Page 16 of Siren Sins
I stared at him as he boldly stepped deeper into the constricting canal of blood and death. “Incredible?” I echoed as I caught up to him. “Are you insane? The dragons are going to kill us all once they discover this!”
Derek boomed laughter, clearly unaware that there was a sleeping monster unseen in the red haze of this dungeon. A hot breeze twirled around our legs in response. “I’d be quite surprised, given that Jin gave me these dragons as part of our alliance.”
I frowned, unable to look away from one of the unblinking dragons who growled at us, his blood soaking into the red crystalline shards of the wall that strangled him. “What…” Words left me as I blinked. My face screwed up as disgust roiled in my stomach. I’d been tortured hundreds of times, but I could bounce back. To see this kind of suffering—permanent suffering—made my stomach turn. “What do you gain from this?” I managed to ask. Another, lingering question that I was too much of a coward to voice was,Why are you showing this to me?
Derek’s laughter sent chills down my spine. “Oh, dear boy, you’re as white as a sheet. You don’t think that I plan on skewering you on these, do you? No, you’re far too valuable for such a dismal end.”
My gaze remained locked on the horrific scene before me. The dragon’s chest rose and fell as a hushed wheeze filtered into his snarls. My eyes darted to the blotches of red that fed into the crystals where it pierced his lung. I squinted, realizing that I’d seen this color somewhere before. Then my eyes widened. “You’re making more Blood Stones.”
Derek’s slow clap echoed sharply across the jagged crystals. The dragons skewered on its teeth groaned, but didn’t move. “I knew you’d figure it out.” His features went manic with delight, a disturbing change from his regular, smug demeanor. The Incubus King was excited about this, and that terrified me. “Can you also guess what this all has to do with you?”
I pressed my lips together as I dug for any reason why he’d bring me here, if it wasn’t to feed my power into the stones. “I have no fucking idea.”
Derek’s amused smile was irritating the shit out of me. “So, you going to tell me or what?” I sneered, allowing my voice to raise a fraction even though the hairs on the back of my neck stood on end. Derek might be cool as ice, but I knew we weren’t alone with dying dragons. I sensed another presence here, and it was unlike anyone or anything I’d ever met.
“It’s time you know what you are,” Derek said and ran his fingers through his lush hair.
He was the embodiment of sexual perfection and I glowered at the glimmering strands of black that he swept away from entrancing eyes. I was as straight as guys came, but even I could admire Derek’s beauty. “And what am I?” I growled. I was tired of being the only one in the world who didn’t know what kind of supernatural creature I was.
He grinned perfectly white teeth that still somehow made him look sinister. “You’re like my daughter. It’s why I’ve brought you here.” He jerked his chin. “She’s been waiting for you.”
I narrowed my eyes, only spotting Lilith as she appeared from a dark mist. She’d been hiding in plain sight all this time.
She managed to appear as a girl around sixteen, but her eyes still gave her away. Rims of red irises gleamed around emerald eyes. She was Demonspawn. I glowered. “What do you mean I’m like her?”
Lilith offered me a shy smile. “Did your mother ever talk about your father?”
Beyond patience, I overcame my repulsion of the Demonspawn and stomped to her and gripped both her wrists. “No, and I always believed there was a good reason for that.”
She didn’t flinch at my touch, and instead tilted her head back and fluttered her eyes closed as if enduring a vision. “Your parents made you what you are. You’re capable of incredible regeneration. You’re immortal in a way none of us are. You can also see into futures and manipulate destiny itself.” Her eyes slit open to regard me with wonder. “Your mother, a powerful Seer, and your father… an angel.”
The world spun around us as I took her claim at face value. Derek might be a manipulative shrew, but this girl wanted my trust. I’d seen that when she’d told me all of Derek’s plans back in Seattle. She wouldn’t lie to me about this.
My grip tightened, but she still didn’t flinch. “What do you mean, an angel?” I growled.
Derek’s warning warmth ventured across my shoulder. I released his daughter. “The heavens know I’m manipulating things that they would rather be left to divine judgment.” He twirled me around to face him. “They sent your father to spawn you, so that there could be one powerful enough to challenge a forged destiny of the Incubus King. Where there is great darkness, a great light must rise to face it.” His face took on a feral grin. “How stupid, to believe you’d really side with ones who’ve only caused you pain. You’re meant to be light, but look at the darkness that swirls within you! No, you’ll help me achieve my goals. With the power of the Blood Stones we’ll create, we’ll bring an army of Demonspawn into this world, and destiny will be in our hands to mold as we see fit.”
I froze and controlled my features lest I give anything away. This was what my mother had warned me of. Hell on earth was about to break loose and I was the only person in the world who could stop it. With the power of Angelstone, Derek was messing with destiny itself.
My mother’s prophecy rang through my mind again and I struggled not to glance at Lilith. I was meant to save Sonya, the very creature who’d created the first Demonspawn in centuries, a creature who now stood by my side. Perhaps if Sonya had the power to create them, she knew how to destroy them as well.
“My only concern is Sonya,” I snapped. “Whatever you want me to do, I won’t do it if Sonya is given over to the dragons.”
Derek gave me a wry smile. “Taken a fancy to her, have you?” He rolled his shoulders and sighed. “I can’t say that I blame you. She is quite exquisite. But, alas, she has her role to play. The dragons will teach her things I cannot. She must taste other supernatural magic to empower her command over the Blood Stone. I’ve set her new destiny into motion and it can’t be stopped now.”
I crossed my arms. Something in me warned that Derek meant her to become a slave to that rock. He might have seen the prophetic runes across her stomach, and he might even know what they meant. The fact that he had plans for her meant that he knew she had power… power that he was going to use for his own purposes. “Then no deal. Not like I was really going to help you bring demons into this world anyway. You’re an insane bastard.”
Derek’s eyes flashed with anger. “Takes one to know one.”
“Enough,” Lilith hissed. “You said he was mine. Force him if he’s not going to comply.”
I whirled to face the traitorous Demonspawn. “You little—” my words cut off as pain jabbed through my temple. Lilith’s raised hand and flashing red eyes were all I could see. “Do it,” she said through gritted teeth.
Derek sighed. “Very well. I had hoped he’d come around. I have no idea what he sees in this world that he means to maintain it. Even a half-blooded angel would have been a useful ally.” Both his hands rested on my shoulders. “I cannot enthrall you. But, with my help, my daughter can.” Derek’s magic, a blue mist, strangled around my neck and sifted pain and pleasure through my body. I cried out in rage as free will was ripped from my soul.
Suddenly, as a tingling settled into my limbs, I blinked up at Lilith and wondered why I’d only ever seen her as an enemy.
She was beautiful, and I’d do anything she asked of me.
