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Gorgo towered over my six-foot-tall frame and he looked thinner. People used to get us confused when we were younger. We had been about the same height with dark hair, similar facial features, and chiseled jawlines, except he had hazel eyes to my brown ones.
“I’m finally over puberty.” He let out a belly laugh as he slammed the wooden table.
The peanuts jumped and the ale inside the tankards sloshed, his soldiers laughed with him. The card players at the table next to theirs joined in the chuckle, while the vampires continued to glare at my back.
What the hell was wrong with these vamps? I’d never had so much attention from strangers before. Most vamps and demons that went to No Man’s Pub wanted to be left alone. I didn’t know them and they didn’t know me. No way Gorgo would set me up. Right?
I ignored the tankard Gorgo slid in front of me and met his gaze hard. “I’ve heard rumors your brother kicked you out of the castle and you’re the Underground Demon leader. Is this true?”
He leaned closer. “I might have done things I’m proud of.”
I hiked an eyebrow. “Good or bad?”
“I guess it depends on which side you’re on.” He winked.
I pushed back in my seat. “The castle, the servants at your beck and call, good food and wine every day is not your thing?”
He took a gulp of his drink. “I despise my brother more than I love all the things you mentioned. Someone has to stop him.”
I couldn’t agree with him more, but bringing Asmodeus down from the throne was impossible. Not that I tried. He had guards with him all day and night and had spies working for him outside the castle.
No one was to be trusted. Not even the demon beside me. Gorgo and I were childhood friends when a human king ruled our world, but when Asmodeus and his rebellion conquered the castle, Gorgo went with him, mainly to keep his brother from hunting him down. Could I still trust him as I did when we were boys?
Gorgo narrowed his eyes on me hard, his gaze unyielding. I knew that expression. He wanted something from me.
“Why are you looking at me like that?” The door opened and closed, bringing in a rush of cool air that dimmed the lanterns. The moonlight spilled for a moment, then the lanterns around the tavern lit up the shop again.
A vampire had entered, using their power of speed, the reason I couldn’t see this being. I sniffed. Scent of jasmine and fresh human blood. A vampiress, and she had drunk recently.
I again ignored the prickling sensation down my neck from the weight of the stares from the group of vamps across the room. She must be here to join her kind.
“I want you to help me dethrone my brother.” Gorgo glanced over my head, then back to me. He too had sensed the female.
“With what army?” I waved a hand at the men at our table. “There’s only six of you.”
He shook his head. “There are a lot more of us. Not just demons. Some are vampires, and even Order of Angels.”
“OA?” I gripped his tunic and yanked him close to my face. “You know I don’t trust them.”
His men growled and rose so fast the wooden chairs scraped across the dirt-packed ground and peanuts shells fell. Their eyes gleamed like shiny black marbles and their shoulders twitched, ready to change into their demon forms. When Gorgo raised a hand, his men sat back down.
“Not everyone. Evangeline. The pretty one, and her team.” His eyes gleamed as he offered a smug grin.
I released him and let out a sigh of relief. “Eva is a friend of mine. You can trust her.”
Ever since the word got out that not all human-angel hybrids were taken to Crossroads—a border between life and death—I stayed hidden.
Though most Order of Angels teams were long gone, some had stayed behind, fighting to bring down Asmodeus and give humans back their world.
Evangeline and I first crossed paths amid a maelstrom of chaos. She was battling a group of vampires who had ambushed her in the woods near my home about a year ago, and she was separated from her team.
I didn't hesitate to lend a helping hand. And because she felt she owed me a debt, she promised to never tell her superiors about me.
It was only a matter of time before the OA would come to take away all the hybrids for their own purposes, and I was determined not to be one of them. I had no allegiance to anyone but my family, and I wasn’t going to leave them. I didn’t want anything to do with the angels.
The hard lines of Gorgo’s face softened. “I know you despise the OA, but you never gave me a reason.”
“I have none to tell you.” I patted his cheek. “And why do you need my help?”
