Page 24 of Consorting With The Enemy

Az grabbed the back of my neck and yanked me back against him. “I believe I told you to stand down, Ari. I realize you’ve spent your life working alone, but that isn’t how it is now. You have family.Real family. You don’t get to call all the shots.”

Hmph. I think what he meant to say was I didn’t get to call any of the shots.

“Calm yourself, Ariel. We don’t have any desire to destroy you. As a matter of fact, we’ve used you nicely and appreciate how easily you allowed yourself to be manipulated. Having said that, though, there’s simply no way we can leave you as…powerful as you’ve become. You would always be a threat to the underworld and as the future ruling family, we couldn’t allow such power to go unchecked.”

“Perhaps you should have whacked off dear ole dad’s cock before I was created if you wanted to prevent that from happening,” I suggested. “Too late now. Sorry.” To be honest, I might be on a bit of a power high. The sweet aroma of their wariness and fear tickled my nose.

“Not necessarily,” Leraje countered. “You simply need to make a decision—are you a demon or are you a witch? A member of the underworld’s royal family or a Gaudet?”

Unsure of what his angle was, I answered, “It’s not like I can choose. I’m both.” I glanced at Nic, then back at the siblings I’d been raised with. “If I could choose, it would be a Gaudet.”

“Hell, yeah, it would,” Nic muttered.

“Oh, but you can choose, brother,” Leraje said. “Are you telling me you’d prefer being a Gaudet? If so, then I’ll just need to take your wings.” He grinned at me and if I’d ever doubted how evil my family truly was, it disappeared in an instant. Like everything else, this had been part of their ultimate plan. A demon without his or her wings would be useless—they knew it and I knew it.

“Don’t you dare, Ari,” Az hissed. “We can handle these fuckers. Give them what they deserve—nothing.”

I could feel the anger radiating from my angel. I could also feel his love and concern. He wasmine. Living without him wasn’t an option for me, especially if there was a simple solution—like forfeiting my wings.

Looking my brothers in their black eyes, I said, “Only my wings? You’ll take my wings and return to the underworld? After giving the gifts you’ve promised, of course. That’s it?”

“That’s it,” Leraje agreed. “Oh, of course you’ll never be permitted back into the underworld again. I assume that’s acceptable?”

“More than acceptable,” I spat. “It was never my home. You were never my family.”

“Agreed.”

“After this, all of you will assume the throne as rulers of the underworld?” If they did, they wouldn’t be allowed to leave. They’d never be able to pursue what belonged to me—what I’d protect with my very life.

“Don’t do this, Ari,” Az pleaded. “It isn’t necessary. We’ll stand together and defeat them.”

I looked at the faces of the men who’d risked their lives to protect me from my demon brothers. Nic and Gabriel were furious. There was no doubt in my mind, they’d fight to the death if it was necessary. Julian’s focus was torn between Marchand, Valen, and Sacha—even though he stood beside me. Marchand’s eyes shifted between me, Az, and the enemy…then back to me. I could see the power swirling in the purple depths. He’d fight—recklessly.

My wings were a small forfeit if losing them ended up protecting any of these men. Yes, we could fight them and there was an excellent chance they’d be defeated. But at what loss? I wasn’t willing to risk any life, even if they were obviously willing to risk everything for me. “Take them, give yours gifts, and go.” I spat.

He smiled. “Yes, that’s what we’ll do…in a moment.” Looking at Nic and Gabriel, my brother asked, “Aren’t either of you interested in knowing what Gaudet harlot it was that our father bedded?”

“Could care less,” Nic answered calmly.

“Oh. I see. Well, if anyone is interested, it was your mother Nic and Gabriel.” Grinning, he said, “I guess that makes us all related.”

His black eyes darkened even more. “Now, baby brother, give me those wings.”

I heard Az’s roar of fury behind me. I turned to see him lunge in my direction to try and stop me, but the others held him back.

*****

Azazel

I’d held Ariel cradled in my arms as we’d flown back to the loft apartment. His blood covered my arms. Tears covered my face. They’d held me back—all of them, even my nephew. I hadn’t been able to do anything but watch as Ari’s demon brothers cut the wings from his back. My Ariel was tough, stronger than the whole lot of us, but he’d screamed in agony.

He’d fucking screamed.

I felt broken and betrayed. Angry and crushed.

Gently, I laid him on the bed and felt another tear slide down my cheek when he moaned from the pain. With him on his stomach, I could see the full impact of how much damage had been done to his back…and some of it had already started healing. The sacred place where his wings would hide gaped open, revealing an emptiness that caused me to drop to my knees next to him.

“It’s healing, love. The pain won’t be there much longer,” I promised. Careful not to touch any flesh that had been damaged, I caressed him, hoping to soothe away some of the pain. I knew why he’d done it—to protect all of us. I knew why they’d held me back. I might have known, but it didn’t make any difference in how I felt about it.

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