Xan wasn’t so sure.
A flash of pain flared on her left. “What’s taking you so long?”
“He is secretive and can travel through the realms at will.” Damn energy demon. “I hunt him down daily and get closer each time. But he is a high-profile target and I must tread carefully or he will be on to you.”
Her subtle comment that Quution would deal not just with her, but also hunt down Spaeth, hadn’t been missed. The flash of Spaeth’s expression was pure annoyance and it made her heart sing. Another weakness of his. Fear of Quution, and fear of failure.
“Find a way to spend a lot of time around him. Seduce him.” Annoyance rang through the chamber.
“He’s not indiscriminate.”
Spaeth materialized in front of her face. All of her muscles went rigid to refrain from jerking away. “My spies say he’s in the human realm now. Why?” He vanished. She blinked against the dryness in her eyes.
“I was also in the realm but didn’t have time to find him. I came back for the summons.” Hopefully the truthful part of her statement covered the lie.
It’d be nice if his spies could throw her a bone and tell her where Quution went.
Fangs appeared in front of her eyes. “No excuses.”
She blinked. Damn, it’d take all day before it felt like she wasn’t blinking with sandpaper.
“What’s his weakness?”
“I haven’t spent enough time with him.” She needed more exposure. If the weakness was strong, she could sense it. Fear called to her like a divining rod. All she had to do was be in the same room as the feeling was experienced. It was like the emotion seeped into the rock, tainting it with a resonance that still called to her long after the fact. If a human had to explain it, they’d probably go off on something about pheromones or some real Discovery Channel gibberish, but to her, it just was. The mechanism didn’t matter as long as she knew how to use her talent. Well, what little talent she had, anyway. Made living in the underworld super fun. But if her target had tight control over his emotions, her task was even more difficult.
Quution was a deliciously controlled man.
“Then spend enough time with him!” The words came from behind her. Spittle sprayed across her nape, burning in spots where it touched. “I didn’t hire you to play hard to get.”
He hadn’t hired her at all. As long as you’re loyal to me, your sister and her whelp will live.
She hadn’t seen Xera for months. Was she okay? Terrified? Spaeth didn’t abuse Xan, but did he abuse her sister? Xan’s stomach twisted. Or her wee little niece, Xoda?
Xan hadn’t killed her abusive mother with her bare hands only to lose Xera and Xoda to a deranged, power-hungry demon who couldn’t do his own dirty work.
How would she stick to Quution like glue? He’d been painfully clear that he didn’t see her as a potential mate. He wasn’t the type of guy who gathered BFFs for gossip seshes about what the new Circle members were wearing. Except for Quution, they were all nude anyway.
He might keep a tight rein on himself, but she’d been around him enough to know that he prided himself on his intelligence.
Ugh, she hated what she had to do next, but it was sure to appeal to Quution and would guarantee copious amounts of time together.
She lifted her chin. “Fine. Everywhere he turns, he’ll see me.”
Sweet brimstone, what was she doing here?
Quution froze in his doorway at the sight of a purple demon reclining on his bed. He was one of the few demons who had an actual door. Another object he’d smuggled from the human realm, and it hadn’t taken nearly as much power as he’d thought.
His gaze swept his chamber. Had she let others in? His need for privacy had him clutching the scrolls he’d borrowed from Demetrius’s mate, Calli, to his chest.
The pile of books on the large stone in the corner of his cave was in place. His clothing hung from hooks on the walls, and the faux rock he stored his backup prosthetics in was undisturbed. But he couldn’t relax.
A nude Xan lay on his bedding. He’d never experience a peaceful night of sleep again.
As if he had in the first place. After the way he’d grown up, fitful sleeping was all he knew.
“W-what are you doing here?” And how had she found his place? He’d manipulated energy signatures in a mile-wide radius around his chamber to misdirect and confuse would-be visitors. Very few people had been to his home, and each had been invited out of necessity.
“Got a proposal for you, Quution.”
Her purr caressed his body. His craving for contact, for another being’s touch, nearly drove him to his knees.
He steeled himself. “I’m waiting.”
She rose in one lithe move. He gulped and forced his gaze up so high he would’ve been staring at the ceiling if he hadn’t corrected and sought her dark eyes.
So lovely. Mysterious.
Determined.
What was she up to? Would he be smart enough to keep her from whatever her goal was?
She slinked toward him. Even with his gaze firmly on her face, he couldn’t miss the swing of her hips. He adjusted the scrolls just to distract himself and keep his blood from pooling in his groin.
“Quution.” His name on her lips again. It was like she knew how his energy went haywire when she said it. “You’re the only one who can help.”
She stopped right under his nose. Lavender laced with brimstone. Humans would wrinkle their noses, but he wanted to lean in, take huge breaths until he infused all his pores with her scent.
He had to get her out of here.
“What do you mean only I can help?” He managed to sound dubious and not horny.
She trailed a finger around the top of one scroll, dangerously close to his skin. Her touch was close enough that his energy reached for her.
A dark brow lifted as she watched him. “I need you, Quution.”
