The Lure of the Devil (The Demons' Muse #4) - Auryn Hadley Page 0,58

did not help us. On Vesdar, Earth, and Tyrnigg, they call us monsters and tell their children to be afraid of us. How many of our wives came to us because they had no other option - "

"But those wives were midworlders too," I reminded him.

"Yes, and not the ones you are talking about. Help the ones who deserve help. Not all of them simply because they exist. And do not think that I am ok with you being hurt for someone who would spit in your face if they found out what we are!"

"Bel," Sam said, clearly warning the man to calm down. "She's just going to talk to Uriel. Not all the angels - just her father."

"I want to meet him," Bel said, the words seemingly coming out of the blue.

Luke groaned. "You know Uriel."

"No," Bel corrected, "I have fought Uriel. I have hurt him, and he has hurt me. I do not care if he fucked some woman to make our Sia. I care if he is good to her and will keep her safe."

"Not here," Nick said. "I don't want to let anyone else into this Vale but our legion."

I reached over for Bel's hand. "I'll ask him if he'll meet us on Earth sometime, ok? And if he says no, then I won't go back, but I still need this information. Helping these slaves is something I have to do."

The big guy sighed. "Ok. I just hate it when you're someplace I can't reach. It makes me feel helpless."

"I'll have Luke with me," I reminded him. "I promise that I won't go anywhere on Angelis without him. Does that make it better?"

"A little." Bel was pouting, and as much as I shouldn't think it, he was actually kinda cute. "Luke will keep you safe, but it still makes me feel useless."

"Bel," I told him, "you are not useless. You taught me how to fly!"

"I almost taught you how to die," he countered. "They taught you how to do it right."

I just lifted my chin and met his dark eyes. "You were going to rip a demon apart for me, and I didn't even know they weren't friendly. That's about as far from useless as I can imagine. Luke couldn't do that!" I flipped my hand toward Nick. "I'm not sure he could either."

"I definitely couldn't," Sam told him.

Bel just sighed. "I know, but she is too strong to need me."

"No," Nick said. "Bel, you do not protect her because she is weak. You keep her safe because she is the most important thing we have. Being strong does not mean she can do everything on her own. That's why she has..." He glanced at Luke quickly, then struggled not to smile. "...Four boyfriends."

"Think you're funny, don't you?" Luke asked.

"Just calling it like you want us to see it," Nick assured him.

14

Sienna

Luke and I made arrangements to go see Uriel tomorrow while we finished our meal. The whole time, Bel didn't look any happier. If anything, he looked a little angrier. Not at me, though. Granted, Ron wasn't much better, although he looked worried instead of angry. But until we got more information, we couldn't do anything else, and I was tired of putting this off until later.

So, when I headed into my room that evening, I wasn't surprised at all when Bel followed. That he slammed the door behind him, however, wasn't what I expected. I spun to face him.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"I do not trust your father," he grumbled, stepping right up to my chest just to cross his arms and stand defiantly.

I felt my head bobbing as I tried to figure out what had brought this on. "Why now?" I asked, hoping for some kind of a hint.

"You have been too lucky," he said. "And Uriel is an angel. They can't be trusted."

"Luke?" I countered.

Bel glanced away. "He's not an angel anymore."

Well, at least there was that, because the truth was that it bothered me when Luke got lumped into all the shit his kind had done. Not that Luke was necessarily a good guy, but he was my bad guy, and that made all the difference. So was Bel.

I reached up, laying my palm against Bel's bicep, aware that my hand couldn't reach all the way around it. "What's really wrong, baby?"

His face softened at the pet name. "I don't like feeling useless."

"I already told you," I said. "You're not - "

"I am useless when you're on Angelis," he finished. "You defeated