by Cassie Ryan
A quick gasp from Jezebeth reminded Levi that his relationship with Caldriel wasn’t commonly known. If they survived this, there would be fallout from that. But that was a worry for another time.
“Obediah—” Caldriel began.
“Welcome to the party, Levi, and thank you for bringing me another of the four.” The smooth voice sent icy fingers of dread racing down Levi’s spine and out of his peripheral vision he saw Jezebeth-Uriel stiffen.
“Semiazas.” Uriel’s voice with Jezebeth’s now familiar inflections struck Levi as odd, but all he wanted at this moment was to run to Amalya’s side and spirit her back to safety. Instead, he turned so he could keep everyone in sight.
Semiazas’s appearance surprised him. He supposed he’d expected someone more . . . sinister. Instead, he was dressed in a Renaissance gentlemen’s riding costume, and the only clue to his true identity the shrewd icy expression in his blue eyes.
“Isn’t this cozy,” the demon said as he sauntered forward. “I like you much better in your own form, Jezebeth. Uriel’s never been quite my type.”
Jezebeth stepped away, keeping distance between them, her fearsome Uriel form still managing to look vulnerable in the face of the demon she’d hidden from for seven centuries.
“Ashford,” Semiazas said, using the name of his dukedom, as was common among English peers. “You do realize there’s a bounty on Jezebeth’s head here, don’t you? I’ll be happy to pay it to you. Anything in particular you’d like? Your mother has already earned the one for Amalya.”
Levi’s anger burned and he tightened his grip on the dagger in his hand. He could clearly imagine plunging it deep into both Semiazas’s heart and then Caldriel’s. But those actions wouldn’t save Amalya or Jezebeth.
Energy runs through all things. Like calls like.
Uriel’s cryptic words echoed through Levi’s mind, and as their meaning finally became clear, he allowed a smile to curve his lips. He placed the blade of the dagger in his right hand and ignoring the pain, he closed his right fingers around it, welcoming the stinging bite of the sharp blade as it sank into his skin.
He pulled the dagger free, slicing deep until he could smell his own blood thick and heady.
Caldriel’s slow smile confused him and made him doubt for a split second, but a quick glance at Amalya decided his actions. Levi took a deep breath and yelled at the top of his lungs, “By your blood that runs through our veins, I summon you.”
Nothing happened for a long pregnant pause and Semiazas began to laugh. “I’d say you’re on your own, Ashford. Apparently, your blood isn’t worth all that much.”
Jezebeth met his gaze and held up a hand as she pointedly looked at his dagger. He had more, so he tossed her the one in his hand, which she caught easily despite his awkward left-handed toss. Just as she adopted a fighting stance and faced Semiazas’s amused expression, the familiar static electricity that heralded the onset of the summoning crackled through the room raising all the hairs on Levi’s body and sending energy swirling through the room in a breath-stealing rush much more intense than it had been the last time.
An earsplitting boom crashed through the room as Raphael appeared wearing his black leathers, his face a mask of anger and retribution as he turned in a slow circle taking in the entire scene.
“You’ve no right to interfere here, Raphael,” Semiazas’s voice boomed through the room. “I’m not to interfere with the succubus, but I have blood debts owed to me from everyone in this room except you and one other.”
Semiazas sneered. “I noticed you’d shared a bit of yourself with Amalya. That will only make her a better plaything for me.” He shrugged. “Faster healing, more endurance, and more of an energy burst each time I drain her.”
“My blood debts take precedence over your revenge, and I’ll fight for those in this room who owe me. You’ll have to wait for another time.”
“Choose your battles wisely, Raphael. The only reason I let all of you live last time we met was nostalgia for Gabriel.”
Raphael laughed as he reached out to pull Jezebeth behind him. A very odd scene since she was still in Uriel’s large form. “Nostalgia had very little to do with it as both you and I know.”
Semiazas slowly smiled, the expression sending dread curling through Levi. “Kill her.”
