Page 38 of Indecent

“He’s gonna burn the building down!” someone shouted.

“Danny!” Nicolas shouted, held back by Ashmedai.

Draego stepped in his line of sight, unconcerned by the flames. “Daniel, take a breath,” he said calmly. “Douse the fire.”

That wasn’t helpful at all. He didn’t know how. He squeezed his eyes shut, clenching his fists hard. The flames climbed higher as his frustration mounted. He didn’t know what to do. His breaths heaved in and out of him as panic clawed up his throat.

Maybe he’d made a mistake. Maybe he couldn’t do this after all. It was one thing to become a halfling, but this? How could he control this? What if he let Lucifer turn him into a monster? Rage encroached on the panic choking him. If Lucifer did this to torture him, he would go back down there and hunt him down. He would burn him to ash. He would⁠—

Hands cradled his face, and his eyes popped open. Chaol smiled at him like they weren’t surrounded by fire. He didn’t flinch away, like the heat didn’t bother him at all. It danced in the darkness of his eyes, reflecting like pools of ink, and Daniel reached for him, wrapping his arms around Chaol’s slender waist and sealing their mouths together. His eyes slipped shut again as Chaol’s tongue pressed past his lips, kissing him until the world beyond his eyelids went dark.

“There,” Chaol said when they parted. “No more fire.”

Daniel opened his eyes and sighed in relief. “Thank you.” He tugged Chaol’s hands away from his face, needing to make sure he hadn’t burned him. “I didn’t hurt you?”

Chaol shook his head, letting Daniel turn his hands this way and that.

“Hellfire is a tricky thing,” Draego said. “It didn’t burn your clothing off, either, and yet it’s the hottest flame in the natural or supernatural world.”

“How is that possible?” Daniel asked.

Draego shrugged. “It obeys us. It doesn’t obey the laws of physics. You didn’t want it to hurt him, so it didn’t.”

Daniel scowled. “I didn’t want it to hurt my brother, either.” He looked over at Nicolas, still cradled in Ashmedai’s arms. His eyes were wide, and his brows furrowed when their eyes met. “Are you okay? Did I hurt you?”

“Just a quick singe,” Nicolas said, rubbing his fingers together. “You got really hot to the touch right before it all exploded. No harm done. I was already moving away when Ashmedai grabbed me.”

Daniel sagged. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to. I don’t know how to control it.” He’d walked through Hell to get back here, and now he was the one putting people in danger.

Draego said, “Like I said, it’s tricky. You let your emotions get the better of you, and it reacted. That’s why I said to take a breath. Calming yourself calms the fire.”

Nicolas asked, “I thought human souls turned into halflings. How can he control hellfire?”

Daniel blew out a breath. “That’s a long story.”

“Come and sit, then,” Talon said, gesturing to the sofa. “We’ll grab you a drink. I think this is something we’ll all want to hear.”

Chaol’s hand smoothed down his back. “You up for it?”

Daniel nodded. He was tired, but they needed to know what was coming.

Chapter 13

Chaol

As everyone crowded around the meeting area to listen to Daniel’s story, Chaol hung back, realizing he’d made an error in judgment. He should have told Daniel the truth before now. He’d given Daniel part of the truth, but not all of it. Things had gotten so hectic down in Hell that he hadn’t stopped to consider what would happen once they reached the surface. Now, his heart sank into his gut, because he knew—he knew—these were the demons responsible for killing Amon, and there wasn’t a damn thing he could do about it without jeopardizing everything he and Daniel were together. His heart was torn between fury and despair. Was his allegiance still to the last of his clan, or to Daniel? How was he supposed to decide?

His body shook with adrenaline, ready to attack at a moment’s notice, but he held himself in check. Daniel wouldn’t like it, and none of these people would let him get away with attacking one of their own. Even if he could take two leviathans at the same time, which would be difficult, there was no way he could also take the behemoth and the sin eater they called allies. He didn’t even know if the behemoth and sin eater had been involved in Amon’s death. He was strong, but not that strong.

Daniel didn’t know Amon was his brother. He didn’t know his allies had killed the last member of Chaol’s clan. That was Chaol’s fault, and now he was standing in a room with the people who had done it. He’d thought he’d known how this moment would go. He would hunt them down. They would fight, and just before he killed them, he would tell them exactly why he was killing them. But instead he was hesitating. Daniel wouldn’t like it, and down in Hell, Daniel had become his priority.

He lingered apart from everyone else for long enough that Daniel turned, seeking him out, and Talon followed his gaze, tilting his head at whatever he saw on Chaol’s face.

“We know the harbinger,” he said, pointing to Draego, who studied them all silently, “given that up until now there was only one. Who’s this?”

“That’s Chaol,” Daniel said, a slow frown furrowing his brow. “He helped me get through Hell.”

“A kalmach,” Talon said, “helped you out of the goodness of his… heart?” He looked skeptical, and Chaol stiffened.