“What are you talking about?” Lilith demanded. “What curse?”

“Eve placed a curse on Azazel,” Cora continued. “It prevents him from eliminating Cain’s bloodline. If he does, then you get hurt.” Cora paused for effect. “Fee is the last of her bloodline, so if you kill her, something bad will happen to you, probably death, who knows.”

Keon’s chest rumbled. “My queen?”

Lilith was staring at Azazel. “Is this true?”

He nodded, but you could tell it took a great effort to do so.

“Oh,” Cora continued. “The reason he couldn’t tell you is because Eve made it impossible for him to speak the words to you, and if anyone else tries to tell you, they die.”

“How are you telling me this?” Lilith asked.

Cora smirked. “I’m a loophole.”

“You know the truth now,” Azazel said to Lilith. “You can’t hurt Fee, not without bringing harm on yourself.”

Lilith’s chest heaved, and something akin to devastation crossed her face, but it was gone too quick for me to be sure.

“You kept the bloodline alive for me,” Lilith said.

“Yes,” Azazel replied.

“You did your duty.” She nodded as if coming to terms with this.

“I did. And I will continue to do so, but you must now do your duty as a mother.” He raised his voice so that everyone could hear.

Lilith frowned. “What is it? What do you want, my son?”

Yes, what did he want?

Azazel lifted his chin. “I wish to claim my soulmate.” He said it loudly, so his voice carried throughout the chamber.

My mouth dropped open at the same time as Lilith’s. I looked up at Azazel, but he kept his attention on the queen, his jaw set in a stubborn line.

“You’ve found your soulmate?” Lilith’s face went through a series of expressions before settling on polite inquiry.

“I have.”

Mal stepped forward. “And isn’t the bond of a soulmate a sacred thing?” He addressed the gathered.

Several guards and nobles murmured in agreement, which made me wonder what the hell they were making of this whole display. Someone bring on the popcorn.

Lilith’s delicate jaw tightened, and her gaze flicked from side to side. “I would need to meet her, of course. To vet her, to know that she is worthy of—”

“You have met her.” Azazel put his arm around me, and Cora released me, surrendering me to him. “She is a Dominus, blood of Samael. She is worthy.”

I held onto him, my heart swelling with love for this proud, powerful demon that was mine.

“Seraphina is my soulmate,” Azazel said.

Lilith’s lip curled, and she turned her back on the gathered, stepping toward us and lowering her voice. “I won’t allow it. I won’t allow Eve’s bloodline to be linked to mine.” There was real pain in her voice and real panic on her face.

“Soulmates are chosen by fate,” a slender demon said.

He stood slightly apart from the crowd. He was dressed in simple crimson robes with no adornment.

Keon hissed at him, but the demon ignored him. “Not even a queen has power over the sanctity of such a bond.”

Murmurs broke out among the gathered.

The queen looked pained. “Thank you for your input, cardinal. But I am merely concerned for my son’s welfare.”

“A mother’s right,” the cardinal said with a tight smile. “Unfounded, however, considering that a soulmate is a celestial blessing. And blessings are never detrimental.”

“I will complete the binding,” Azazel said. “And in doing so, I will keep you both safe.”

Keon was watching me with slitted eyes, and I could see the gears in Lilith’s head turning. She knew there was no way out of this. Azazel binding to me was the best way to keep me alive and thus keep her safe. She couldn’t hurt me. That option was now out the window. Saying no would do nothing but make her look petty and power-hungry in front of everyone in the room, and with the accusation of murderer already in the air from Mammon, she couldn’t afford any more bad press.

Keeping soulmates apart was obviously frowned upon.

The doors to the throne room burst open, and a troop of bloody demons wearing the Imperium colors strode in.

“Your Majesty, Mammon and his men have retreated. Imperium is secure.”

Lilith exhaled through her nose, and her shoulders slumped. “Prepare for the binding ceremony.”

Chapter Thirty-Three

Azazel and Conah left with Lilith, Cora vanished, and Mal brought me back to our quarters, where I paced with my stomach in knots.

Kiara was dead. I’d been speaking to her and then fifteen minutes later she was gone. Mammon had killed her. Killed her because his plan A to keep Conah away from the ceremony had failed. He’d instructed the mercenaries not to kill Conah because he wanted us to believe Lilith was behind the plot, and Lilith wouldn’t want her Dominus dead.

