Flail’s voice rang in his head, tapping into his fears. You’ve been gone too long. They think you’ve gone to the dark side already. They’ve given up.

No way. They hadn’t. They wouldn’t. If he could get out of here, they’d welcome him back in Sheoul-gra.

He just needed a plan. A way to contact them.

But to contact them, he’d need his computer. To escape he needed his fallen angel powers. To get his fallen angel powers he needed his wings to be unbound.

There was only one way that was going to happen. He had to give Bael what he wanted.

The scream rang out again, the prod he needed to get his shit together.

Awkwardly, he stepped away from Lyre, grabbed his blanket, and used it to clean up. “Uh, sorry...” He stopped himself before he said anything else. Why should he apologize? Lyre was his fucking captor. Well, she was employed by his captor, anyway.

“Did it help?” She sounded breathy. Turned on. And despite the fact that he’d just come and he was in a prison in Hell’s asshole, he started to get hard again.

“Did what help what?”

She huffed as if he was a complete idiot. “Is the pain gone?”

“Oh. Yeah.” But he wasn’t sure if he felt better thanks to the nourishment her blood gave him or because of the sex. Maybe both.

He looked down at his chest. Blood still streaked his skin, but the ascerdisc wound had sealed and was only a little tender. His wings still hurt, strangled by ensorcelled rope, but that was nothing new.

She started toward him. “Cipher—”

“Ooh, hey, watch your step.”

She did a jaunty little hop to avoid slipping on the result of her hand action, and he hid a smile at the way her cheeks turned pink. “Thanks.”

“Don’t thank me. I warned you before I had a chance to consider how hilarious it would be if you fell in my jizz.” Why had he warned her, anyway? Should have let her break her ass on the ice.

But it was such a nice ass.

“You know tomorrow’s going to be worse, right?” she asked, sounding a little flustered. “Flail is probably drafting invitations right now.”

She’s going to crack the shield you’ve got around you, and evil is going to pour in and turn you into someone your friends and family won’t recognize. And then you’ll willingly give up the list