Reaper Unleashed: Deadside Reapers: Book 7

by Cassidy, Debbie

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

  He gave me a look that said, seriously?

  “Okay, so he’s back.” I crossed my arms. “Good.”

  Mal raised both brows as if waiting for the penny to drop, and it did. Oh fuck.

  Azazel was going after Keon.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Azazel

  He’s touched her, laid his blood-stained hands on her, even though he knows… He knows what he is and what he’s capable of. My rage is a tornado in my chest and although I could calm it, I could tame, it I need to use it. Channel it. Because I can’t let this slide.

  I won’t

  I need to show him, to impress on him, how off limits my soulmate is.

  He won’t take her from me. Not like he took the others, because Fee isn’t someone I can mourn and get over. Fee is my heart, and although I’m willing to share her with select others, I’m not willing to share her with him, because he has the real potential to tear that heart in two.

  He needs to understand that Fee is not to be touched.

  I find him in the training room, his go to place when he’s here. He’s locked in a sequence of moves that ground and center him. I know this Kata. He taught me how to do it. I recall the chiding, the praise, the laughter, the shared meals after training, and the coveted pats on the back. For a moment I falter, but then I recall how he turned against me and killed every woman I’ve ever loved. He did it coldly, dispassionately, and he never batted an eye.

  I can’t let that be Fee’s fate.

  He stops and looks at me with cat’s eyes that burn with derision, and my rage surges up to choke me.

  “Stay away from Fee.” My words fall like hail stones, cold and cutting.

  His doesn’t even flinch. He simply tips his head to the side. “You don’t get to give me orders, pup.”

  Pup? I hate that nickname, given to me centuries ago when he was the mentor and I was the student.

  “You’re no longer my teacher, Keon.”

  “No,” he says. “But I am better than you, Azazel. If you fight me, you will lose.”

  I smile, cold and deadly. “It’s been a long time since we went head to head. You have no idea what moves I’ve picked up.”

  He rolls his shoulders. “How about you show me, pup.”

  I drop my weapons belt on the ground and charge.

  * * *

  Keon

  He needs this and I deserve it, so I’ll let him have it. Fee can’t be mine. I know this, but I’ll be damned if I admit it to a boy I practically raised. He may have been born first, but in daemon years, I’m the older brother.

  Brother.

  This is my brother.

  I deliberately take a split second too long to move and allow Azazel’s blow to find its mark. It knocks me off my feet.

  That’s my boy. He always had a powerful right hook.

  I hit the ground, roll and come up easy. “Is that all you’ve got?”

  “Oh, Keon,” he says. “I haven’t even started yet.”

  I can’t help the flare of pride that blooms in my chest for the man who would fight to protect the woman I… No, I won’t go there. I can’t.

  Instead I’ll focus on taking a beating, of knocking her out of my system and moving on.

  But if this is going to work, it’ll have to look real, which means… I lash out with my tail and knock his legs out from under him.

  Azazel bellows with rage, but he’s back on his feet faster than expected. Yes, he definitely has improved since we trained together.

  “Is that all you’ve got?” he asks.

  I shrug. “Why don’t you come closer and find out.”

  His silver eyes darken like a thunderstorm and then he attacks.

  This is going to hurt.

  And it’s just what I need.

  * * *

  Fee

  I could hear the thuds and grunts from way down the hall. My heart leapt into my throat as I blur-moved into the room and came to a halt, head spinning, to find Keon on the ground and Azazel standing over him ready to deliver another blow.

  Keon just lay there, waiting. I opened my mouth to yell at Azazel to stop. But there was no need.

  Azazel lowered his fists and then slowly, deliberately, uncurled them.

  He stood, looking down at Keon for a long beat before turning away.

  I tried to catch his eye as he strode past me, but he studiously avoided my gaze and my stomach turned.

  “What the fuck, man?” Mal said from behind me.

  “Patch him up,” Azazel growled and then he was gone.

