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Sammael doesn’t seem to know, either.
Chains clinking as he moves so that he’s standing in front of me, forever protecting me, he says softly, “Your grace?”
“I’ve lived a long time,” Duke Haures begins. “Longer than nearly every other demon on this plane. I know what it’s like to be lonely, and to feel the relief when my one true mate is within my claws. But there are those who want what they believe is owed to them so desperately that they forget to see what’s right in front of them.”
His glowing blue gaze slides to the side. Standing next to the red-eyed shadow monster who seems to behershadow is the same pretty brunette human woman who burst into the throne room earlier.
I finally know who she must be.
Su… she has to be Susanna Benoit, the first name scrawled in cursive on the inside of theGrimoire du Sombra.
Duke Haures’s mate who went and retrieved an ashbalm flower of her own—but she’s still here. Obviously She found the flower and, whatever happened after that, chose to keep her bond instead of letting the magic in the ashbalm sever it.
Well, I can do the same thing, can’t I?
Duke Haures’s monstrous features soften as he looks as his mate, and I get the vibe that the story of their mating is probably even more complicated than mine and Sammael’s. Even so, she’s still here.
With all of us watching, she blows him a kiss. Around his fangs, the duke smiles.
He actuallysmiles.
It’s gone by the time he turns back to face the rest of us. I know what I saw, though, and I’m feeling a million times better than I did a few seconds before as he clears his throat before shifting in his throne so that he can address my mate.
“You would never let go of your bond, Sammael,” Duke Haures announces, surprising absolutely no one with his statement. “Your mate has proven that she has no intentions to, either. The gods have chosen well for the both of you. Who am I to stand in the way of such a pairing? The ruler of Sombra, yes, but you… you won’t be returning to Sombra for quite some time, will you?”
I suck in a breath. If Sammael says that he wants to stay… I don’t know what I’ll do. After meeting Kennedy in Nuit—and Susanna in Mavro—I know there are at least two human women who live in Sombra among the demons and demonesses. They seem happy enough, but I… I can’t do that.
I love my job. The idea of never seeing Johanna or her kids again? They’d never forgive me if I just up and disappeared, and it’s not like I can explain where I’d be.
Kyle and Courtney are seven. They still believe in things like magic, but that doesn’t mean they want Auntie Hope vanishing into another realm. I can’t even fathom the idea of missing out on watching them grow up. I tease Jo about her driving all of the time and ask her what it will be like when the twins are old enough to get their license. I want to see that. I want to see all of it.
But I want Sammael, too.
Call me selfish, but Shannon made me think that I could have both…
Sammael locks on me, easing my nerves with barely a glance—and what he says next. “No, your grace. I will not… so long as you allow it.”
“Me?” Duke Haures shakes his head. “You should be asking your mate if she’ll allow you to return with her to her realm, not me, Sammael.”
My mate still hasn’t looked away from me. With that same expression he wore when he pushed his way inside of me that first time—a mixture of wonder, worry, and a desperate need to do this right—he murmurs my name.
That’s enough for me.
“Yes. Of course you can!”
I finally give in to the urge to throw myself at him. I nearly trip over the chains in front of him, closing the small gap between us. Luckily, there’s enough length between the cuffs on his wrists that he can open his arms wide enough to accept my trembling body within their grasp.
The chains jangle as he lifts his hand, running his claws through my hair. “I will be the best male for you, my mate,” he murmurs. “I vow it.”
I believe him.
“Let’s go home,” I whisper back, speaking against his chest. Before the duke changes his mind… “I wanna go home.”
Damn demon senses. I whispered, but Duke Haures still heard me, didn’t he?
He clears his throat. The sounds reminds me of the old garbage disposal from my childhood home. “Sammael. Approach the throne.”
I squeeze whatever part of him I can reach, not wanting to let go, but knowing I have no choice. Swallowing the sudden lump in my throat, I start to pull away from him.
