Page 21 of Demon's Bane

Apparently the fact that he’s a demon doesn’t bother her in the slightest. She looks more curious than anything and, despite myself, I’m burning with something that tastes just a little like envy as I watch her watch him.

She’s seeing him,reallyseeing him. In his unglamoured form. Horns, wings, tail and all.

“So,” I begin when we’re all settled, swallowing past that inconvenient emotion. “Like I said, Rhett is here to speak with you.”

“Well, then, I’m glad I came. What can I help you with, big guy?”

Rhett barely gets out half a second of his grumble before I cut him off.

“Maybe I should explain it.”

With a deep breath, I dive in. Keeping the story as short and to the point as I can, I walk through my visit from Esme, the cases of theft in the demon realm and the demons’ suspicionsabout who’s behind them, the bargain I made to get myself out of my debt to the coven.

“Sorry,” I finish, wincing a little at how it all sounds. “I know it’s shitty to drag you into it when you’ve made it clear you don’t want anything to do with the coven.”

Seren’s lips quirk up in a wry smile. “I don’t mind. Sounds like you twisted Esme’s panties into a knot, and you know how much I like to see someone get under her high and mighty skin.”

“Oh, believe me, I know.”

I’m sure my own reasons for resenting the coven don’t hold a candle to hers. Not when she spent so many more years training and getting caught up in the politics of it all, and still decided to leave at the end of it.

“What do you know of the thefts that have been happening in the demon realm?” Rhett demands.

Seren’s smile grows even wider. “Not all that into diplomacy, are you, Lucifer?”

“You don’t have to help us.” I lay a preemptive hand on Rhett’s forearm, cutting off the argument I can already feel coming. He stills immediately, and I catch his surprised gaze in what I hope is a ‘play it cool’ look. “I know you probably want nothing to do with helping the coven. But that might not be what we’re looking at here.”

“You’ve got my attention.” Seren puts her elbows on the table and rests her chin in her hands.

I reach for the same argument Rhett used to convince me. “Right now, the suspicion is on witches being the culprits behind the thefts. The demons are convinced they are, Esme is convinced they aren’t. And if it turns out some Crescent witch is responsible for all of this…”

“Then we get to ruin the High Priestess’s day.”

“Exactly.”

“And if it’s not a Crescent witch?”

“Then you’d still be helping me?” I ask sheepishly, well-aware how unappealing that offer probably is.

Seren, however, surprises me. “Deal.”

“Deal?”

“Deal,” she says again, leaning back in her seat. “You know I owe you more than a few favors after including me in your little coven away from the coven these last few years.”

Warmth diffuses through me. I don’t know if I’ve ever thought about it that way—a coven away from the coven, a collection of witches who didn’t quite make the cut or left for whatever reason—but hearing her say it like that is… nice. Like it means something, all of this.

“What do you need from me?” Seren asks. “I have to tell you, I’ve been… otherwise occupied these past few months, so I’m not entirely up on what’s happening in that particular realm.”

Rhett, who’s been watching the conversation bounce back and forth between us, finally speaks up. “You know what’s going on inotherrealms?”

“Another thing I could tell you, but then I’d have to—”

“Kill me,” he grumbles. “I know. You’re certainly fond of murder, aren’t you?”

Seren laughs. “Strictly speaking, inter-realm travel is completely banned without the coven’s blessing.”

“And you’ve already established you’re not a part of the Crescent Coven,” he says.

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