Page 108 of Demon's Desire
Luc’s face closed off. “That’s your right. Are you going to keep hunting me?”
Nico’s heart sank. Would this conflict never end? Long memory was a serious drawback to immortality.
“No, I won’t.” Valac brushed dirt from his knees. “I’d rather ignore you and forget you exist. You’re nothing now. But if I hear rumors of you scheming, I’ll be the first to oppose you and knock you right back down.”
“Fair enough.” Luc shrugged as if he hadn’t been threatened.
“Good. We’ll be going.” Valac beckoned to his supporters and turned toward the building.
“Wait!” Onyx pulled Nico forward. “While I appreciate that you finally believe we never wanted to imprison you, you still put a bounty on us.”
Valac stilled. “Are you planning to retaliate?”
Onyx glanced at the sky as if resisting an eye roll. “No, I don’t want to be enemies. How many times do I have to say it?”
“I’ll call off the bounty. Happy?”
Ash snorted.
Onyx’s frustration sparked down the bond. “Why don’t you answer a few questions, like how you found me? There aren’t many beings in the magic world who could’ve given me away.”
Valac released a heavy breath. “I told you, I got a tip. A vampire coven—Orlov—contacted me after I set the bounty, and said they were interested in ridding the city of the ruling mob, and wanted to join forces. I said I’d consider it.”
Nico’s blood boiled. Coming across as the bad guy was the downside to Rowan’s chosen image, but in this context, it was unacceptable. “Ruling mob? The Valeros protect the city from scum like the Orlovs. Their coven was destroyed because of their dealings in human trafficking.”
Valac bared his teeth in a snarl. “They didn’t tell me that. They said it was the other way around. I heard from one of them today, saying a demon had landed outside an apothecaryshop, invisible, but cracked pavement betrayed their presence. I showed up to check it out.”
Nico’s neck prickled, Onyx’s fiery anger spiking between them. “Was it Emmett who contacted you? He was at my shop trying to kill me for kicking his scummy coven out of the city.”
Valac’s cheeks stained red. “He left that detail out. It seems I was misled, too eager for any allies against the Devil and his Hounds. I’d never side with vampires who abuse humans.”
“Are you forgetting that you tried to kill Nico?” Onyx snapped.
Valac did a double-take as if he hadn’t recognized Nico until now. “Why aren’t you dead?”
Onyx marched toward the hulking demon, nose in the air. “He’s my mate.”
Valac paled. “You’re bonded? I—I didn’t realize.”
“No shit. Come near him again, and all this neutrality goes out the window.”
Valac nodded, but Onyx didn’t back down, his glare chilling. Valac held up his hands, now the one wanting to de-escalate the situation. “I’m sorry. I was blinded by my need to secure freedom. As a show of good faith, I can lead you to the Orlovs and help you get rid of them.”
“That’d be a good start.” Nico pulled out his phone and hesitated, not ready to relay all this to Rowan. “The Valeros will want in on wrapping things up with the Orlovs. It might be good for you to meet them, since they’re the actual protectors of this city.”
“All right. Text me.” Valac rattled off a number—which Nico entered—before turning back to Onyx. “Will it be acceptable to come near your mate to end this vampire business?”
“That’s up to Nico. If he agrees, I’ll be watching you closely.”
“Sounds like a plan. I hope that in time, there will be nohard feelings between us. I’ll cancel the bounty and remove the spells around here so you all can leave.”
With that, Valac and his supporters disappeared into the building.
“We already destroyed the spells over the main entrance,” a woman with light gray wings and silver eyes muttered to a yellow-winged woman. “How does he think we got in?”
The second demon rolled her glowing yellow eyes.
The group seemed to relax. Only Lucifer remained tense, standing apart from everyone. Was the Devil hoping they’d forget about him? Without his horns, wings, or tail, he looked more like a human model who’d wandered into the wrong courtyard than anything sinister.
