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My eyes flickered toward the closed doors as I was forced to accept how close we’d both come to being eliminated with them. It was one thing for my pet to brush death simply because she’d allied herself with an organization seeking to rob me blind. It wasn’t anything close to dealing with the wrath of a scorned Nephilim and a desperate angel.
If this fucker was willing to consume the essence of a child just to bolt, there wasn’t a single line that he wouldn’t cross.
Archer’s fingers curled around the wine glass as he fought to gain full control over his thoughts. There wasn’t a doubt in my mind that they were so scattered that he was struggling to explain it all to me. “I’ve already called the others. They’re all on high alert. My men have been trying to hack into any remaining cameras near Nico’s home but it looks like most of them were destroyed prior to the slaughter.”
“So it could either be Marcillo’s men or the Nephilim’s,” I murmured.
Did it really matter at this point? The mere fact that they had joined ranks meant I could gun for both of them with every intention of burning it all down.
As much as I wanted to focus on the demon lord so that I could help smooth those frazzled nerves - especially before Quinn picked up on the severity of what was going on - I didn’t get the chance to. I found the hair rising on the back of my neck within seconds of the demon lord falling silent. My back straightened and I turned slightly, allowing my gaze to survey the entire penthouse.
Aside from Archer slumped against the bar with his full glass of wine and Quinn nestled up on the bed, there were no signs of anyone else being on this floor. That didn’t stop my magic from humming beneath my skin with a sense of restlessness that left me on edge. It didn’t matter if I couldn’t sense where the source of its agitation was, it was still there.
It would be reckless not to acknowledge it.
I arched an eyebrow, reluctantly releasing just a small piece of my magic to feel along every single wall so that it could locate the problem for me. “So they may have taken Nico back to New Orleans and we wouldn’t know.”
“Not exactly.” The demon lord pushed the glass away. “I checked various ones further south just to see if anyone stood out. Enough people have seen Lazarus’ ugly mug to where my guys knew what to look for. They didn’t go back to New Orleans.”
“Then where did they take him?” I snarled.
His purple eyes narrowed into thin slits. “I don’t know yet. I’ve got eyes along every single border, for every goddamn state under your control. I’ve been getting alerts for various states that indicate they are taking a southern path, but it’s more geared toward the western coast. So far, they’ve gone through Idaho. If they keep on the predicted trajectory, then that would make their destination-”
“Here.” As soon as the realization sank in as to what the Nephilim’s end game might be, the icy chill haunting my body launched into a full-on arctic freeze. Every single one of my senses went on high alert while my lungs restricted airflow down to the bare minimum. That was the moment when I noticed the sudden spike in energy lurking within the air - seconds before the front door was kicked open and something metallic was tossed inside.
Time slowed down to a crawl as I whipped my head toward it. For every time it slammed into the tile floor and flipped in another direction, it seemed to take an eternity to do so. By the time I could will my body to react to its presence, it had already sparked into effect. I tore my gaze away from it with a livid snarl as a bright light exploded within the room. It didn’t matter if I couldn’t quite pinpoint the noise being emitted from the damn thing, it still had my ears ringing. The sensation was almost as bad as how bad my eyes were watering.
Archer cast his wine glass away. Any signs of exhaustion had dissolved immediately, replaced by the loyalty to me woven into every ounce of his being. He lunged over the bar and charged at the intruders with his demonic fangs bared. A layer of ice scattered beneath his boot every time he thrust it down.
An enraged roar echoed off of the penthouse walls from the other side as our unwanted guests gunned straight for him. It wasn’t until the brute broke through the growing smoke that either of us could see the full extent of his height. While I tended to tower over most beings by a solid foot, this bastard had one on me. In truth, he reminded me of nothing better than the mutated monster Frankenstein.
Complete with all the jagged scars.
The two demons collided, the impact causing a wild shift of energy within the air. It allowed the impact of the stun grenade to be prolonged. They were completely oblivious as they immediately shifted to carry out close combat. For every move one of them made, the other one countered.
The only thing the intruding brute couldn’t seem to stop was the simple fact that Archer had magic and he didn’t. The demon lord was quick to pull in that heavy advantage with a mixture of bob and weaves, with some feints to seal the deal.
It left the brute shaking with rage. He released a snarl and made a wild grab for him. The sound was nothing short of animalistic. He was ready to paint the tile red with the demon lord’s blood to the point where that’s all he could picture.
Gritting my teeth, I eased onto my knees. The room was still spinning around me to where I couldn’t risk getting up too quickly. The stun grenade had landed so close that it had left all of my senses in utter agony. It was not a situation I ever found myself in simply because I didn’t allow it.
Archer coming to the penthouse in a panic had been more of a distraction than I wanted to admit. Exactly as the bastards intended it to be.
While the two demons continued their dance amongst all the smoke, another form was beginning to emerge. It took me a moment to recognize the same sour demon that had taken up a post at the edge of the casino floor. Malakai.
His gaze shifted in my direction as soon as his name crossed my mind. A pleased smirk crossed his face once our gazes locked. “Never thought I would see the day when I saw the prince of demons on his goddamn knees! Lazarus insisted you would be anticipating our every move. Guess the fucker was worried about nothing.” He threw his head back, releasing a cackle that made my skin crawl.
My upper lip curled to expose my fangs. I reached up to seize the arm of the chair, rising off the ground carefully. There wasn’t a single part of me that was willing to let my eyes stray the entire time I worked on getting back on my feet. Breaking into the penthouse certainly left me in a foul mood, but mentioning the Nephilim had me seeing red. I wanted nothing more than to see Malakai’s face hanging off of him in strips.
Or scorched all the way to his spine.
Just the thought had my magic swirling beneath my skin, humming with the same eagerness to rip this bastard apart.
Malakai scoffed at me, jerking his chin higher. “You should’ve just taken the bait, sire. None of this would have been necessary if you’d just accepted the offer and gone off to do a little gambling of your own. That’s no matter. I’ve always wanted to bring down the fuckers who are so content to serve your every need. Then we’ll really see if you’re fit to rule all demon kind without puppets to heed your every call!”
I trained my eyes on him, running my tongue along the tips of my fangs. Sharp waves of pain shot down my spine as it resulted in very thin lines being left behind, yet the sensation helped clear the lingering haze caused by the flash grenade. That simply freed up more room for the rage coursing from the depths of my soul.
Not only had the Nephilim deemed it necessary to take one of Archer’s men, but he had even gone as far as to take my right hand. Now his own soldiers had been sent to pierce my temporary humble abode? I was ready to send both of their heads back to New Orleans, the box complete with a goddamn bow.
