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“No,” she said, her tone sharpening. “Why the hell do you wanna know about my necklace?” She snatched the stone from my hand, stuffing it back beneath her shirt.

Ignoring her outburst, I asked her the question that remained at the forefront of my mind. “Why do you keep it hidden beneath your shirt if you know nothing about it?”

“So I don’t accidentally break it.” Her gaze slid to the side, her hands clenching at her sides.

I returned my hand to the wall. “Now, Raelynn,” I said, keeping my voice steady and indifferent. “I recall your disdain for liars. Yet you would stand here and lie to my face?”

She glared at me. “I’m not lying.”

“Your scent changed.”

She squinted, confusion crossing her face.

I understood her natural perfume altered without warning when her moods changed. Given her hatred of liars, her inability to deceive wasn’t unexpected. Her unstable emotions and sour scent betrayed her.

“My scent?”

It seemed Ash and Zeke refrained from sharing our discovery with her. I could use that to my advantage and unbalance her.

I lowered my head, bringing my nose to her throat, hovering over the bruise on her neck. “Yes, your scent.” Her intoxicating fruity-floral perfume filled my lungs. “I know when you lie. When you feel strongly. Even when you’re aroused.”

I dragged my nose across her throat.

A faint whimper slipped past her lips.

I fisted my hand against the wall, calling on the self-control I’d honed over the years. I wouldn’t let this human hook me in her snare.

“I’m not lying,” she said, voice breaking. “Or a-aroused.”

The artery on the side of her neck fluttered like the wings of a butterfly. Her words didn’t tell the whole story.

I waited.

When the silence of the room proved too much for her, she mumbled, “Not entirely, at least.”

My low chuckle rumbled closer to a growl than amusement. I wondered which statement she amended. “Tell me,” I said. “The entire truth.”

“It’s true I don’t wanna break it and lose the stone Mom gave me,” she said, irritation lacing her every word. “But…”

“But?” I breathed across her neck and listened to her swallow.

“But there was one time I noticed an infernal staring at it. I didn’t want them to take it, so now I keep it hidden.”

I hummed against her throat, not allowing my lips to touch her skin. “Good girl.” The corner of my mouth curled up at the hitch in her breath. Another reaction I hadn’t expected.

Only Shyrlivi royalty could legally possess Zhyfri crystals in the infernal plane. The crystal meant access. Power. Something that shouldn’t exist on Earth. It made sense the stone would attract the attention of lesser infernals.

I needed to understand why her mother possessed such an important treasure.

Her gaze darted to the door.

I raised my head, looking down at her. “Looking for someone to save you?”

“What?” She looked up at me, no longer fearful, but apprehension stiffened her body.

“Do you believe my brothers could stop me?”

Her chin lifted, defying common sense yet again in the face of a predator. “Stop you from what?”