Which is why I’m here, sitting in the castle of my enemy, acting as if everything is fine. Oh, I know Azazel is significantly better than his predecessor, but that doesn’t mean I’ll ever forgive or forget what he’s responsible for. It wasn’t his predecessor who made the bargain with my father that ended with my family dead. Even without that element of blame, it wasn’t too long ago that the entire demon realm was at war and I was doing my damnedest to kill the very people who sit so casually in this room with me.
Azazel knew how to bait his trap well.
And it is a trap. He’s too canny to do anything out of the goodness of his heart, which means he has half a dozen plots in play, and they all center around the five human women standing on the dais. Are they plants? Spies? Even assassins? By the time we find out, it will be too late.
I should leave.
Except I don’t have a damned choice.
All the women are beautiful and all just as likely to be my downfall. They’ll have to get in line behind the nobles in my territory and Fate, which seems determined to kick me when I’m down. Repeatedly.
I have only one route forward. A bargain and a human companion.
I grit my teeth and examine the women a little more closely. Pale skin. Tan skin. Blonde, brunette, redhead. Beautifully fat and lean and in-between. Human, every one.
Despite myself, my attention snags on the tall dark-haired woman in purple. Unlike the others, she stares out at the room with a provocation that feels almost violent. With the lights positioned as they are, there’s no way she can see the details of us, but that doesn’t stop her from challenging us with her dark eyes. It feels like she reaches across the distance and hooks her nails right into my chest.
She’s a terrible choice. I need someone docile and submissive. Someone who won’t make waves, who won’t drive away the few allies I have left in my territory. Someone like the shivering redhead or the smiling voluptuous brunette in blue.
But when I open my mouth, the word I speak is . . . “They’re all the same to me.” Lies. I’m a godsdamned liar. “Purple.”
Azazel gives me a short look that I can’t define, but nods. I barely pay attention as the rest of the auction wraps up, one leader after the other claiming one of the humans as their own. Doors appear around the perimeter of the room, and each pair is guided into one of them. There will be a contract to negotiate the finer details. Again, Azazel proves his cleverness by not giving us time to linger near the other leaders. He says he wants peace, and his actions seem to indicate he’s telling the truth—at least on the surface. I know better than to trust that, though.
The room we’re left waiting in is just big enough for me to spread my wings. I resist the urge. The last thing I need is Azazel thinking he made me nervous, even if it’s true. Instead, I watch the woman.
She paces from one corner of the room to the other, her long legs eating up the distance in smooth strides. She’s more muscular than I realized, her lean strength on full display in her fitted purple dress. Like the others, she’s beautiful—but hers is the kind of beauty one finds in the hellcats that haunt the succubi and incubi’s territory. Gorgeous and deadly and all too willing to eat your face off.
There isn’t a sliver of fear present in her energy either. Just the burnt orange of irritation. I don’t know if that’s a relief or something to worry about. To the best of my knowledge, these humans are new to this realm and have been kept mostly isolated from the bargainer demons. She should be shocked or scared or something to be faced with all of us. There must be some reasonable explanation. “Are you a witch?”
She snorts. “Hardly.”
I should stop talking, should wait for Azazel to arrive. Until the contract is signed, there’s every chance that the whole deal can be called off. But I find myself shifting so she’ll look at me again. “You’re taking this whole thing rather well.”
“I made a deal with a demon. Compared to Azazel, you’re just a dude with bat wings. Nothing to write home about.” She smirks. “Cute horns, though. Really adorable.”
My horns are not adorable.
I have to fight the instinctive urge to touch them. She’s gotten under my skin in a matter of seconds, which doesn’t bode well for the next seven years. I may not have wanted this, but I vowed to myself that I would be charming and kind. The contract allows for me to do my best to seduce my new human partner into giving me the one thing I need above all else. A child.
But I’m already fighting the urge to snarl instead of smile, to snap instead of seduce. I am well and truly fucked.
Before I can do something foolish, the door opens and Azazel walks in. He pauses for the briefest moment, almost as if he expected to find bloodshed, and then moves to a desk that appeared the second the door opened. I feel the magic of the castle gather to provide what he needs, but I’m intrigued that the human doesn’t seem surprised by it.
Again, I’m certain she’s had exposure to magic before.
Again, I wonder if this is all an elaborate trap.
I have no illusions about my position. I’m the weakest of the current leaders. The others may not realize how precarious my position is in this moment, but Azazel does. His knowledge was there in his carefully worded invitation. He knew I couldn’t say no, and he knew why.
He folds his giant hands and stares at us over his black claws. “I have reservations about this pairing. I would like to give each of you this opportunity to change your mind, with the understanding that if neither of you does change your mind, you’ll be signing a contract that will attach the two of you for the next seven years.” Before I can cut in and say things are fine, he pins her with a severe look. “There is no wiggle room. You are safe from harm, but that clause extends to your harming others. I won’t have you going on a rampage in my realm.”
Curiosity flares, but I can’t let that comment stand. “It’s not your realm, Azazel.”
“No,” he agrees easily. Too easily. “But if any of the territory leaders abuses my gift, that could change rather quickly. Which leads me to my next point.” He studies me far too intently. Bargainer demons hold their powers close, keeping their secrets, but I’m nearly 100 percent certain they don’t hold the same magic that my people do. Which means he can’t see my emotions swirling around me. Not like I can see his.
Which is right around the moment that I realize he’s being . . . genuine? There’s no calculation there. Only the neutral gray of worry.
“I’m listening.”
“I am aware of your history and the complications that this sort of circumstance will bring you. I extended this offer as a courtesy so you weren’t the only one left out of negotiations, but I want your word that your history will not factor into how you treat my human.”
“Oh, fuck off with that noise.” The human in question props her hands on her hips and glares. It’s honestly impressive that she doesn’t seem scared of him in the least. Especially when he’s three times her size and she barely comes up to his shoulder. “You know damned well that I’m more than capable of taking care of myself.”
“That’s not the point.” He turns that severe expression on her, and it’s a testament to her strength that she doesn’t wilt in the least. A hint of exasperation feathers through him, and it’s almost like she can see it too, because her lips quirk just a little.