He clutched his load tighter and stepped back. He was almost back in the corridor, but he didn’t care. This female was dangerous to his sensibilities. She made him want things he’d long given up.
“How could you possibly need me?” She was competent. Capable. Crafty. She’d made it onto the Circle, though he couldn’t figure out a reason why. Melody had been the first half-breed to crack the Circle, then Quution had provided opportunities for other half-breeds he’d known, a few demons who wouldn’t just use the added power to pad their own pockets. Not that anyone but him had pockets down here. But the half-breeds were stronger than they knew, even if centuries under the rule of full-breeds had disheartened them.
But Xan had come out of nowhere to earn her position by defeating another Circle member and then…done nothing with it.
She gave him a searing look that suggested just how he could be useful. His body warmed, as if preparing to answer her call.
“I want you…” She pouted her lower lip out. “To teach me how to read.”
She what? He retreated another step. She was staying close, probably hoping to catch him off guard, and he’d use it to draw her out of his chamber.
But the wicked demon didn’t take the bait. She propped an arm on the doorframe and rested her other hand on her generous hip.
Demon balls, he wanted to look so badly. “Why me?”
“I don’t know many other demons who can do more than chisel their name, followed by ‘was here’ on the cave walls.”
One would think she knew how to read from her statement, but she was older than him and incredibly astute. He gathered that when she went into the human realm, she absorbed information like an exotic sponge. It made sense. Her powers were attuned to the fear motivating other’s actions, but he doubted she relied on her special ability alone. She read body language, listened to conversations, heard what wasn’t being said.
And she spoke the truth. Hieroglyphs were popular in the underworld. Pictures told a story better and faster, especially for a population that didn’t always share the same language or value reading skills.
It was hard to when their leaders discouraged such communication. Anything to wall off power and maintain ignorance.
Learning his letters and numbers was one of the few good things his mother had passed down to him, and it’d only been to build him up to take over the underworld. She’d been so full of knowledge during her lucid moments, and so much hate otherwise, until her painful death. The older he’d gotten, the more she’d tried to kill him out of sheer bitterness.
“There are other demons who can read.” He wouldn’t have hoarded an extensive library if at least some demons didn’t prefer to pen their ponderings and ambitions. “Why me?”
She cocked her head and gave him the most real look he’d seen from her yet. “Because you wouldn’t demand my body or lewd favors in exchange.”
Her confession rocked him. Again, she was correct. The underworld was brutal in its negotiations, a what can you do for me? realm. Many creatures didn’t wait to take what they wanted, and many died trying. But if Xan asked for a favor, most would be damn sure to capitalize on the request. The greater the need, the more she’d be abused.
Which made his refusal easy. He didn’t need anything from her and his conscience wouldn’t suffer. She didn’t need to read to thrive. Not his Xan— Not Xan. Just plain Xan.
She wasn’t plain, but he couldn’t argue with himself. He had to get her out of his chamber. His ability to think and plot suffered when she was around.
“No.”
Her brows popped up. Genuine surprise. He was getting all sorts of the real Xan. “No? Why the hell not?”
“I don’t have time. And I don’t need anything from you.”
“Quution.” She sauntered closer. He retreated until his back hit the wall across from his door. “Q. Are you sure you don’t need anything from me? What if I’m willing to offer?”
His heart rate kicked up. “N-no.”
Her breasts brushed his arm. He tensed every muscle in his body to keep from shaking. The staggering desire raging through him made him weak.
“I’m sure there’s something you need from me,” she crooned. “Down here, all by yourself. Doesn’t it get lonely?”
His nostrils flared from the effort of holding himself still. Moments like this brought the horrible realization that he was nothing but a baseless demon at heart. A simple grab and turn and he’d have her pinned against the wall.
Prove you’re not worthless, whelp.
His mother’s sneer ricocheted around his brain, bringing him relief from his struggle. He was not a brainless creature. He would act around Xan like he acted around others. His lust was nothing but another emotion to manage.
“Why, yes, Xan. You do have something I want.”
A delicate brow arched. Glow from the torches lining the corridor shimmered in the dark pools of her eyes. “Say it,” she said, and it was too damn erotic.
“Tell me why you suddenly need to read. And who you work for, and why he or she sent you to spy on me.”
She stiffened and withdrew, leaving a chasm of cool air wafting between them. “What the hell are you talking about?” In a heartbeat, her expression turned aloof.
As if she didn’t know what he meant. “You’ve been lurking around me, asking seemingly pointless questions. But you don’t do anything without reason, nothing without benefit to yourself or your master.”
At the word “master,” a wave of murder rippled through her eyes.
He couldn’t bring himself to be smug. It had been a bluff, but a fruitful one. Another demon controlled her. How? What vulnerability did Xan have that could be used to make her someone’s marionette? She was the type of female who’d die for what she believed in.
And she was still alive because she believed in very little.
“So, when you come ready to exchange information for reading lessons, let me know.” He sidled around her, darted into his cave, and slammed the door behind him. Energy shimmered as he wove it around the door. Forget deadbolts. He formed a shield against the stunned—and pissed-off—female outside his door.
