The Demon's Queen (A Deal With a Demon, #6)

by Katee Robert

I smile up at Azazel, and I don’t even have to fake it. He’s as beautiful as a model: sun-kissed skin, dark eyes, and stylishly cut dark hair. But it’s more than that. He’s courteous, he seems to listen, and he eats my pussy like he never needs to breathe. If the bed play gets a little possessive, that’s a red flag I’m happy to ignore until I can’t do so any longer, because everything else with him is pure pleasure.

“I would like something different tonight.” I almost sigh before I catch myself. Different doesn’t have to default to a red flag, but with how my luck is currently running, I don’t like my odds of making it out tonight with Azazel still as my client. Still, I smile at him. That’s Future Me’s problem. “What did you have in mind?” He takes a sip of his wine, almost as if he’s nervous. But that can’t be it. I just watched him remove Tanner as a threat without the slightest bit of effort. What could he possibly be nervous about? I slide a little closer to him and press my free hand to his chest. “No matter what it is, honey, I promise I won’t think less of you for it. Just talk to me.” He takes another too-large sip of his wine. “I would like to . . . role-play.” I keep my features carefully schooled in interest. What kind of role-play is he asking for that makes him this jumpy? Yes, it’s a new ask, but it’s hardly taboo . . . “You know I’m happy to do whatever you like, as long as you talk me through it first.” “I want . . .” He finally looks at me, his brown eyes so dark that they’re nearly black. “I would like you to sign a contract.” I blink. “A contract.” My mind whirls, but no matter which angle I come at this from, I can’t see what would make him act like this. Contracts for bedroom games have existed long before a certain franchise made them popular a decade ago. They can sweeten the spice, can lay out the terms in a way that makes everyone feel safe. With that said . ...

“I’ll sign this for the night if that’s your fantasy. But I am curious about how you want to spend the rest of the time before dawn.” His eyes heat. “I have a few ideas.”

“I want to spoil you, Ginger. I want to treat you as if you were mine in truth.”

“Please calm down.” “No one in the history of the universe has ever calmed down when someone said to calm down.”

“There’s nothing in there about him giving me something. And when would it even come into play? The terms were for a lifetime.” If I weren’t watching Ramanu so closely, I would miss the way their jaw drops. They recover quickly but not quickly enough. I narrow my eyes. “That’s not standard procedure, then.”

The castle isn’t technically sentient, but it’s close enough, so it’s a good idea to be polite and ask for what I want instead of demand it. Whichever leader in generations long past imbued the building with magic to shift and mold at will, I don’t think they intended the place to end up with a will of its own. But magic and time have a way of playing with even the clearest of intent. Case in point, it should be a five-minute walk to reach Eve’s room. The castle must sense my reluctance, because it takes me fifteen to reach her door.

“I’m sorry for how things occurred. You’re safe here.” Necessary words, for all that they feel inadequate. She blinks, her uncertainty melting away to reveal pure rage. “You kidnapped me.” “You signed the contract.” I register that it’s the wrong thing to say immediately and hold up my hands. “I understand that⁠—” “I signed a contract you led me to believe was role-play!” She clenches her fists. “Did you kidnap the others too? Did you fuck them before they signed their lives away? And now you sold them. You’re a monster.” She flicks a derisive glance over my body, for all that I tower over her in my true form. “And it has nothing to do with how you look.” I flinch. I can’t help it. “I haven’t fucked anyone but you in years.” I don’t intend to speak that truth, but it lands in the space between us. I watch her discard my words as lies, and I have no one to blame but myself. Because I did lie to her. Just not about this. “Even if that were true, what do you want? A cookie?” With every word, she draws her composure tighter around herself, closing me out. “I am not, and never was, your girlfriend. You were a client.” It’s the truth. There’s no reason for it to sting. I’m no lovestruck fool to think that she shares my feelings, no matter how much she seemed to enjoy our time together. I clear my throat. “And I didn’t sell the others. The contracts were renegotiated.” “Renegotiated.” She snorts. “Yeah. Sure. Whatever you say.” She crosses her arms under her generous chest. “Are ...

He’s even handsome in a rough-cut way, though I’m not currently in the mood to admit it.

“You are such a pain in the ass.” “Want to fire me?” They laugh. “Oh wait, I’m the best at this job, and part of said job is telling you things you don’t want to—but need to—hear.” I wave that away. “Go.” “Consider me gone.”