Caldriel nodded and met Levi’s gaze for a long moment.
Levi could kill her but not before she plunged the switchblade through Amalya’s heart.
“Mother, no. Please.” His voice was pleading.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered as she lifted the long silver blade and quickly sliced open her own throat.
It took a long few seconds for Levi’s mind to make sense of what he saw, and when he finally did he rushed forward catching his mother’s light form as she crumpled to the ground.
23
“No!” As Caldriel crumpled and Levi caught her limp form, Amalya found the strength to push herself up to sit. She’d finally figured out what benefit all of Raphael’s blood had afforded her. Semiazas had drained nearly half her blood, torturing her for nearly an hour, but she continued to heal. She was low on energy, but even now she knew she shouldn’t be able to sit up, let alone speak.
Everyone in the room seemed to freeze as they realized who had spoken.
“I really must thank you for your gift to the succubus, Raphael,” Semiazas growled. “As I said, it will make her much more interesting for the next million years or so until I get tired of her.”
“No.” Amalya slowly pushed to a stand, pulling her dress closed to cover her bare breasts.
“No?” Semiazas laughed. “My dear, what can you do about it?”
Raphael held up a hand. “I call for a judgment of blood debts.”
Semiazas stilled. Lucifer would preside if he agreed to the judgment, and he was trying to stay under the radar since he’d technically escaped. Normally having Lucifer preside wouldn’t guarantee a fair hearing, but with current circumstances being what they were, Semiazas might not be so willing to bet on that.
“If I agree to let you use the argument of blood debts owed, you won’t be able to use it again. The next time we meet, everything will go to me.”
Raphael smiled. “I agree that once used, the blood debts can’t be reused. However, that doesn’t mean our next meeting will go in your favor, Semiazas. I won’t give up without a fight, and neither will you. It will be up to our Father to decide.”
Semiazas snorted. “Our Father. He would have to be paying attention for that to happen.” He gestured with a flourish. “Take those who owe you a blood debt and go. Leave the rest for me.”
Amalya stared across the room at her sister and wondered who would be the last person in the room when they were gone.
Raphael smiled and waved as everyone except for Semiazas and the elderly butler hiding in the corner disappeared.
As soon as the group rematerialized in the large receiving cavern in Lilith’s lair, Levi looked around to get his bearings. The entire cavern was in chaos, their small group scattering faster than Levi could find them.
He glanced behind him to find Raphael gently holding Caldriel in his arms. She was pale, but the deep wound in her throat was no more than a healed red line now.
Levi wasn’t sure about the blood debt his mother owed to Raphael, but her life was forfeit for what she’d done to Amalya.
“She didn’t summon Semiazas.”
“Excuse me?” Levi heard Raphael’s words, but they wouldn’t make sense inside his brain. “I saw her standing over Amalya back in the ballroom.”
“One of the guards called Semiazas when he recognized Amalya. Your mother was trying to protect Amalya and had tried to summon me several times, but since she and I share no blood ties, she couldn’t invoke a strong enough summons. It’s extremely difficult for demons to summon any type of angel, let alone an Archangel.”
A large hand squeezed Levi’s heart until he thought it would explode out of his chest. “Sh
e didn’t . . .” He couldn’t bring himself to say the words.
“No. Despite everything, she loves you and wants you to be happy. She knew if she didn’t follow Semiazas’s directive, she would be tortured for eternity, but if she did, you would hate her. So she chose to take herself out of the equation.”
“She’s dead?” Levi’s gut knotted at the thought. He’d assumed even after that horrific injury that Raphael wouldn’t have wasted time healing a dead woman. Was this really just her human host’s shell that Raphael held?
“She’s very weak. But alive.”
Levi laughed as relief washed through him. “Stubborn, resilient wench.” He laid a hand on Raphael’s shoulder. “Thank you.”
Raphael smiled. “I’ll let her know to come and see you when things are sorted out?”
