Amalia

I refused to let them see my apprehension as I glanced from the striking demon perched on my chest to the grief-stricken one holding the woman in his arms. Though the woman looked entirely human, I sensed something more powerful beneath her surface.

I was tempted to fight against the demon on my chest again but exhausting myself further wasn’t going to help me in this situation. If the fallen angel hadn’t gotten in the way, I could have outrun him, but now that he had me, there would be no escape. He was stronger than I was.

Besides, I wasn’t much of a fighter. It went against who I was, but if I got the chance, I would fight for my life.

To get out of this, I had to keep my wits about me, and I didn’t think they’d let me go anytime soon, not while their brethren remained trapped in the Abyss.

I’d finally experienced freedom from the seal, and already it was being yanked away from me. I should never have gone near the encampment, but though they didn’t tell me what they planned, I’d known the jinn were up to something there today. I had to see what they’d done, even if I hated their actions.

And seen I had, but then I’d also been seen. I hadn’t expected to discover anyone here free of the Abyss, but I still would have gone to see what the jinn had done; I just would have been more careful about my approach.

Grinding my teeth, I steadied myself as, behind the man sitting on me, one of the angels moved. He was as golden as the sun, and the one who landed beside him was as black as the raven he assumed the form of when he attacked me. I’d heard stories of the golden angel, Raphael, who descended from Heaven recently. Raphael left Heaven, but he wasn’t considered one of the fallen angels, unlike his brother, Caim, who’d been evicted from Heaven six thousand years ago with the rest of the fallen.

I’d believed the stories of the angels to be nothing more than rumors. How could a fallen angel and a golden one work together without trying to kill each other? And how could they be working with the palitons?

A golden angel and a fallen one following the king of Hell sounded ludicrous, but there they stood as opposite as they could get from each other, but both magnificent, powerful, and terrifying in their own way.

Until the seal fell, I’d never dealt with any demons outside of the jinn, and I most certainly hadn’t encountered any humans, horsemen, or angels. Since being freed, I still hadn’t met any of the fallen angels or horsemen. I’d met only a few humans, and the demons I encountered, I got away from as quickly as I could.

But at least those I’d met wouldn’t consider me their enemy; I couldn’t say the same about those gathered around me. I’d fallen into the hands of the palitons, and I didn’t see it going well for me.

The jinn were locked behind the seal years before the fallen angels entered Hell and the newest varcolac demon, Kobal, rose from the Hellfires to become the king of Hell. Before we were freed, we knew nothing of who ruled Hell, the angels, or what was happening within Hell. What the jinn learned of Kobal and his followers came from other craetons on Earth.

Once freed from the seal, we’d learned fast that things had changed a lot over the years. And now, the varcolac who’d sealed the jinn away was dead. Hell was in ruins, and the fallen angel Astaroth, some demons, seal creatures, and the horsemen had aligned to become a threat to the newest varcolac’s rule. My parents and most of the jinn had chosen to align with those craetons, leaving me… lost.

I didn’t want to be a craeton, but I didn’t want to leave my family either, especially while I was still mortal and therefore susceptible to death more than most demons. Once I stopped aging, became immortal, and my empath ability strengthened further, I might have no choice but to leave them as I feared their penchant for cruelty might ultimately destroy me.

Behind the seals, there wasn’t anyone for the jinn to persecute; on Earth, there were so many they could destroy, and I couldn’t stand by and watch it happen.

But that was a problem for another day; I had a far larger one looming over me. What had I gotten myself mixed up in here with these palitons? Most of their allies were trapped in the Abyss, but these were still some of the most powerful creatures on the planet, and they had me. I cursed my curiosity and empathy as I tried and failed to plot an escape.

Why wasn’t I faster? But I knew the answer. Jinn were extremely fast, but I wasn’t immortal yet, and I hadn’t fully come into my abilities.

Cursing my inability to outrun them, I glared at the demon restraining me. His smile didn’t falter. I’d never seen a demon quite like him before. Even the jinn, who were some of the best-looking demons, couldn’t boast one as sculpted as this man.

His ice blond hair and dark blond eyebrows emphasized the chiseled planes of his face and silver eyes. His hair mostly covered the black horns curving back against the sides of his head, but the polished, sharp tips poked out, and I guessed them to be about six inches in length.

I bit my lip as I wondered what it would be like to run my fingers over those horns. I’d love to discover if they were as smooth as they appeared. Lithe in build, I couldn’t stop my eyes from raking over his broad shoulders and tapered waist as desire spread through me. I’d experienced desire before, of course, but not toward a man who would probably prefer to kill me just because of my jinni status.

Get it together, Amalia, or you’ll die today.