  I was torn between wanting to go after my soulmate and helping Keon, who hadn’t even tried to pull himself off the floor. There was blood all over the mats and his beautiful face was a swollen, bruised mess.

  “Help him,” Mal said. “Azazel needs some cool off time. I’ll speak to him.”

  Honestly, I was glad to have the decision made for me. In all my time with Azazel I’d never seen him act like this.

  Keon groaned and sat up. “I’m fine,” he bit out. “Go.” He looked at me through his unswollen eye and my heart contracted painfully in my chest.

  “Like hell.” I bridged the distance between us and offered him my hand.

  He looked at it like it was a venomous snake. “Fuck, you’re annoying.” He took it, allowing me to haul him up. “I’m fine,” he said again.

  But he swayed on his feet. The blows to his head must have done some damage.

  “No, you’re not.” I hooked and arm around his waist to take his weight. “Let’s get you cleaned up.”

  * * *

  Mal

  I find Az pacing the library while Conah watches him warily. My Dominus brethren reminds me of a caged panther, powerful and dangerous and totally out of order.

  I wait for him to stop pacing and look at me then I throw up my hands. “What the fuck, Az?”

  “Close the door,” he says.

  I kick it shut. “You didn’t have to beat him.”

  “Yes, I did,” Azazel says. “He needs to know he can’t fuck with Fee. He can’t be with her. He needs to fucking know that.”

  “Yeah, he does, but beating the crap out of him isn’t the way. Did you see the way Fee looked at you?”

  He closes his eyes. “I didn’t want to see it.”

  “Yeah, well I did. She looked like she was going to be sick. What the fuck…” I still can’t believe he went this far. “One punch, maybe two, would have sufficed, but you ruined his face.”

  “He’ll heal.”

  I look to Conah, but his sapphire gaze is fixed on Azazel.

  I guess this is up to me. “That’s not the point.”

  Azazel stands hands on hips, head bowed. “No, it isn’t. The point is, he wasn’t fighting back. Not properly. I was so fucking pissed, I didn’t notice it at first, not until you busted into the room.” He looks up at me. “He let me win, Mal.”

  Huh? “Why would he do that?”

  “I don’t know.”

  I can tell that bothers him. On this shit, he’s like Conah, but whereas Conah likes to catalog information, Azazel needs to catalog people’s motivations. It drives him crazy when he can’t.

  “Keon isn’t the kind of daemon to deliberately lose a fight.” Azazel says. “Not unless there’s something in if for him, which in this case there isn’t.”

  Not that I can see, so why… Unless… No.

  “What?” Azazel says. “You’ve thought of something.”

  “Maybe he thinks he deserves it.”

  Azazel makes a fuck off face.

  “No, think about it. If he has genuine feelings for Fee, he must also know how bad that is, how he can’t possibly go there being Lilith’s bitch. So this, letting you beat him, is his way of forcing himself to remember that.”

  I can see Azazel’s having trouble grasping this.

  “Keon’s species of daemon mate for life,” Conah says. “They find their mates based on pheromonal attraction. If K
eon has developed an attraction for Fee, then it’s out of his control, and it could be causing him distress.”

  “Fuck,” Azazel runs a hand over his face.

  “Hence him allowing you to beat the shit out of him,” Conah adds. “Mal’s theory is sound.”

  “Then we keep them apart,” Azazel says. “As much as possible.” He frowns. “Where is Fee?”

  Oh shit. “Um… Taking care of Keon.”

  Azazel gives me a lethal look as Conah pushes back his chair and smooths down his shirt. “Let me handle this.”

  * * *

  Fee

  There’s so much blood, but the swelling is already going down. Keon sits super still while I work on him. He’s barely breathing as I lean in to wipe blood from his brow, swiping the washcloths gently down his cheek.

  “I’m sorry.” My gut is in knots. “If I’d suspected this would happen, I wouldn’t have told him.”

  “What did you tell him?” Keon’s voice is so low it’s barely audible.

  I dunk the washcloth in the bowl of warm water and wring it out, giving myself a moment to gather my thoughts.