Levi nodded, grateful that he’d get another chance to speak with his mother. Another chance he’d make sure neither of them wasted.
“The queen wishes to see you at once.”
Levi turned to find an incubus several inches shorter than himself dressed in the male version of an I Dream of Jeannie outfit.
Levi hadn’t expected any different. Lilith had let him go after Amalya, thus living up to her side of their bargain. Now it was his turn.
Hopefully whatever Lilith required of him wouldn’t require him to never see Amalya again.
Amalya was almost entirely healed by the time Raphael brought them all back to Lilith’s lair. She wasn’t used to Raphael’s potent blood pumping through her veins, but she couldn’t deny she appreciated the benefits.
She turned to find Levi, craning her neck to see over the milling crowd that had gathered in the main cavern at the news of their return. She and Levi had a lot to discuss and she refused to wait until something else could happen to stop her.
“Lilith wanted him taken straight to her.”
Amalya whirled to find Jezebeth standing behind her with a frown. “He made a very open-ended deal with her to be able to come after you.”
“He what?” Something like panic squeezed Amalya’s heart as she stared at her sister. “What was the deal?”
“Lilith told him he could go after you for a price to be named later, and he agreed.”
The implications of such a deal froze all Amalya’s blood to an icy sludge inside her veins. “No!” Amalya pulled away from her sister’s concerned grip and ran down the hall toward Lilith’s rooms. She had to stop this somehow, even if she had to offer herself in his stead.
Lilith already owned Amalya, but in the supernatural world there were always deals to be made.
When she reached the queen’s rooms, she resisted the urge to pound on the door. Pissing off the queen wouldn’t help her cause. Instead, she knocked and tried to slow her breathing while she waited for permission to enter.
When Lilith’s soft invite finally came, Amalya forced herself to slowly turn the knob and open the door rather than slam it open.
Levi stood before the queen, his bearing regal and proud even in the still-disheveled and blood-covered clothes. He turned when she entered, his hungry expression raking over her as if to ensure she was all right.
“My queen, I seek an urgent audience.” Amalya bowed and waited for Lilith to acknowledge her further.
“Rise and come forward.”
Amalya breathed a sigh of relief and walked forward to face her queen.
Lilith lounged back more comfortably in her chair, her bare feet peeking out from under her long, flowing dress. “You seek an audience to what end? To save this man from his promise that he used to save you and bring you back?”
Amalya wanted to bristle at the unfairness of the deal, or find some loophole that would set Levi free, but she didn’t see one. The deal had been for Levi to be able to come after her for a price to be named later. Lilith had fulfilled her part of the bargain and would now require Levi to fulfill his. “Yes,” she said anyway. “My queen, I wish to purchase the cost of his payment with whatever you would require of me for such a concession.”
Lilith raised her brows. “You love this man?”
Amalya hesitated. Admitting such a thing in front of Lilith was tantamount to admitting an indiscretion. But at the same time, Amalya’s willingness to offer anything needed to relieve Levi of this debt he’d taken on for her did require some explanation. Besides, Lilith wasn’t stupid. The queen tended to know much more than she let on, which was one of the reasons she and her kind had prospered as well as they had within the supernatural realm.
Amalya glanced at Levi and Caldriel’s words rang through her mind.
I should’ve told him while I had the chance.
Amalya held Levi’s worried dark gaze and forced a small smile. “Despite all my better judgment, I do, my lady.”
Levi’s expression of concern faltered as surprise flashed across his face, quickly hidden behind a mask of nonchalance. He dropped his gaze and turned to face Lilith. “This payment is mine and mine alone, my queen. I took the deal and I’ll pay the consequences. Amalya had no part in this, so should have no say in its payment.”
“Damn it,” she snapped at the man’s high-handed dismissal of her. She’d just told him she loved him and he couldn’t even speak directly to her. She winced as she realized she’d cussed in front of the queen. “My apologies, my lady. This man makes me crazy. He only took on that debt because of my stupid decision to leave. The least he can do is let me pay it.”