“You’re safe here, Eve. No one gets into this castle without my permission.” “I wouldn’t need to be safe if you hadn’t been playing human for years with me.” She glares. “Tell him I mean nothing to you. Tell him it was just business and getting your rocks off. Tell him it’s all bullshit.” I can’t. “It would be a lie.” “It would be a lie,” she echoes. “Don’t tell me you fell for your own bullshit. Hooker with a heart of gold, right? That’s the fairy tale. That it’s not a job for me, that I really care about you, that I never once faked it. But you were a damned client and that is my job.” Each word lashes me. “It doesn’t matter if I’m a job to you, Eve. He knows me well enough to know that I care about you, so he’ll hurt you to punish me. No matter what you feel for me—or don’t—you don’t deserve to be hurt.” She holds my gaze. “Style yourself my savior in your head, but did you stop to wonder if lying to me, taking me away from everything I’ve ever known . . . might hurt me too?” I knew it would. I chose to do it anyway. “Better you be hurt and alive than hurt and dead.” She shakes her head and plants her hands on the table, then propels herself to her feet. “You’re lying.” Now it’s my turn to blink. “Excuse me?” “It may be true that Brosh wants me dead, but it’s not the full truth, is it?” She drains her wine and sets the glass down on the table. “If you were such a good leader, such a selfless person, then you would have given me a short contract to keep me safe until you...

“Tell me your safe word, Azazel.” The snap in her voice makes my cock even harder. My sexual tastes are varied, but Eve fits them all. She always has. She grabs my chin and forces me to meet her furious dark eyes. “Now.” “Apple,” I grit out. “Do you want to use it, Daddy?” She doesn’t move her body, but her nails prick my skin. I know what the right answer is. Speak the word and put a stop to her doing this for all the wrong reasons. The problem is that I can’t find the breath to speak at all. I’ve seen her unwound and messy and orgasming, but this feels like the first time I’ve seen all Eve, not the bits she allows through the shield of Ginger. Eve narrows her eyes and drags her gaze over my features. “If you won’t say it, then answer a question, Daddy: Do you want me to stop?” It turns out I do have the breath for words. “Why call me that?” I never would have said it’s a particular kink of mine, but on Eve’s lips? “You have me grounded here. I can’t leave. You control every element of my life now. Who does that if not a Daddy?” She drags her thumb over my bottom lip. “It makes me want to put you in your place the only way I can. And you like it. I can feel that you do.” I do like it. Entirely too much. I swallow hard. “You’ll hate me.” Each word fights against her grip on my chin. “I already hate you, Daddy.” She finally moves, rolling her hips to grind herself over my hard cock. The weight of her, the friction against me, not through the shield of a glamor, is nearly en...

One moment, I’m doing my best to straddle his stomach. The next, he bands his forearm under my ass and uses his free hand to sweep both place settings from the table. The bottle crashes to the stone, sending up the strong scent of wine. A loss, but I’m too busy being laid out on the table as if I’m the feast to worry about it.

“Hate me if you must, Eve. Punish me all you like. I can take it.”

“You’re safe,” I say softly. “Eve, you’re safe.” “You said you would stop lying.” The castle understands my urgency, because there’s only a single staircase and a short hallway before I’m pushing through the door into Eve’s suite. “I’m not lying. You’re safe now. I won’t let anyone hurt you.” I walk past the bed and into the bathroom. I don’t think she’s noticed the blood on her shirt, and I want to get it off before she does. She’s not quite panicking, but there’s no reason to traumatize her further. “I’m sorry you had to experience that. I misjudged their boldness, or I wouldn’t have let you and Ramanu out of here without an escort.” “Azazel.” She presses her hand to my chest, her brown eyes serious. The earlier shakiness seems to be easing, tucking itself away where she can deal with it privately. I wish she trusted me enough to let me share that burden with her, but I’ve done little to deserve her trust at this point. She drops her hand. “I am so angry with you that I can barely put it into words. But there’s no way you could have known we’d be in danger in what amounts to your front yard. Stop flogging yourself.” “You could flog me instead.” Damn it, I didn’t mean to say that. I don’t mean to do a lot of things around Eve. Her eyes flash. “Absolutely not. There are lines, and I don’t trust myself not to cross them with how I’m feeling these days.”