Chapter 4
It had taken all night to calm herself after Quution’s complete rejection.
That devious bastard. He knew she was up to something. Why couldn’t he be a mindless male ready to mount her like so many others?
She’d gotten to him. His desire scared him. For a few blissful seconds, he’d dropped his guard and she’d sensed his fear.
He was terrified of losing control. The lust she’d incited bothered him deeply. It wasn’t just that he wanted to fuck her, he was afraid of the innate vulnerability fucking required. He hated being enclosed in tight spaces, but at the same time space and freedom scared him.
So many secrets. She’d only tasted them. To her, they were like the candy beetles in the underworld. Sweet little treats with a satisfying crunch. Quution was full of them.
Ferreting out what he was up to regarding the underworld would take patience and a light touch. The other parts of himself he was hiding might be more attainable.
She started with what she knew about Quution.
His servant was another energy demon, Stryke. He was like the rock star of half-breeds, swoon worthy enough to make full-bloods want him. The last demon who’d tried to bend him to her will had failed so epically, she was dead now and her powers had been co-opted by a human—a former human, at any rate.
Stryke’s sire was a notorious half-breed, a guy who’d duped the Circle about his status as a full-blood and attained a spot. The first ever half-breed on the Circle. At the time, it’d been unthinkable.
Energy demons were unusually uncommon. Was it possible they were related? Had someone in Quution’s genetic pool dabbled with a half-breed? Unless it was him personally, it wouldn’t do her any good.
I’m disappointed in myself.
What would Xera say? Tweak your purple bits and get it together, Xan.
She paced her chamber. Okay, what else?
He hung out with vampires. Those vampires had caused trouble in the underworld. She stopped and scrutinized the floor at the tip of her sharp toenails. Where had the vampires been down here? How could she find out?
If she were Quution, she could trace their energy signatures.
She racked her brain for the name of the demon Stryke had skewered. Herpes? Hanta? Hypna. That was it. Her chamber was a maze away, but it was a place to start.
Xan wove through the interconnecting corridors. Everlasting torches lit the way. The time of day didn’t matter down here.
The stench of rotten flesh reached her before she turned a corner. Three forms huddled over a kill.
Another demon? Probably a halfling like her, killed by halflings like her, though these three were far down any evolutionary chain the underworld possessed. They probably didn’t know who she was, and if they did, they wouldn’t care. Food was their one and only goal.
She wasn’t cannibalistic like many of her kind. But if she didn’t tread cautiously, she’d become somebody’s dinner. Stay vigilant, stay alive. She’d hate to go down as the Circle member who became dessert because she stopped and sniffed the candy beetles.
Damn, they were blocking her way. All three demons had black, stubby horns sticking out of their scalp and patches of hair covering their bodies. Two men, judging from the lump of dangling flesh between their legs. And a woman, who’d pierced both her nipples and used a hunk of rock like the ear plugs humans wore. The being they feasted on—well, it was impossible to tell now.
“Just gotta get around ya here.” She calculated her path through them.
The female chortled and eyed Xan like she was the second course. “Looks like we get dessert, boys.”
Rising to a stooped position, the males sniffed. Or was that a chuckle? The gurgle made it hard to tell. And disgusting. But they hunched farther over their food like they feared she’d take it away. The ever-present terror that they’d starve rolled off them.
An odd concern for a cannibal who lived among its food source. Sh
e tilted her head as they shuffled toward her. Uncoordinated. Lumbering. Disorganized.
Ah. Shitty predators. Their food usually outran or outsmarted them. What a coincidence. That was just what she’d planned to do. She’d been fooling cannibals since she was able to spit.
She called on her powers. Would they ever get enough to eat? What if there was easy prey nearby? She gave them the impression that there were two young demonlings, lost and scared behind her a few turns. With short little legs, how could those poor young run away?
Then Xan threw in the suggestion that if the three lingered with her, they risked the mama finding her babies. No more vulnerable, tasty buffet.
The female lurched away from the pack to pass Xan and get at the fake food source. Xan’s lips twitched. The weaker the mind, the more impressionable it was.
Peering beyond Xan, the males had already dismissed her as nothing. Ducking around them, she nodded to the female as she passed.
The pace of the shuffling changed, dirt crunching under someone’s foot. Alarm bells blared in her mind. Xan spun around. The female lunged for her. Xan kicked her foot square in the demon’s chest. The other female stumbled back and tripped over her roadkill. Broken from their trance, the males rushed to aid their companion.
Lowering into to a crouch, Xan sent another image: the fictional demonlings heard their mama and were getting farther away.
Desperate for easier prey than one they’d have to fight, the three snarled at her once then ambled down the hall. Xan straightened. Once the halflings disappeared around a corner, she cursed herself. What had happened to staying vigilant? A good reminder not to get too cocky. She’d dismissed them as mindless and could’ve ended up on the menu when she’d sworn not to let the Circle business go to her head. She had to watch her back now more than ever—she wasn’t anonymous anymore.
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