Xan kept a rigid hold on her breathing. By the time she’d returned, Spaeth had left. So she’d had to go in search of him, trying not to think about how much more the extra time would anger him. Spaeth flitted around her now—in one spot on her inhale, in a completely different spot on her exhale. The chamber was warm, and randomly chosen. Spaeth never met her in the same place twice, and never, ever in his personal cave.

As if she didn’t know where he lived. And that all these meeting areas were in the vicinity of his home. She’d filed that away for future reference.

He never showed himself for long, appearing and disappearing at will, a moving target, and the main reason he was still alive after the recent Circle upheaval. That, and his nuclear personality. If he stayed in one place for long, the radiation he emitted would bubble the skin right off her.

As it was, blisters formed whenever he appeared. What she wouldn’t give for a coat of lead. The bastard. He was crafty and devious and looking at him burned her retinas. Not many beings could withstand a full ogle of Spaeth.

On the bright side, he might’ve coerced her to work for him, but he didn’t think her body was his personal playground. The full-blooded demon was brutal, ambitious, and arrogant—but it was a deserved arrogance. He blackmailed her like a decent demon, utilizing her skills for his benefit. Not once had rape been on the table, or even seduction. Nor did she ever get the feeling that he was plotting to sell her to the highest bidder.

He’d been behind her promotion to one of the Thirteen. It had been part of his demands when he’d first approached her. Since he’d promised to kill her entire family while she watched if she didn’t obey, she’d challenged for a seat on the Circle before the day had been done.

I’ll burn them to ashes, one layer of skin at a time, while you watch. Claims she didn’t doubt he could accomplish.

Only he knew where her sister and niece were—because he’d abducted them. Thus Xan was his faithful servant.

Still, it did a girl good to keep searching for her boss’s weaknesses in case she needed to kill him. Correction: in case she got the opportunity to kill him.

“What has the demon Q been up to?” Spaeth hissed. Xan almost smiled. Spaeth hated using Quution’s name; it was too close to acknowledging that the male had outsmarted him to fill the Circle with half-breeds.

“Research. I haven’t determined for what yet.”

Spaeth flashed in her face, the wave of radiation breathing agony across her skin.

How did Spaeth mate? On the plus side, he was probably a fast fuck, but his poor partner would shed some cancerous cells once the male finished. She couldn’t help studying him. It was what she did with her targets. How did they function? What were their strengths and weaknesses? How could she use that knowledge against them? She’d never relied on her powers alone. There were so many more ways to harvest knowledge on a subject.

Xan excelled in fear and that was it. According to stories she’d been told growing up, she should be able to exploit them to the point of distorting the emotion into her target’s biggest nightmare—or fantasy. A fear that was targeted enough, personal enough, could be molded, submerging the victim into a world of their mind’s own making, like a hallucination. Half reality, half illusion. Or that’s what would happen, if she’d ever done it. According to Mama, she needed to manipulate more emotions than fear to achieve it.

Xan wasn’t so sure.

A flash of pain flared on her left. “What’s taking you so long?”

“He is secretive and can travel through the realms at will.” Damn energy demon. “I hunt him down daily and get closer each time. But he is a high-profile target and I must tread carefully or he will be on to you.”

Her subtle comment that Quution would deal not just with her, but also hunt down Spaeth, hadn’t been missed. The flash of Spaeth’s expression was pure annoyance and it made her heart sing. Another weakness of his. Fear of Quution, and fear of failure.

“Find a way to spend a lot of time around him. Seduce him.” Annoyance rang through the chamber.

“He’s not indiscriminate.”

Spaeth materialized in front of her face. All of her muscles went rigid to refrain from jerking away. “My spies say he’s in the human realm now. Why?” He vanished. She blinked against the dryness in her eyes.

“I was also in the realm but didn’t have time to find him. I came back for the summons.” Hopefully the truthful part of her statement covered the lie.

It’d be nice if his spies could throw her a bone and tell her where Quution went.

Fangs appeared in front of her eyes. “No excuses.”

She blinked. Damn, it’d take all day before it felt like she wasn’t blinking with sandpaper.

“What’s his weakness?”