In the past, I’ve laughed at the dragons for being so stringent with their rituals of courtship and marriage. I think I understand it better now. I want Eve as mine. My ring on her finger if that human ritual is what she needs. Her standing before my people as co-ruler . . . But that’s a fool’s dream.

In keeping her safe, I’ve lost her forever. As long as she’s still breathing, still fighting, then it’s a price worth paying. Even if she hates me. Even if she ends up searching out the company of another.

Seconds later, the door opens to reveal Azazel. It’s late enough that he’s traded in his customary tunic and pants for some type of short skirt garment that wraps around his hips and leaves most of his legs bare. His thighs are huge. Ruinous, even. I’ve never wanted to bite thighs the way I suddenly ache to in this moment.

You know what this is. I guess I do. The moment Azazel shuts the door, I shrug out of my robe. I’m not wearing anything underneath. His shocked inhale is almost—almost—enough to make me look at him. “Eve?” “I can’t think anymore.” It’s suddenly all too much. I close my eyes. “I know this is fucked on so many levels, Azazel. I shouldn’t be here.” There’s no sound to indicate movement, but when he speaks, his voice comes from in front of me. “Are you doing this to help or to hurt?” I shrug helplessly. “Both?” His strained chuckle tugs at something in my chest. I don’t want to understand him. I don’t want to recognize that he’s just as out of his depth right now as I am. I certainly don’t want to admit that maybe he’s making the best of a shitty situation. “Is it me you want to hurt . . . or yourself?” “Both,” I whisper. “It’s a bad idea.” He’s closer. I swear I can feel the heat coming off his body now. “Every time I touch you, you resent me more.”

The size difference really is absurd. The tallest person I’ve ever been with is six-five, and Azazel has a good seven inches on them at least, even without counting the horns. But he’s not gangly like a basketball player; he’s built thick and muscular, and holy fuck, his cock is huge. No, huge isn’t the right word. Did I say his thighs were ruinous? What a joke. His cock is the very definition of the word.

“This will ensure you don’t get pregnant.” I blink. “I have an IUD.” “I’m aware.” He doesn’t move. “But I don’t have evidence that science will hold up in our realm with magic in play, so we will be doubly sure that you’re protected.” Warmth threatens to bloom in my chest. “You could just wear a condom.” He always has before with me—one of my nonnegotiable rules for clients. “I could,” he agrees easily. His attention drops to my pussy. “But I want to fill you up, baby girl.” He leans down and plants a hand next to my hip, his rugged face intense. “Don’t you want Daddy to make a mess of you?” I can’t breathe. My mouth works, but it takes several tries before I can dredge up an actual response. “You know I only call you Daddy to piss you off.” “I know.” He grins suddenly. “But I’ve decided I like it.”

“You’re mine now, Eve.” I palm her pussy, soft and sweet and already wet for me. “You have been since long before you signed my contract.”

Eve tastes like she always has. Like home. If I ever had to define what that means, I don’t know if I could put it into words. Maybe it’s better that I don’t.

“You’re so fucking beautiful, baby girl.” “I know.”

He lied to me. Tricked me. Essentially kidnapped me. He . . . chose me. That shouldn’t matter—I didn’t ask for this—but it does. I’m softening. Damn it.

Azazel is not my boyfriend. He’s my captor. Just because we’re fucking, just because he demonstrates care when he’s with me, does not change that fact. I know Stockholm Syndrome doesn’t exist exactly, but if it did, the sheer power of the orgasms he gives me would be enough to scramble my brain.

“You didn’t answer my question.” Ramanu’s tone gains an edge. “What happened last night? This morning?” “It’s none of your business.” “Wrong.” They shake their head. “You may embody the overprotective-bargainer persona, but every single one of us has those same instincts. I didn’t make the deal with Eve, but you decided to put her on that dais, which means she falls under my check-ins. So you will, in fact, answer my question, Azazel.” I have to concentrate on holding their gaze. That, more than anything, prompts me to answer honestly. “She came to me last night and wanted sex as comfort. She was a little rattled from the violence. She slept in my bed afterward.” Each sentence is stilted. “You bloody fool.” Ramanu shakes their head. “Damn it, Azazel. You left her alone, didn’t you? Fucked her sideways, cracked her right open emotionally, and then weren’t there to catch her when she woke up feeling vulnerable.” I flinch. “I had work to do.” The excuse feels as flimsy as mist. “You’re afraid.” I hold up a hand. “Stop reading my emotions.” Ramanu scoffs and slouches back into the chair, crossing one long leg over the other. “It’s literally how I see, asshole. If you don’t want to be perceived, learn how to shield better.”