“Amalya, be quiet,” Levi warned, “and let me handle this.”
His condescending tone fed all the fear and anger she’d endured over the past several days and she rounded on him as the dam holding back her anger broke. “The hell I will.” She stepped forward and poked her finger into his chest. “I’ve put up with your condescending, chauvinistic bullshit quite long enough. I’m a fully grown woman, Your fucking Grace,” she said stealing one of Jethro’s expressions. “And I expect to be treated as such. If we’re comparing life spans and experience, you’re a toddler compared to me, so stop treating me like I don’t know anything. I know that despite my better judgment I’ve gone and fallen in love with you, and God help me, I won’t stand by and see you ruin your life because you tried to save me from my own stupidity.”
“You daft woman. Don’t you realize I wouldn’t have done this for you in the first place if I didn’t love you as well? I can’t live with myself unless I know you’re safe and happy.”
Amalya stumbled back as if he’d slapped her. Levi loved her too? She’d never expected him to return her feelings. And judging from the shock still frozen on his handsome features, he hadn’t expected to tell her in such a way. “What did you say?”
The queen cleared her throat, which had the effect of a cold bucket of water being tossed in Amalya’s face. Heat burned into her cheeks as she realized the scene they’d both just created in front of the queen.
“I can see there are some issues the two of you would still like to discuss. However, I have other things to attend to today. Levi, your payment to me has been purchased by Uriel. He requires your services and assistance, and in light of recent developments with the journals and horsemen, I would like to extend your protection of Amalya indefinitely. Uriel has agreed to that stipulation.”
The information was delivered as an edict and not a question. Levi owed the debt to Lilith, which allowed her to set the terms as she liked. The fact that there was still ambiguity within the terms did nothing to dampen the initial relief Amalya felt, but she remained cautious. “My queen?”
“I suggest you two return to your quarters and rest and recover. Levi, when Uriel summons you, Amalya will accompany you. You are responsible for her continued safety. Any other . . . attachments . . . will be discussed when the current situation plays out.” Lilith rose and turned her back on them.
Thus dismissed, Amalya found herself preceding Levi out of Lilith’s rooms in silence as she slowly tried to digest all the possible nuances of what they’d been told.
“Amalya . . .” Levi began, not willing to waste another second without talking to her and telling her everything he’d realized.
“Not here.” She grabbed his hand and half dragged him down the hall toward her rooms.
He bristled at the delay, but since their “attachment” still hadn’t been officially approved, he knew they had to continue to publicly act the part of protector and protected. Anything else would require somewhere more private.
When she made it to her room, Levi reached around her to open the door for her, but when he tried the knob, it remained stubbornly locked.
A smug smile pulled at Amalya’s lips. “I haven’t invited you inside yet.” She turned the knob easily and swung the door wide, stepping inside and staring back at him over the threshold.
He started forward, smacking into some type of invisible barrier. Pain radiated up and down his injured arm as well as his nose where he’d taken the brunt of the hit. He stumbled back cursing as he studied the air between them for any telltale sign of what he’d run into. “Amalya, what’s going on?”
“Sorry,” she said with a guilty smile. “Only the queen can enter everyone’s quarters without permission. All others need to be invited and can have that permission revoked at the will of the rooms’ assigned occupant at any time.”
Levi frowned as he tried to work out what point Amalya was trying to make. “You don’t want me to come in?” He tried not to think about all the other things she might not want by extension.
She huffed out an amused breath as she faced him. “For once, will you stop thinking you know everything and pay attention?” Her words were teasing, which flustered him even more. “Ever since you walked into my bathroom back at Sinner’s Redemption, you’ve made decisions for me, assumed you knew best, and even though I think you’ve come to learn that I can take care of myself in a lot of situations, you still act like you’re living in Victorian England when it comes to how you treat women.”