“I haven’t spent enough time with him.” She needed more exposure. If the weakness was strong, she could sense it. Fear called to her like a divining rod. All she had to do was be in the same room as the feeling was experienced. It was like the emotion seeped into the rock, tainting it with a resonance that still called to her long after the fact. If a human had to explain it, they’d probably go off on something about pheromones or some real Discovery Channel gibberish, but to her, it just was. The mechanism didn’t matter as long as she knew how to use her talent. Well, what little talent she had, anyway. Made living in the underworld super fun. But if her target had tight control over his emotions, her task was even more difficult.

Quution was a deliciously controlled man.

“Then spend enough time with him!” The words came from behind her. Spittle sprayed across her nape, burning in spots where it touched. “I didn’t hire you to play hard to get.”

He hadn’t hired her at all. As long as you’re loyal to me, your sister and her whelp will live.

She hadn’t seen Xera for months. Was she okay? Terrified? Spaeth didn’t abuse Xan, but did he abuse her sister? Xan’s stomach twisted. Or her wee little niece, Xoda?

Xan hadn’t killed her abusive mother with her bare hands only to lose Xera and Xoda to a deranged, power-hungry demon who couldn’t do his own dirty work.

How would she stick to Quution like glue? He’d been painfully clear that he didn’t see her as a potential mate. He wasn’t the type of guy who gathered BFFs for gossip seshes about what the new Circle members were wearing. Except for Quution, they were all nude anyway.

He might keep a tight rein on himself, but she’d been around him enough to know that he prided himself on his intelligence.

Ugh, she hated what she had to do next, but it was sure to appeal to Quution and would guarantee copious amounts of time together.

She lifted her chin. “Fine. Everywhere he turns, he’ll see me.”

Sweet brimstone, what was she doing here?

Quution froze in his doorway at the sight of a purple demon reclining on his bed. He was one of the few demons who had an actual door. Another object he’d smuggled from the human realm, and it hadn’t taken nearly as much power as he’d thought.

His gaze swept his chamber. Had she let others in? His need for privacy had him clutching the scrolls he’d borrowed from Demetrius’s mate, Calli, to his chest.

The pile of books on the large stone in the corner of his cave was in place. His clothing hung from hooks on the walls, and the faux rock he stored his backup prosthetics in was undisturbed. But he couldn’t relax.

A nude Xan lay on his bedding. He’d never experience a peaceful night of sleep again.

As if he had in the first place. After the way he’d grown up, fitful sleeping was all he knew.

“W-what are you doing here?” And how had she found his place? He’d manipulated energy signatures in a mile-wide radius around his chamber to misdirect and confuse would-be visitors. Very few people had been to his home, and each had been invited out of necessity.

“Got a proposal for you, Quution.”

Her purr caressed his body. His craving for contact, for another being’s touch, nearly drove him to his knees.

He steeled himself. “I’m waiting.”

She rose in one lithe move. He gulped and forced his gaze up so high he would’ve been staring at the ceiling if he hadn’t corrected and sought her dark eyes.

So lovely. Mysterious.

Determined.

What was she up to? Would he be smart enough to keep her from whatever her goal was?

She slinked toward him. Even with his gaze firmly on her face, he couldn’t miss the swing of her hips. He adjusted the scrolls just to distract himself and keep his blood from pooling in his groin.

“Quution.” His name on her lips again. It was like she knew how his energy went haywire when she said it. “You’re the only one who can help.”

She stopped right under his nose. Lavender laced with brimstone. Humans would wrinkle their noses, but he wanted to lean in, take huge breaths until he infused all his pores with her scent.

He had to get her out of here.

“What do you mean only I can help?” He managed to sound dubious and not horny.

She trailed a finger around the top of one scroll, dangerously close to his skin. Her touch was close enough that his energy reached for her.

A dark brow lifted as she watched him. “I need you, Quution.”

He clutched his load tighter and stepped back. He was almost back in the corridor, but he didn’t care. This female was dangerous to his sensibilities. She made him want things he’d long given up.

“How could you possibly need me?” She was competent. Capable. Crafty. She’d made it onto the Circle, though he couldn’t figure out a reason why. Melody had been the first half-breed to crack the Circle, then Quution had provided opportunities for other half-breeds he’d known, a few demons who wouldn’t just use the added power to pad their own pockets. Not that anyone but him had pockets down here. But the half-breeds were stronger than they knew, even if centuries under the rule of full-breeds had disheartened them.

But Xan had come out of nowhere to earn her position by defeating another Circle member and then…done nothing with it.

She gave him a searing look that suggested just how he could be useful. His body warmed, as if preparing to answer her call.

