Az must have heard my thought.
And it must have pissed him off.
I just wasn’t sure why.
But his now-purple eyes raged with fury as he moved toward me, his shadow stretching up the wall beside us. I gulped as that shadow developed ominous wings that spread out to stroke the writhing vines along the palace exterior.
Az might be in his fae form. But his Phoenix was clearly present, too.
“I am not apet,” he told me, then lifted up the document that he had clenched in his fist. “I don’t know what game you and Melek are playing, butthisis Typhos’s very first deal. You might not know what it is, but Melek sure as fuck does.”
I blinked. “I…” I’d chosen that page at random. It’d been in the pile on the floor. I wasn’t even sure what it said.
“This deal was the first of many that Typhos made with Vivaxia, my formerowner. This one, specifically, made it so I’d never be anyone’spetever again.”
That shut me up.
My gaze dropped to the document, but the page was too crinkled for me to read. Not that it mattered. I couldseethe vision of the deal in Az’s mind, his walls either nonexistent or temporarily dismantled.
Because he was showing me a vivid image of Lucifer penning the deal.
The blood, I realized.It’s Lucifer’s signature.
And in this case, the bloodied text beside it was the signature of another powerful magic-wielder.Vivaxia.
The first deal of many,I thought, repeating Az’s words.
This was Lucifer’s very first deal, and it had been to free Az.
Az’s anger faded into hurt as silence stretched out between us. His Phoenix keened in the back of my mind as if the memory I was forcing him to rip open was an ache that would never heal.
I… I didn’t want to hurt him. Either of them.
“Do you want to talk about it?” I asked by means of an apology as I rested a hand on his, my heart suddenly in my throat.
Clearly, I was missing an important part of Az and Lucifer’s history. Which wasn’t unexpected. They had millennia of experience together. And Az hadn’t provided me with a lot of stories regarding their past.
Melek had shared a bit during my tour of the palace.
But other than that, I really didn’t know Lucifer outside of his dislike for me.
Az’s dark eyes fluctuated between black and purple as if he was trying to give the Phoenix back control.
As if he was trying to run.
But he didn’t ash into a feathery beast. He didn’t fly away like the emotions in our linked bond told me he wanted to do.
His debate also gave me insight into what he meant about his Phoenix sharing the reins rather than holding them.They’re fully bonded,I marveled.
Mating me and Ajax had essentially married Az to his beast. They’d always been one, but finding the missing pieces of his soul had strengthened his animal’s spirit. It had also cured some sort of ache inside, one that had put them on opposite ends.
However, now they walked the same path.
Az couldn’t give his beast full control,I realized.Even if he wanted to.
But he’d tried—for Ajax. For me. Forus.
I could see it all there, splayed out in his mind, the truth mine for the taking.