If we’d missed the ceremony, Kiara would still be alive. There’d probably still be a declaration of war, but Kiara, sweet Kiara, would still be alive.

My stomach hurt with the knowledge.

“Stop it.” Mal grabbed my arm to halt my pacing. “We weren’t to know.”

“Huh?” Had I been muttering out loud?

Mal pulled me to him and rested his chin on my head. “Kiara is gone, and we will grieve, but first, we need to bind you to Azazel to keep you safe.”

“You think she’ll do something to stop it? Oh, God, what if she decides to lock me up in a cage to keep me safe rather than let Azazel complete the soul binding ceremony?”

“She won’t do anything untoward,” Mal said. “She can’t without social repercussions, and right now, she needs to look like a benevolent monarch advocating for peace.”

Guilt twisted in my gut like a knife. How could I even be worrying about myself when Kiara was dead and the Underealm was on the brink of war.

“Where did they take Conah?”

“Into confinement. He’ll meditate with the cardinal and the acolytes until his soul has healed.”

“What is it like?”

I shouldn’t be asking him this. It might bring back memories of his loss, but I needed to know.

Mal’s mouth turned down. “It’s as if your soul is being ripped in two. As if a part of you is dying. You feel death’s grip and the gaping emptiness where there once was life and light. It’s the absence of joy, a vacuum that feels like it will never be filled.”

Oh, God. Conah…Poor Conah. “But it can be healed?”

“In time. But it leaves a scar that never fades.”

I closed my eyes and nuzzled the base of his throat. “I’m sorry. So sorry.”

Sorry for what he’d gone through, sorry for making him recall it, and sorry for Conah’s pain.

He hugged me tighter. “Focus on Azazel and the binding. Leave the rest to us.”

Azazel…He’d come to claim me, and it was as if the missing piece of a complex puzzle had fallen into my lap. The binding would simply push it into place. Forever.

“You two belong together,” Mal said. “It’s the right thing.”

Wait. I pulled back. “What are you saying?”

He smiled sadly. “I’m saying you have what you need, Fee. And it isn’t me.”

Hell, no. But my stomach fluttered. What if Azazel wasn’t on board with Mal. My insides twisted. I needed him to accept it

Mal stroked my hair. “He’s your soulmate. Your instinct will be to make him happy, but Azazel doesn’t share, Fee. You can’t have us both. You’re about to become his.”

No…That wasn’t how this worked. Not with me and Azazel. The panic churning inside me melted. Azazel was claiming me, but I was claiming him too. We were becoming whole.

I lifted my chin and kissed Mal’s jaw. “It works both ways. Azazel will want me to be happy too, and I can’t do that without you, Mal. I need you. I want you. I…I love you.”

He turned his head, and his lips met mine softly. “Fuck, Fee. You put me back together and shatter me again. You make me want to fucking live. I accepted my curse, but now…Now I wish I could fight it.”

My pulse beat faster. I had the information he needed to absolve him of guilt. This was the time. “You can fight it, Mal. Deep down you believe you don’t deserve happiness because your actions robbed Gailan of his life and took away his chance of love.”

Mal’s throat bobbed.

“I know you don’t believe the curse is feeding off your guilt, but I think Conah’s right. I think you have the power to break it, and I have some information that might help you do that.”

He frowned. “What kind of information?”

I pressed my palms to his chest. “I met a female daemon in a tavern last night…The same daemon you were with when Gailan died.”

His face drained of color. “What?”

“She gave me a message for you.” I told him the daemon’s story—her guilt, her lie by omission, and how fate had paid her back for it. “It wasn’t your fault. She did this. She kept you from him, and because of that, he died.”

Mal’s chest heaved, and he released me and stepped away. “You’re lying. You’re making this up to make me feel better.”

“If you don’t believe me, go to the tavern opposite the portal that leads to the Keep. She owns it.”

Mal shook his head, and I knew he was the one lying. He did believe me. He just wasn’t ready to deal with this yet.

“Mal…” I took a step toward him, but he held up a hand to stop me.

“Fee, please. I need… I need to be alone.” He cut across the chamber and into his room, slamming the door behind him.

“Well, that could have gone better,” Cora said from the main doors.

“Cor…” I stared at her. “Fucking hell.”