She has every right to be angry with me. Just because I love Eve doesn’t mean I’m entitled to a single thing from her.

“So you’ve been the most powerful for a long time.” My mind jumps ahead, considering how he just handed over four human women to the leaders of other territories. “Why would you threaten your power like that?” “Because I’m tired.” He exhales heavily. “Apologies, that’s a pat answer. The more complicated one is that war only benefits a small number of people—at the cost of far too many lives. We’ve been at a tentative peace since I took over, but resources aren’t as plentiful as they used to be. The other leaders are strong in their own ways, but they need an avenue forward to help their people. By helping them help their territories, I pave the way to long-lasting peace.” I snort. “Or you do until one of them—or their descendants—gets power hungry and starts the whole process again.” He sighs again. “Yes. Though I don’t think that’s a risk with the current leadership. Sol—the dragon—is honorable enough to make my teeth ache. The kraken, Thane, is still grieving the loss of his husband, but he will do what’s right for his people. Bram . . .” His gaze goes distant. “Well, I’m worried about Bram, but there’s little enough I can do in the meantime. And Rusalka is probably the best leader in this realm. They’ll take care of their territory—and Belladonna too.”

“Why me? Why go through this intricate song and dance for so long?” Another long silence. This time I wait. I need to know the answer. “There was a moment in your life,” he finally says. “Less than six months before you met Pope.” I frown. “What about it?” I don’t like thinking about how dark the place I occupied during that time was, how hard it was, how low I got before Pope walked into my life and changed everything. “Part of having bargainers’ magic is being drawn to the humans most susceptible to making deals. I was going to approach you then, but you met Pope before I decided the best avenue to meet you.” He doesn’t look at me. “Becoming your client was supposed to be my in. But that first night . . .” I remember. I don’t want to, but I do. Azazel wasn’t my first client, but he was the first one that made me forget myself, at least a little. He made me feel seen and valued in a way that I needed desperately. He walked into that room filled with other professionals, took one look at me, and chose me. And then he kept coming back for me—and only me—through the years. It felt special. It made me feel special. “What about that night?” He carefully rolls onto his side and looks up at me. “You were figuring it out. You didn’t need a bargain. You had it handled.” Okay, that’s not where I thought that was going. “So you just decided to lurk in my life and wait for me to hit rock bottom again?” “No.” He sits up. “Absolutely fucking not. I enjoyed spending time with you. I . ....

“There’s praise and there’s appreciation. If it makes you that uncomfortable, why didn’t you send someone else out today? Surely there are other people beyond Ramanu who can do this.” “Two reasons: It may make me deeply uncomfortable to go through this song and dance, but it makes them happy, and I would have to be a monster to stomp on that.” It’s an effort not to shuffle my feet. “And I wanted an excuse to spend time with you. I knew you would say yes to leaving the castle.” Instead of telling me she hates me again, her smile widens, blooming from a faint curve to something more real. “If you really want to leave, we can.” I sigh. “No, we can’t. You don’t want to. And it would hurt Alice’s feelings.” Her grin reaches her eyes. “Yep.” “That’s a neat little trap you set for me to walk into.” She actually laughs. Not a bitter chuckle. Not a choked, angry sound. A true laugh, loud and boisterous, tossing her head back. “You’re high-handed and aggravating, but you have a soft, gooey center, don’t you?” She leans in, her amusement drawing me close even though I know better than to believe this might truly be a turning point for us. Eve lowers her voice, practically purring. “Poor Daddy. Being perceived is deeply uncomfortable, isn’t it?”

Alice plops down next to me, an easy grin on her face. “You know, I thought it was one-sided, but you’re gone for him too, aren’t you?” She ignores my shocked expression and keeps chatting in that deceptively casual tone. “Don’t bother to deny it. You’re sitting here watching him like you’re seeing the next fifty, seventy, hundred years stretch out before you and you don’t hate the idea of it.” I blink. “I’m thirty-five. There’s no way I’ll live another hundred years.” “You will if you stay here. It has something to do with the magic infused in every bit of our realm. It makes people live longer. And yes, it does apply to humans. Not everyone who makes a deal goes home at the end of their seven years.” Seven years. Not a lifetime.

