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“The bottom feeders, that’s who’ll be waiting in line. The blood demons, the soul suckers . . . they’d all pay Seth whatever he wants for the chance to sink their cocks inside the betrayer. The bitch eagle shifter who brought the mighty Azaiel to his knees.”
He was in her face now, the gun pointed directly between her eyes. “I will do this, Toniella. Do not sound the alarm, or I will rip your head off. I’ve been waiting millennium to destroy you, so don’t give me the excuse I’ve been looking for.”
Gone was the blank, empty void. He was filled with hatred. This woman had damned him as much as he’d damned himself.
“What do you want?” she asked carefully, her wide eyes never leaving the gun that was inches from her face.
“We need to get into the treasury.”
“The treasury? But how . . . I can’t get you inside. Are you crazy?” Anger underlined her words, and she pushed away from him. “Don’t toy with me, Azaiel.”
“I’m assuming that Lintos the keeper is still one of your weekly fucks.” She flinched, and for a second, he thought he caught a glimpse of pain. It was gone just as fast, and Azaiel ignored it. What did he care? “Go to him and get the key.”
“It doesn’t work like that.”
His expression was fierce as he returned her stare. “Make it work.”
Toniella turned to Kellen. “Who are you?”
Kellen saluted her with his own modified Glock. “I’m the backup in case he misses.”
Her eyes narrowed. “I see.” She glared at him for several seconds. “You’re not human, but I don’t sense otherworld in your skin either.” Her brow furled. “What are you?”
“What I am is none of your business.” Kellen pointed toward the door. “I suggest you listen to Azaiel. Time’s a-wasting, and we’ve got a party topside to get back to.”
Toniella swore, a savage blending of Aztec and ancient speak, but turned and padded across the cool, marble tiles, with the two men following close behind.
They moved down the silent corridors—corridors that were much too silent—and Azaiel paused, his hand stopping Toniella from progressing.
“Why is it so quiet? If you’ve thoughts of leading us into a trap, know that I will follow through on my promise.”
She cocked her head to the side though she was careful to keep her voice lowered. “It’s your luck that Seth isn’t in residence at the moment. I’m sure if he were, he’d have sniffed you out long before you reached my rooms.” She shrugged and yanked her arm from his. “Several days ago, someone escaped District Three with Lilith’s new pets in tow, human children from what I heard. Seth was called to Lucifer’s for questioning. Everyone knows how much Seth despises Lilith, and most suspect he had something to do with it.”
Azaiel smiled at that. Declan O’Hara and Ana DeLacrux had done the deed, and though he wasn’t privy to the details, Azaiel wouldn’t put it past Seth to help the sorcerer achieve that goal. Being called to Lucifer’s court was a small price to pay. He and the dark prince shared a history not many understood, and it was rare that Seth the golden felt Lucifer’s wrath.
Still, it was no reason to treat this situation lightly—Seth’s security was always top-notch, with the only fault being sheer arrogance. And this was something shared by most of the upper-echelon demons. They ruled with an iron fist and were not challenged by the bottom scum of the underworld.
The last to take from Seth had been Lilith, and that had been centuries earlier.
Azaiel was aware that because they’d arrived at eventide, it was quieter than usual, but as they trekked farther into the compound, the band of tension inside his chest tightened, so that he found it hard to breathe.
They reached Lintos’s quarters, and Azaiel nailed Toniella with a glacial stare. His fingers dug into her forearm as he glared into her eyes. “You will do this for me and not raise the alarm. Understand? If things go badly, do not doubt I will hunt you down and hurt you like you’ve never been hurt before. I will poison and destroy the beauty you worship, and the pain will linger inside and ruin you.” He saw fear in her eyes, but it gave him no pleasure. He wanted to be away from the darkness. From the sulfur and heat. “Do what you must for the key.”
She swallowed and exhaled. “Take your hand off me.”
Azaiel stepped back, and Toniella disappeared inside the rooms while he and Kellen melted into the shadows that swept along the corridor. Two guards passed, and they made quick work of them, a knife across the throat, a dagger through the heart. They dragged the bodies behind a set of tall planters that were home to palm trees. They’d rise soon enough; Azaiel just hoped he’d be long gone by the time that happened.
They waited in silence though somewhere in the distance a harp played, accompanied by a voice filled with melancholy. “So.” Kellen cleared his throat some. “What did you do to get your ass tossed down here?”
He was wondering when the man would ask. He shrugged and peered through the shadows. “I gave in to weakness. In to pleasure. And I sacrificed all that I believe in for an illusion. For the betrayer.”
Kellen frowned. “What are you? Shakespeare? Say what you mean.”
Azaiel looked away, unsettled with his frankness. “I created something powerful for her. Something that could have ripped the realms apart and bled them into one. I broke every vow that I knew as Seraphim.”
“Sounds to me like you used her as much as she used you.”
The cold fist turned hard inside his chest once more and left Azaiel empty. He ignored Kellen and returned his gaze to the door that Toniella had walked through twenty minutes earlier. It hit him then. The thoughts he’d avoided. The whispers of regret.