  “I told him I have feelings for you.”

  His breath hitches and then he looks at me for the first time since I started working on him, and my throat pinches because there is a longing in that look, a desperate need that pierces me and becomes my own.

  “Don’t,” he says finally. “You can’t. I can’t.”

  My eyes are hot as tears blur my vision. “I know.” I blink them back and dunk the washcloth again. “I know about Lilith and her hold on you.” An idea, a hope, grips me. “But the curse is gone, and I’m Samael’s daughter, his actual daughter. She won’t hurt me.”

  “You’re also Eve’s daughter and Lilith has a hatred for Eve that’s eternal. You cannot trust me. Once Lilith returns, you must not be alone with me.”

  My pulse sped up. “Keon…” I didn’t know what to say. There was nothing to say. He belonged to her. “I’m sorry.”

  He smiled, flashing his fangs. “I’m not. At least I got to know you. At least I found a mate even if I can’t have her.”

  I couldn’t help but be drawn to him. The air between us buzzed with anticipation. He was so close all I needed to do was duck my head and claim his mouth. My gaze dropped to his lips, and my stomach fluttered with the need to taste him again.

  “Fee…” It was a warning and a plea.

  I squeezed the cloth in my hand then gently traced his mouth with the edge of it. His lips parted and his chest began to heave.

  This was bad. I shouldn’t be doing this, but I needed to touch him just one more time. I ran the cloth down the column of his neck and down to the tops of his pecs and farther south, his muscles contracted beneath my touch and a feral purring filled the air. I was almost as his waistband, and I wanted to go farther.

  His hand whipped up to grab my wrist and then I was hauled into his arms and his mouth crashed into mine. The kiss was a sting of fangs and the taste of copper. It was devouring, hungry, desperate need. A stolen moment that couldn’t last but felt like it needed to be eternal.

  “Ahem!”

  Keon tore his mouth from mine and growled low and threatening at the intruder.

  I stood with my back to the door and took several deep breaths to compose myself. Fuck, if that was Azazel…

  “Fee, I think Keon’s clean enough now, don’t you?’ Conah said.

  My shoulders sagged in relief as I backed away from the daemon.

  His eyes glittered like topaz, filled with the heat of the moment, then he blinked, and the heat was gone.

  Conah held open the door. “Shall we?” His expression was neutral. No indication that he’d just walked in on my eating Keon’s face.

  I looked back as I got to the door, but Keon’s gaze was on the floor. He looked vulnerable and alone, and my heart ached to go to hold him. To press his face to my bosom and smooth his hair.

  “I really hope I don’t have to kill you one day,” Keon said so softly I almost didn’t catch it.

  My eyes stung with the threat of tears. “Me too.”

  Conah steered me out of the room and closed the door. “I’m sorry,” he said.

  My head whipped up.

  His smile was sad. “I know what it feels like to not get what your heart craves. But you will get through it. You have Azazel, Mal, Grayson, Hunter and Uri.” He took my hand. “And you have a friend in me.”

  “Thank you, Conah.”

  “Thank me by keeping that kiss to yourself.”

  The truth was important, but sometimes it was best to keep your mouth shut.

  “Go find Az, I’ll take care of Keon. I need him to help me find the second part of the map. The sooner we do, the sooner we can find Lilith.”

  It was time to put the heart issues to one side. I’d come to the Underealm for a purpose, and it was time to fulfil it.

  * * *

  I was brushing out my damp hair at the dresser in my room when Azazel joined me. He sat on the bed and locked gazes with my reflection.

  “I’m sorry,” he said.

  About Keon, about what he’d done. Guilt tied a knot in my stomach. “No. Azazel, I’m sorry for putting you in that position.” I swiveled in my seat so we were face to face. “It won’t happen again. I’ll stay away from him.”

  I had to.

  Azazel left the bed to crouch at my feet. “Do you remember what we planned? Our wedding?”

  I cupped his face. “I do.”