Azazel loosens his grip like he might drop my hand, but I give him another squeeze and lace my fingers through his. “They love you.” “They don’t know me.” He shrugs. “Well, Alice does, but she’s family. It’s not the same.” My heart twinges, but I’m too content for it to be more than a passing ache. “I wouldn’t know.” He gives me a sharp look. “Family isn’t only blood. Pope knows you better than anyone.” My body flushes hot and then cold. “I’m aware.” I swallow hard. I’ve been very pointedly not thinking about Pope too often, but they slip into my thoughts more and more as time goes on. “I miss them.” “I know. I’m sorry.” He doesn’t look at me. “After I deal with Brosh, I’ll take you home. It never should have gotten this out of control. I never should have panicked. The thought of you being hurt . . .” Azazel gives himself a shake and drops my hand. “I wasn’t thinking clearly. I was only reacting.”

“Eve?” I close the distance between us slowly. “I don’t know if I’ll ever forgive you.” His expression goes tormented even as his gaze heats. “I know.” “But I’m . . .” I take another deep breath and press my hands to his chest. This feels scarier than anything I’ve experienced thus far, and that includes the attack the other day. “No matter how hard I try, I can’t stop myself from caring.” “Eve,” he breathes. “You don’t have to.” But I’ve started and now I can’t stop. “I don’t know what it means for the future or for us or for anything, but I’m so damn tired of fighting. I just want . . .” He waits. It seems like he barely breathes, like he’d stand right here and be content to listen to me falter my way through this for years. “I just want you,” I finish in a whisper. Finally—finally—Azazel moves. He catches my hips and pulls me flush with his body. “Stay with me tonight?” There’s only one answer. There’s only ever been one answer. “Yes.”

“Daddy.” Eve squeezes my cock, her expression going wicked. “Normally when I’m between your thighs, you’re not focused on anything but me.” “Sorry, baby girl.” I carefully lace my fingers through her hair. It’s longer than she usually wears it, nearly to her shoulders. “I’m here.” “You will be.”

“Azazel.” She jerks my horns. “If you hurt me, you can kiss me better later.”

“You take me so sweetly.” Eve pants and shakes. “Fuck me, Daddy.” “Eve.” I lean down and nip her shoulder as I press all the way into her. “So fucking greedy.” “Yes,” she moans. “You feel so good.” I’m rapidly losing the ability to speak. Good doesn’t begin to cover it. This is bliss. This is beyond comprehension. This is love.

Gods, I love this woman. Even in this moment, I know better than to say it, but the emotion rolls over me, so strong that I could weep from it.

“I was right. Your cock really is ruinous.” It’s so damned hard to focus with her clenched tight around me. “Do you need to⁠—” She keeps talking right over me. “How am I supposed to fuck other people when I’ve had you like this, Daddy? How am I supposed to want to?” There’s something in her tone, something soft and sweet and aching. I cup her face. Maybe this is the most honest we’ll ever be with each other. “Do you want to keep fucking other people?” She may be the only one for me, but I’m well aware that I wasn’t her only client. A possessive part of me always ached knowing she’d be with others the way she was with me, but the thing that irked me the most was the fact that I was just another client to her. She was never truly mine, even if I was hers. Eve’s lower lip trembles before she firms it. “I don’t know,” she whispers. “I won’t pretend I didn’t enjoy my work, but it was . . . work.”

Some things can’t be forgiven. The only thing I can do is remove the threat and send her home, pausing on the way out to ensure she has enough money that she never has to work again if she doesn’t want to. It will mean losing her forever—there’s no world where she’d welcome me as a client still, even if I were willing to continue endangering her. The contract will have to be nullified, but while that process is uncomfortable and will drain my power for a time, it’s a small price to pay. If I hadn’t been so damned selfish, Eve never would have been in danger. Maybe, if I’d been honest from the start, it wouldn’t have come to this.

