“Neither the living nor the dead can speak the truth to Lilith,” Leviathan says. “Eve’s curse pertains to the natural order. So, you must find a being who defies that. Neither born, living, nor dead. Do that, and you will have your answer.”

A creature that defies natural order…The answer hits me like a lightning bolt.

Fuck.

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Fee

Kiara was sending a carriage for me, and not going to lie, I was nervous. I’d be without Mal and Conah for the first time in the Underealm while playing a guy. I took a deep breath and stared at my male reflection. I looked good. I’d totally do me.

Mal and Conah had been summoned by Lilith half an hour ago, but Mal had left a guard outside the quarters to show me to the carriage. This place was a fucking maze, and I wasn’t even going to pretend to find my way around.

Cloak on, I headed out of the quarters to meet my guard.

The corridor was empty.

Mal wouldn’t have forgotten. Would he?

“Waiting for an escort?”

My head whipped up to find Keon crouched on a ledge high up on the wall. He was watching me, head canted to the side.

“There’s supposed to be a guard here to take me to my carriage.”

“Maybe. Maybe I ate him.” He showcased fangs.

I locked my knees to stop myself from backing up. “Or maybe you like messing with people.”

He leaped off the ledge and landed neatly in front of me. His mouth was smeared with red stuff, and his long fingers were coated in it.

“Is that…blood?”

He put his index finger in his mouth and licked it clean. “You want to taste?” He held out his hand.

I turned my face away, heart thudding hard. “No, thank you.”

He circled me. “You smell wrong,” he said. “You smell distorted.”

Oh, fuck.

He moved fast, and then I was shoved against the wall, and his nose was buried in my neck, hands pinning my wrists to my side. If he moved another inch, his body would be pressed to my very female form.

I summoned indignation and anger. “Get off me this instant. How dare you accost a Dominus.”

He released my wrists and stepped back. “You smell of women’s juices and sex.”

Fucking hell. I lifted my chin. “Last I checked it wasn’t a crime to fuck.”

He snorted and shook his head.

“Keon!” Conah strode toward us. “Back off.”

I breathed a sigh of relief.

Keon smirked and turned to Conah. “You don’t give me orders.”

“No. Lilith does. And I’m pretty sure her orders don’t involve harassing the new Dominus.”

Keon stepped away from me, his cat’s eyes filled with malice. “I don’t like you,” he said. “You make no sense.” He leaped up onto the ledge and then slipped through the window and was gone.

I sagged against the wall, hand going to my chest, where my heart was finishing off an epic crescendo.

“You all right?” Conah asked.

“Yeah. But the sooner we get out of here, the better.”

“You’ll be safe with Kiara,” he said. “Best to stay away from Keon. His instincts may be too sharp to be fooled by the amulet for long.”

I nodded. “Yeah.”

He licked his lips, his expression troubled as if he was mulling over a decision, and then he pushed open the door to the quarters and ushered me through.

“What? Conah, what is it?”

“Take it off,” he said softly.

“What?”

“The amulet. Just take it off.”

“Why?”

His jaw ticked, and he looked pained. “I promise you I’ll never speak of it again. After tomorrow, I’ll never look at you in an inappropriate way or tell you how I feel, but right now, I need to see you one last time.”

My pulse fluttered in my veins, and my throat pinched. “Conah…”

“I won’t touch you, I promise. I just… I need to see you.”

I pulled the amulet out from under my shirt, and my skin pricked as the magic left me.

Conah exhaled, his gaze roving over my face hungrily, eyes darkening in that tell-tale manner that told me exactly what he wanted. His attention dropped to my lips, and my breath hitched. I shook my head slightly, and he nodded.

I took a deliberate step away from him and tucked the amulet back under my shirt so it kissed my skin, reactivating the glamour. I noted his hands were balled into fists.

He slowly unfurled them. “Come on. I’ll take you to the carriage.”

The carriage dropped me off outside a dome where a guard was waiting to greet me. “Dominus.” He inclined his head. “Mistress Kiara is waiting for you.”

“Lead the way.”

The inside of the dome was huge. Light streamed in from the glass ceiling, and heat blasted my chilled skin. The center of the dome was a lounge area, and doors and arches led away from it. Kiara was sipping from a cup and facing the main doors. Three other females sat with her.