  “I want that as soon as this is over. I want it.”

  I tipped his face up to mine and kissed him softly on the lips. “I want it too.”

  Azazel tucked a strand of my hair behind my ear and stood. “Good. Because our journey to that point starts now.”

  I looked up at him wide-eyed. “You found the other part of the map.”

  His expression is somber. “We did. And we leave within the hour.”

  “But the tincture? I thought it would take a week to steep.”

  “Apparently Keon brought us back a ready-made stash, so we’re good to go.” He strode to the door. “Dress for the cold. We meet on the grand pinnacle.”

  He left me with adrenaline coursing through my veins and a quiver in my belly.

  It was time.

  It was finally time to get Lilith back.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Fee

  Mal, Azazel, Keon and Samael stood in the center of the foyer leading to the grand pinnacle. Keon and Azazel were on opposite sides, faces turned away from each other. Those two would need to talk soon. Clear the air. I wondered once again why Keon wouldn’t just tell Azazel who he was to him. Why hide it? But now Samael was back, if he revealed his true heritage, it would damage Lilith’s relationship with the fallen celestial.

  It was unfair.

  Lilith needed to fess the fuck up.

  “Daughter,” Samael held out his arms to me.

  He was dressed in black and silver, his hair brushed and braided. He looked powerful and in control. He looked almost…happy. Happy to see me.

  Warmth bloomed in my chest, acceptance and love, and my feet carried me straight into arms. It was like being enveloped by a mountain, held securely and brushed by soft wings.

  “You will fly with me.” His voice was a rumble of authority.

  I usually flew with Azazel or Mal, but the fact Samael wanted me close by intensified the warmth in my chest.

  He finally released me and stroked to the top of my head with one huge hand. My eyes fluttered closed at the contact and a kernel of love for him unfurled in my chest as if it had always been there, waiting. The missing piece I hadn’t even known was lingering inside me was suddenly whole.

  Samael’s mercury eyes flared, and his smile widened. “There you are, my blossom.”

  I looked up at him in wonder. “What just happened?”

  “I found you.” He tapped his sternum with a finger. “Here. And now that I have, we can leave.” />
  I tore my gaze from his to Azazel who was watching Samael with a fascinated expression of his own. I guess even though he’d grown up with Samael around, most of that time had been spent with Samael in a delirium. My gaze dropped to Azazel’s shoulders, padded with armor, and then his silver and black tunic, similar to Samael’s. Mal was dressed in the same kind of outfit.

  I touched the tunic that had been laid out for me. The metal woven into it was armor, but so malleable and soft that unless the imp who’d insisted on dressing me had explained what it was, I wouldn’t have known.

  Samael lightly touched my cheek, and I focused my attention on him.

  “Are you ready for what’s to come?” he asked.

  “As ready as I’ll ever be. Is it just us going?”

  Samael nodded gravely. “There is only enough tincture for a handful of us. You and your Dominus companions are our most powerful demons.” He said the word your with meaning and a twinkle in his eye, letting me know that he was aware of my relationship with Azazel and Mal. “And Keon’s stealth skill as Lilith’s blade is unmatched. He will be a valuable asset once we infiltrate the fortress.”

  An asset? Yeah, I didn’t miss how he described the daemon, and I didn’t miss the flinching of Keon’s eyes either. Once again, my heart went out to him.

  He held out his hand to me. “Come. I’ll keep you safe. You have my word.”

  I slipped my tiny hand into his huge one, and for a moment it was as if I was a child and he the grownup, which I guess, considering our relationship and the years between us, I was.

  Mal hoisted a backpack on his front and Azazel did the same, and then Keon pushed open the doors and the night sky twinkled at us. It was time to fly.

  * * *

  We stopped to rest four hours later. I was pretty sure Samael could have flown for several hours more, but the rest of us where flagging. Flying without wings might sound like it was easy but it involved so much extra concentration. I wasn’t the strongest flyer, and Samael ended up having to carry me for the last half hour, hence the decision to stop and rest.