“Azazel?” “Mmmm.” “If you keep fucking me like that, I might not have any choice but to forgive you.” She means it as a joke, but I can’t take it as such. Not when it’s about this. I hug her closer and press a kiss to her forehead. “You’ll always have a choice. If you ever do forgive me, then it will be in your own time, when your heart is ready. If your heart is ever ready.” I want that time to come, but I’m not confident it ever will. Not with everything I’ve done. Eve makes a face like she wants to argue but finally shakes her head. “No, you’re right. I’m sorry. The sex is too good. It’s making me silly.” I tip her chin up and kiss her slowly. “I like you silly.” “Yeah?” She nips my bottom lip. “Well, you know what to do.” “I do.” I kiss her again. There are many hours left until dawn. I plan to use every one of them.

“I love you, Eve.” My chest feels too tight. I love you too. I don’t say it aloud. I can’t say it aloud. I wish hearing those words from him were enough to ward off the dread churning through my stomach.

She catches sight of her husband and stops short. “Sol?” “Briar.” Gods, he’s so in love with her that it makes me feel like a voyeur being in the same room as them. She starts to move toward me, but I fling out a hand. “I swear to the gods, if you throw yourself into his arms right now, I will send you back to the human realm.” Briar spins on me and gives a truly impressive snarl. “You’re so high-handed, it’s no wonder Eve doesn’t want you!” I flinch. I can’t help it. She’s speaking words I know for truth, with such conviction that they would convince me even if I had doubts. I’m suddenly exhausted. It’s clear these two love each other, and equally clear that Sol committed no harm against Briar. It takes a little while to get them out of my office and on their way home. It passes in a blur. All I can think of are Briar’s words. No wonder Eve doesn’t want you.

“Briar went home with Sol.” When she doesn’t immediately respond, I clear my throat. “I, uh, might have acted too hastily in that situation.” Her gaze flicks to my face, finally focusing on me, and there’s such deep sadness there that I nearly hit my knees and beg for forgiveness. It won’t make a difference. I’ve apologized, and she’s rightly called me on the truth that I wouldn’t do anything differently. She won’t believe that my regret has taken hold enough for this apology to be true. I’ve given her no reason to. Even so, I can’t stop myself from moving closer. “I’ll make things right.” Her lips twist. “Some things you can’t make right, Azazel. No matter how hard you try.” She finishes a row and carefully sets her knitting aside. “But I’m glad you saw reason when it comes to Briar and Sol. I think I’d like to meet him properly at some point. After hearing about him for the last few days, I feel like I know him.” My throat is so tight, I can barely get the words out. “I think Briar would welcome any chance to see you again.” And then I do fall to my knees, because how can I not? “I’m sorry, Eve. Truly sorry.” She reaches out and cups my cheek. I would welcome her fury, her spite. Instead, she just smiles sadly. “I know you are.” It feels like she’s saying goodbye.

“Azazel.” She waits until I open my eyes to continue. “What difference does it make? I understand the situation well enough. If you kill or imprison him, it will just start a blood feud within your family. I won’t be any safer then.” She drops her hand and sits back. “You know, if you’d come to me with honesty, I probably would have signed the contract.” I stare. “No, you wouldn’t have. You were happy in your life.” Her smile dims. “Not happy.” “Content, then. You’ve said before that you liked your job. You have Pope. You . . .” Eve clears her throat. “You know I grew up in foster care.” She continues before I have a chance to respond. “I was one of the privileged ones. Nothing bad ever happened to me.” Her eyes shine in the fading light streaking through the trees around us. “But no one ever chose me.” I choose you. I know better than to say it aloud. It’s not the right time. She won’t welcome it. “That’s part of what I like about the sex work. My clients choose me. They do more than choose me. They go out of their way to have me. They pay extravagant amounts of money, they beg Pope for the privilege, they do their best to ensure I never have cause to turn them away.” “Eve.” “So, yes, I like my job. I like the challenge of providing their perfect fantasy. I like the money—gods, I like the money. I love the freedom my life allows me. Or what it allowed me.” Her lower lip quivers. “But what I really like—what I crave—is being chosen.” Gods, she’s tearing my heart right out ...

I love him, but how can I let myself sink fully into something that should be a joy when the circumstances make it a horror? I’m still trapped in the castle, still knitting away as if I’m the miller’s daughter, trying to spin yarn into forgetting my reality.