“I want you…” She pouted her lower lip out. “To teach me how to read.”

She what? He retreated another step. She was staying close, probably hoping to catch him off guard, and he’d use it to draw her out of his chamber.

But the wicked demon didn’t take the bait. She propped an arm on the doorframe and rested her other hand on her generous hip.

Demon balls, he wanted to look so badly. “Why me?”

“I don’t know many other demons who can do more than chisel their name, followed by ‘was here’ on the cave walls.”

One would think she knew how to read from her statement, but she was older than him and incredibly astute. He gathered that when she went into the human realm, she absorbed information like an exotic sponge. It made sense. Her powers were attuned to the fear motivating other’s actions, but he doubted she relied on her special ability alone. She read body language, listened to conversations, heard what wasn’t being said.

And she spoke the truth. Hieroglyphs were popular in the underworld. Pictures told a story better and faster, especially for a population that didn’t always share the same language or value reading skills. It was hard to when their leaders discouraged such communication. Anything to wall off power and maintain ignorance.

Learning his letters and numbers was one of the few good things his mother had passed down to him, and it’d only been to build him up to take over the underworld. She’d been so full of knowledge during her lucid moments, and so much hate otherwise, until her painful death. The older he’d gotten, the more she’d tried to kill him out of sheer bitterness.

“There are other demons who can read.” He wouldn’t have hoarded an extensive library if at least some demons didn’t prefer to pen their ponderings and ambitions. “Why me?”

She cocked her head and gave him the most real look he’d seen from her yet. “Because you wouldn’t demand my body or lewd favors in exchange.”

Her confession rocked him. Again, she was correct. The underworld was brutal in its negotiations, a what can you do for me? realm. Many creatures didn’t wait to take what they wanted, and many died trying. But if Xan asked for a favor, most would be damn sure to capitalize on the request. The greater the need, the more she’d be abused.

Which made his refusal easy. He didn’t need anything from her and his conscience wouldn’t suffer. She didn’t need to read to thrive. Not his Xan— Not Xan. Just plain Xan.

She wasn’t plain, but he couldn’t argue with himself. He had to get her out of his chamber. His ability to think and plot suffered when she was around.

“No.”

Her brows popped up. Genuine surprise. He was getting all sorts of the real Xan. “No? Why the hell not?”

“I don’t have time. And I don’t need anything from you.”

“Quution.” She sauntered closer. He retreated until his back hit the wall across from his door. “Q. Are you sure you don’t need anything from me? What if I’m willing to offer?”

His heart rate kicked up. “N-no.”

Her breasts brushed his arm. He tensed every muscle in his body to keep from shaking. The staggering desire raging through him made him weak.

“I’m sure there’s something you need from me,” she crooned. “Down here, all by yourself. Doesn’t it get lonely?”

His nostrils flared from the effort of holding himself still. Moments like this brought the horrible realization that he was nothing but a baseless demon at heart. A simple grab and turn and he’d have her pinned against the wall.

Prove you’re not worthless, whelp.

His mother’s sneer ricocheted around his brain, bringing him relief from his struggle. He was not a brainless creature. He would act around Xan like he acted around others. His lust was nothing but another emotion to manage.

“Why, yes, Xan. You do have something I want.”

A delicate brow arched. Glow from the torches lining the corridor shimmered in the dark pools of her eyes. “Say it,” she said, and it was too damn erotic.

“Tell me why you suddenly need to read. And who you work for, and why he or she sent you to spy on me.”

She stiffened and withdrew, leaving a chasm of cool air wafting between them. “What the hell are you talking about?” In a heartbeat, her expression turned aloof.

As if she didn’t know what he meant. “You’ve been lurking around me, asking seemingly pointless questions. But you don’t do anything without reason, nothing without benefit to yourself or your master.”

At the word “master,” a wave of murder rippled through her eyes.

He couldn’t bring himself to be smug. It had been a bluff, but a fruitful one. Another demon controlled her. How? What vulnerability did Xan have that could be used to make her someone’s marionette? She was the type of female who’d die for what she believed in.

And she was still alive because she believed in very little.

“So, when you come ready to exchange information for reading lessons, let me know.” He sidled around her, darted into his cave, and slammed the door behind him. Energy shimmered as he wove it around the door. Forget deadbolts. He formed a shield against the stunned—and pissed-off—female outside his door.