Page 314 of The Spider Queen
I woke up to moonlight. It bathed my face in its silvery glow. I sniffed, expecting to smell harpies on the air, but there was nothing but the scent of sweet nectar.
My body was numb and refused to move.
Something grazed my cheek.
Lucifer.
He was sitting next to me, his bat wings curled in, his chest bare. His indigo eyes glowed in the night.
“You found me,” I croaked. “The mark?”
He nodded.
I’d feel enraged later. When I had some energy.
“What were you doing in harpy territory?” he demanded.
I expected anger, resentment. But there was just mild curiosity.
“Exploring. I didn’t know.” I struggled to rise, and Lucifer helped me. My skin was warm from his touch but there was nothing lust-filled about it. Just enjoyment from the contact.
“Stella,” he began. “Tell me the truth.”
“You know the truth,” I spat. “Otherwise you wouldn’t be trying to get me to admit it.”
I turned away from him, feeling like my skin had been bowed inside out. Not to mention my feelings.
Jax was still a pile of gravel on the ground, but the harpies were gone. Had they scattered when Lucifer appeared?
The Prince of Darkness noticed my gaze and his expression darkened. “Serves him right. Entering harpy territory.”
I swallowed. He’d been the closest thing to a friend in this place. Now there was no one to confide in. I wouldn’t dare divulge anything to Lucifer. We shared a bout of immortal lust. That was all. I was a prisoner and he was my warden.
“I don’t suppose it would ease your mind to know that he’ll once more be himself in a few days,” Lucifer said, his eyes glowing in the dark night.
“What?”
“Gargoyles. They’re made of stone and even if crushed by a harpy’s strength, they will reform.”
I blinked. “But how?”
He shrugged. “I don’t understand the ways of gargoyles. Just like I don’t understand the ways of harpies.”
“But you’re the lord supreme here, no? How can you not know?”
“They’re not of my ilk, Stella. They answer to me, but do not directly serve me. They are not hellhounds or demons. They are their own entities. Think of Hell like one land, but with pockets of tribes.”
I didn’t make a move to get up. Instead, I looked to the sky and stared at the moon. It was a large silver disk, suspended in a navy blot.
“What are you going to do with me?” I asked quietly.
His thigh nearly brushed mine as his left wing gently eased around me in a caress. I was instantly warmed, sheltered from the cool breeze.
“What do you think I’m going to do with you?” His tone was seductive.
Where was the volatile beast that coldly ignored me when I went against his edicts?
I grasped his hand and moved my fingers to clasp around his wrist. I turned over his palm and traced the lines and grooves that ran across his skin.