He spreads his arms, arrogant and hateful. “I heard you were looking for me.” “Give me one good reason I shouldn’t kill you where you stand.” “You’re too honorable.” Brosh says it like it’s an insult. “Which is why you’ve taken us down a route we may never recover from as a people. That stops now.” His grin is downright mean. “I challenge you for leadership of this territory.” I expect Azazel to curse him. Maybe to attack right here and now. He certainly looks like he wants to. Instead, he laughs in disbelief. “You bloody fool. You actually think you can beat me.” “I know I can.” Azazel shakes his head. “So be it. I accept. I’ll have the square cleared within the hour. Get out of my sight until then.” Brosh backs up slowly, still smiling. “Best say goodbye to your little human. She won’t survive to see nightfall.” I flinch. I can’t help it. I’ve had some truly horrific experiences with exes, but I’ve never been threatened so casually—or intentionally. The doors slam shut in Brosh’s face, then the lock clicks loudly in the sudden silence. It won’t be enough to keep him out, not when Azazel has accepted his challenge. Azazel has accepted his challenge. “Don’t do it.” I step up and into the hallway, crossing to Azazel. “Don’t fight him.” His brows go up when he sees me, but he doesn’t chastise me for eavesdropping. He just pulls me into his arms, holds me close like he may not get another opportunity to do so. “This was always the plan, Eve.” Eve. Not baby girl. There’s no re...

“What if he loses?” “Then he dies, and Ramanu and I spirit you back to the human realm before that bastard Brosh has a chance to lay a single finger on you.” She takes in my stricken expression and winces. “Right. Wrong priority. You’re not worried about your freedom—you’re worried about him.” “Of course I’m worried about him,” I snap. It’s not fair to take my fear and frustration out on this woman I just met, but I can’t help it. “I love him.” “Hmm. Have you told him that?” She holds up her hands when I glare. “Guess not. I’d advise against any last-minute declarations of feelings until after he wins. That kind of thing gets distracting.” “You are not helping,” I hiss. “Right.” Lenora shrugs. “Look, if Azazel is half as good as Ramanu is, he’ll have this in the bag. Did you know Ramanu ripped off my ex’s head in a similar tournament battle? It was deeply impressive, even if the blood got everywhere.”

Brosh laughs and spreads his arms. “Is this your leader? He’s as weak as he’s made our territory. Pathetic.” He turns . . . and runs right into Azazel’s claws. I gasp. The sound is lost in the midst of the crowd doing the same thing. Someone screams. A handful of people cheer. Azazel appears tormented as he holds his cousin’s shoulder and shoves his claws deeper into Brosh’s stomach. Deeper and up . . . to rip out his heart. The man falls to the ground, dark eyes glassy with death. Azazel stares at the bloody heart in his claws and drops it on top of Brosh’s body. As if sensing my gaze, he lifts his eyes to mine. There’s nothing of the man I’ve come to know so well, of the bargainer I love, there. Only emptiness. Ramanu steps forward and raises their voice enough to be heard over those gathered. “The challenge has been issued, accepted, and completed. Brosh is dead. Azazel is victorious!” This time, the cheers are loud enough to shake the very city. Lenora squeezes my shoulder. “That’s about enough of that. Let’s get out of here.” “Yeah,” I say numbly. It’s not even the death that’s rocked me this time. It’s the implication. Brosh is dead. Azazel managed to do it honorably, which removes the threat against me, once and for all. That means I can go back to my life. I can go home. Too bad home has started to feel a whole lot like a magical castle and a giant bargainer who holds my heart.

He doesn’t make me wait long. “I need you to sign this.” He pulls a short stack of papers from his jacket and sets them on the table. A pen appears shortly after. It’s happening. The thing I wanted so desperately for so long. I didn’t expect it to feel so hollow. “Just like that.” “I gave you my word, Eve.” He keeps his tone carefully distant. As if I truly am just another contract to him. I know it’s a lie, that it’s just to protect himself, but it hurts more than I expect. I don’t even read the papers before I scrawl my name in the appropriate spot and toss the pen aside. “Are you happy?” “Are you?” I refuse to cry, no matter how my throat clenches or my eyes burn. But I can’t meet his gaze either. “I don’t know how to feel, Azazel.” I swallow as best I can. “I’m glad you’re okay.” “Brosh never had a chance of beating me,” he says softly. “He doesn’t have the experience or the patience. He was a fool to threaten you, and even more of a fool to come here to challenge me.” He reaches out and brushes my hair back from my face. “But you’re safe, so it was worth the cost.” I can’t speak. I can’t even think. “What now?” “Now, I take you home.”