Lifting my chin, I pushed aside my lust and stared defiantly back at the demon as an arrogant smirk curved his full lips. I could pretend he didn’t intrigue me, but he knew he did. Well, of course he did, I wore my emotions on my face and in my eyes. If I spent enough time with my captors, it wouldn’t take them long to figure that out.

The fact I wore my emotions openly for everyone to see hadn’t been an issue in Hell, but now it was a curse.

The demon with the black hair holding the woman stepped closer to us, drawing my attention to them. I didn’t need my empath ability to know he loved the woman; I recognized love when I saw it. Even if I hadn’t been an empath, the jinn were adept at reading emotions.

Then, I saw the marks on his neck and hers and caught their mingled scents.

Chosen! No wonder he was so desolate; he probably felt like a big part of him was dying.

My heart twisted as his sorrow beat against me, and yet again I cursed my empath ability. Some might see my ability to feel another’s emotions as a weapon; I saw it as a burden but one I couldn’t rid myself of as I’d been born with the Fault that ran through the jinn lines.

Behind the seal, being one of the Faulted didn’t matter as jinn had empathy toward each other, but most of them felt nothing for anyone outside our breed of demon. Outside the seal, with so many more emotions and other creatures to deal with, my empath ability made me feel weaker than most of the other jinn as I didn’t possess their ruthlessness.

There were other Faulted jinn who were also empaths, but they’d branched off and gone their own way a few months after being freed from Hell. I’d yearned to go with them, as I fit in more with the Faulted than the jinn I remained with, but I wasn’t ready to leave my parents.

And now I was in this mess because of my empath ability—which was stronger than the rest of the Faulted despite my young age—and what my family did to the palitons today. I had no idea how to get out of it either.

Even if I could get out of it, I couldn’t leave this demon in such misery. I couldn’t stand the idea of a Chosen losing their mate. My parents were Chosen. I’d grown up surrounded by their love, and if something happened to one of them, the other would die.

I may not completely fit in with my parents, and they may not understand me, but we deeply loved each other.

“Who are you?” I asked the man on my chest.

His smile somehow managed to be arrogant and seductive all at once. This guy knew exactly how gorgeous he was, which only made me want to kick him more.

“I think the better question is, who are you?” he asked.

“I am Amalia, and you?”

“Pretty name,” he murmured.

The liquid silver of his eyes deepened to a nearly black hue when they latched onto my mouth. My breath caught as my body reacted to the desire he emanated. I contemplated trying to wiggle out from under him again, but I wouldn’t succeed, and I might only arouse him further.

“Stop flirting with her, Magnimus!” the demon holding the woman barked.

“Magnimus,” I muttered.

Magnimus sat further back as he tilted his head to survey me. “I prefer to be called Magnus,” he said.

“Magnus,” I repeated the familiar name. He was a close friend of the king, but that was all I knew about him.

My eyes flickered to the demon with the lethal talons who looked about to gut Magnus and me.

“That is Corson,” Magnus said.

Corson was one of the king’s second-in-command, I knew.

“Fix this!” Corson snarled at me.

“I can’t,” I whispered.

“Yes, you can! Undo whatever you sick fucks did and bring her back to me!” Corson commanded.

Taking a deep breath, I focused on Magnus. He was far more rational than Corson, and I suspected he would be easier to deal with. “Please, let me up.”

Magnus snorted with laughter. “I don’t think so.”

I gritted my teeth against my frustration. “I’m not going to run. You’ll only catch me again.”

“Maybe you won’t run, and we would catch you, but we also can’t have you casting any spells or whatever it is you jinn do.”

I rolled my eyes. “We don’t cast spells; we seep into minds.”

Though his expression remained arrogant, I felt a tendril of unease waft from him. “You seep into minds?”

“Yes, kind of. Let me up and I’ll explain.”

He studied me before releasing my hands and rising to his feet in one fluid movement. Sitting up, I rubbed my wrists together while I surveyed those gathered around me.

“Do you know nothing of the jinn?” I asked.

“No one does; it’s one of the reasons you were locked away,” Magnus replied.

“Because you feared what we could do?”

“Because our ancestors did. Until recently, we’ve had zero interaction with your kind.”

“And what are the other reasons we were locked away?”

“Because you’re sadistic, manipulative liars who take joy in tormenting others,” Magnus stated.

I forced myself not to wince at his harsh assessment of the jinn. “Aren’t all demons like that?”

“Many demons don’t turn on each other the way the jinn and other craetons do; we focus our need to wreak havoc on warping souls into wraiths. The jinn, and everything else once locked behind the seals, would have destroyed Hell and all the demons in it if they weren’t caged.”

Not all jinn are like that.

“None of this matters,” Corson interjected.

“But it does,” I said. “I can’t fix this. It’s not a spell woven over them, but something deeper. Only the affected can break themselves free of the Abyss. If they’re strong enough to escape the Abyss, then they’ll survive; if not, they’ll die.”