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For now, there was absolutely no point with dwelling on what I couldn’t control. I seized the collar around Quinn’s neck and willed the metal to part, allowing me to hoist her up into my arms. I pushed past Nico, carrying her into my own personal bathroom. My mind had gone from a cluster of thoughts to absolutely nothing as I eased her into the claw tub. I maneuvered her so that she wouldn’t slip while I turned the water.
“Archer wouldn’t let them go, boss.” Nico’s voice came from behind me.
I turned my head slightly while the water started filling the tub. “I know.” My voice was soft. “It is not in Archer’s nature to lose a target. I need to find out how this happened before Marcillo tries to use the good shipment of guns that he does have.”
I had to get a firm grip on this situation before the carpet was snapped out from beneath me and I lost this war before it had even started.
I only lingered in the bathroom long enough to add a touch of soap that would essentially help clean the hybrid’s body while she soaked in the water. The magic humming within the thick walls would simply ensure she didn’t sink under before she regained consciousness and it would even help chase away some of the lingering pain from our rough lovemaking.
The twitch of Nico’s eyebrow warned that I was going further for this delicate little creature than I had with any of the pets I’d obtained in the past. The demon lord wisely kept his mouth shut, especially when I sent a soft snarl in his direction. He didn’t break the tense silence until I stormed out of the bathroom, leaving him to follow in tow and tug the door shut behind him. “I’ve gotten a hold of Archer. He’ll be here shortly.”
There were so many emotions brewing beneath the surface that I was shaking from trying to contain them all. If anything else was tossed onto the pile, I risked losing control over the beast within me completely. It wasn’t a situation that I often found myself in, but today was a day that simply exceeded what I was used to.
I made a beeline for the bar tucked into the corner and searched the wine bottles to find something specific from my days as a child. I didn’t respond until I’d managed to find the faded label that I had been looking for. “Want some?” I inquired softly, pulling two delicate glasses down automatically.
Nico offered a small nod while he watched me pop the cork open and fill the glasses halfway. His eyebrows furrowed even more as he watched me go through the motions with jagged movements. “I am aware that this is bothering you, Asher, but you have not touched that specific wine since your mother’s funeral.” He approached the bar with slow, cautious steps while I immediately downed my own glass. “The migaria wine is reserved for someone’s passing.”
“I’m aware of what the wine is meant for in my own family, Nico.” I slammed the glass back onto the bar and immediately refilled it, this time bringing it almost all the way to the rim.
The demon lord reached out. Instead of accepting the glass that I had poured for him, he took the wine bottle instead. “So whose death are you mourning? Because as we all know, your father is still alive and well. Even if he’s become a secluded hermit in the passing centuries. Is it your death you’re preparing for?” He jammed the cork back into the mouth of the bottle.
It was a valid question and not one that I had an answer to. I released a noise merged between a stifled sigh and an annoyed growl. I consumed half of the alcohol within the glass before I finally put it back down on the bar. It took me a moment to even realize that Nico was shifting his body. By the time I caught on, he’d already snatched the glass out of my reach. “What the hell is wrong with you?” I hissed.
“I could ask you the same.” Nico added the glass to the end of the bar, well out of my reach. “Answer my question and I might return it to you.”
Scowling, I simply settled for the abandoned glass that the demon lord had never touched. I was in no mood to comply with such an unreasonable request.
The demon lord seemed to sense that. He simply lifted his chin and scoffed softly. “We’ve known each other for a very long time, Asher. Our families have grown up together. While we were learning the ways of our own bloodline, our fathers dined together. I know how you behave when you’re struggling to maintain a grip on everything around you. The mere fact that you’re drinking this goddamn wine just goes to show how much you’re slipping.” He cocked his head slightly. “This is not a time to show weakness.”
I tightened my grip on the glass until the material cracked under the pressure. When it shattered and the shards sliced into my skin, I jerked back with a livid hiss. “I’m not slipping.” I snarled at him as I reached under the bar to retrieve a clean rag. While I wrapped the rough material around my hand to keep the blood from staining the bar, I avoided making eye contact with him.
“You put your new pet in the bath.” Nico’s tone was just as icy as it was flat.
“So?”
The demon lord leaned against the bar, his crimson eyes honing in on me. “You’ve taken just as many pets as the rest of us, from every race that has walked the earth. Not a single one of them were treated this way. You didn’t give a damn about the rest of them. Aside from this one being a partial succubus, what else has you hung up on her?”
Gritting my teeth, I focused on tightening the rag around the wound while my mind reeled from all the questions he’d thrown my way. I couldn’t argue with a single one. It was true that this pet was vastly different from the others, even if I couldn’t quite figure out why. Nico had tried giving me an out by simply eliminating Quinn. The fact that I couldn’t allow it added to the growing weakness that originated from her.
How could I win this impending war when the angels had one hell of a target they could use against me?
I released a soft groan, closing my eyes. “There’s something different about her, Nico. From the moment I saw her, I had to own her. She’s becoming an addiction that I can’t control. There’s only one thing it might be, and…”
The demon lord remained quiet for a moment. When I didn’t make a move to break the sudden silence, he prompted, “And?”
“And we’re a thousand years too late for that,” I finished with a scowl.
He drew his head back slightly, stunned by what I was even suggesting.
Quiet knocking from the front door drew both of our gazes in that direction. My fingers instinctively curled, pushing the rough material further into the cuts. As much as the physical contact stung, I couldn’t bring myself to relax my hold.
Nico threw a quick glance at me. “We’re not done with this conversation,” he warned. With a deep growl, he drifted toward the front of the house to let in our guest.
My upper lip curled to expose my demonic fangs, although my snarl died long before the noise could rumble within my chest. I remained perched against the bar until the demon lord returned with Archer in tow. My eyes swung his way, causing Archer to stiffen. “What happened?”
My voice was so soft that it took both of the demons off guard. Clearly, they had expected for my temper to spiral out of control until one of them ended up on the floor, bleeding.
Archer shared a weary look with Nico, who only shrugged in return. A heavy sigh escaped him and those amethyst eyes rested on me. “I don’t know, Asher. My men had the hotel completely surrounded. Every exit was covered and I had cameras installed on every floor. Marcillo never walked out of that hotel. I had him on camera until an hour ago.”