She looked up at the clip of my boots. Her eyes widened, and then a grin broke across her face.

“Felton!” She put her cup down and rushed toward me.

We met in a hug, and I lifted her off her feet for a moment before setting her down. It seemed like a manly thing to do.

She beamed up at me. “You look…manly.”

I bit back a smile and gave her a stern look. “Don’t I always?”

She canted her head to the side. “Not really.”

One of the female demons giggled, and I turned my mock stern glare on her. “You think that’s funny?”

Her eyes widened, and she ducked her head.

“There is absolutely nothing wrong with a man enjoying pink fluffy slippers.”

They all burst out laughing.

Kiara leaned in and whispered, “You’re good at this. This glamour is perfection.”

“You should see me naked.” I wiggled my brows.

She rolled her lips into her mouth, eyes shining. “Yes, and if my maids found out, that story will be all over Imperium in an hour.”

“Bride-to-be sees Dominus cock—Not her groom’s.”

Kiara linked her arm through mine. “I’m so glad you’re here. We’re going to have so much fun.”

She led me over to the seating area, and I spotted the yarn and the embroidery and the tea.

Wait…was this her idea of fun? “Kiara, please tell me you’re not about to spend the night before your wedding knitting and sewing.”

She made an ‘o’ with her mouth. “It is what a bride does.”

“We have an intricate puzzle to solve also,” one of the other demons said.

Oh, boy. I had two choices. Either shut up and deal with it and spend an incredibly boring evening with my friend or shake things up and do it Necro-style.

The demon held out a set of knitting needles. “I can teach you,” she said coyly.

Yep. Decision made. “Okay, everyone. Change of plan. We’re going out, and we’re going to get ever so slightly shit-faced.”

So, turns out that going out with the future key to an important treaty is no easy feat. Four guards loaded with weapons hovered on the corners of the tavern while we’d been forced to dress as commoners, which meant furs and itchy cotton, but after a couple of ales, none of that mattered. My belly was warm, and my cheeks ached from laughing. Kiara’s face was flushed and happy. Her maids catered to her, making sure her plate was full and her goblet topped up. The music was a little scratchy, but it loaned the event a little atmosphere, and yeah, it was no night club, but it was something.

“Thank you.” Kiara touched my hand lightly. “I needed this.”

“Me too.” I slung an arm around her shoulder and pulled her in for a sideways hug. “I love you, chick.”

“Chick?”

“It’s an endearment. Just go with it.”

She pulled away slightly to look up at me. “I’ve never had a female friend before. Not really.”

“Yeah, well, you do now, and me and you, we’re gonna be besties.”

She smiled shyly. “I’d like that.”

“Can I get you anything else?” The bar lady I’d ordered from stood by our table, but her gaze was on Kiara. “My lady?” She frowned. “Kiara, is that you?”

Kiara froze for a moment, and then her mouth turned down. “Orla. What are you doing here?”

“I own this place,” Orla said. “I…Is Malachi with you? Has he come home for the wedding?”

Kiara nodded. “But he won’t see you. You know that.”

“I just. I need to speak to him. Just once.”

Kiara’s gaze softened. “Leave it, Orla. He moved on a long time ago.”

“It’s not that. I…you don’t understand. There’s something he needs to know.”

“All he knows is that he chose you over Gailan and Gailan died. Please, Orla, leave him in peace. He’s suffered enough.”

“But that’s just it,” Orla said. “There is no need for him to suffer. It was my fault. The whole thing, and I’ve paid for it. I lost two children and a husband. I lost my mind for a while, and now I know the only way to fix things is to confess. I need to confess.”

The maids were staring at Orla, enraptured.

Was this the daemon Mal had been with when Gailan died? “What do you need to confess?”

She looked at me and frowned. “Who are you?”

“A Dominus, and Malachi’s…friend. Tell me, and I’ll make sure he gets the message.”

“You know what happened to Gailan?”

“Yes.”

“I owed money to some bad people. I couldn’t pay, so I told them that Gailan and Malachi had the money, that I’d given it to them to pass on. I sent these collectors to the tavern. I knew Malachi and Gailan would be able to handle the thugs. Those two were…they were a solid team. But things went wrong. Malachi turned up on my doorstep that night instead of going to the tavern. I could have sent him away, I should have, but I’d wanted him for so long…I let him in, telling myself Gailan would be fine.”