24. Hanging Airborne

QUINN

He heard me.

I couldn't begin to describe just how much that meant to me when I was able to express how I truly felt about the last fight without the fear of retaliation. Several weeks ago, this probably wouldn't have been my reality. Yet it went to show just how far we had both come since we uncovered the bond that we had already started forming.

"Don't snuff out his light." The same plea given to both of us by a man who only knew Asher. That didn't stop the words from impacting me all the way to the depths of my soul. From what Asher had revealed, Salvatore had sought to change his mother until there was nothing unique left. Her light had gone out.

I shifted in my seat. The final place Asher had in mind required us to leave the borders for Vegas itself, taking us into the heart of the desert where not a damn thing could override the stunning beauty of raw nature. With the sun already beginning its descent, I could feel the chill in the air. While I was grateful for a break from the heat, the lack of bright lights from electronic signs really caught my attention.

The only thing that seemed to bring a touch of the modern world to the desert was a string of lights surrounding a large tent and a larger strobe light that would occasionally brush against the sign hanging over the entrance.

Kaia Family Circus.

Delighted chills trickled down my spine once my mind finally processed what Asher had brought me to see. I had never gotten to see any of the shows that happened to pass through Montana ─ not that humans were ever allowed in them to begin with. That didn't stop my childhood heart from yearning for the chance to. Here I was, several decades later, peering up at the wide red and purple striped tent.

I could feel the energy in the car shift as Asher studied me closely. "Are you disappointed?" His voice was soft.

The edges of my lips twitched. Shaking my head, I pried my gaze loose from the stunning sight outside. "Far from it. I used to dream about going to the circus when I was young. My mother would mock me for it. Called it a pathetic dream that would never come to pass."

All of the tension that had started to build up within his body dissipated immediately. The prince relaxed. "Good. I was…hoping you'd be pleased. This one has been in my mother's family for generations."

Aydin pulled the SUV up into a vacant spot not far from the tent itself. Those dark eyes flickered to every single mirror before he finally put it in park and shut the engine off. "I understand that this is another family business, sire, but this is far too open for me not to accompany you inside. I would prefer to remain close."

"Not to worry." Asher unbuckled and nudged his door open. "I'm sure she's already planned ahead and gave you a seat."

I nibbled on my lower lip as he slid out. Even if he drifted from my eyesight for a moment, it wasn't long until he appeared on my side to tug the door open. I flushed slightly, quickly freeing myself so that he could help me out. As soon as I had left the warm SUV, the full brunt of the impending night chill brushed against me. I couldn't stop the shiver from ripping through me.

I didn't even realize what my demon was up to until the jacket engulfed my shoulders, his lingering body heat chasing away the chill before it could set in. Asher's gentle smile grew as our gazes locked. "It'll be warmer inside," he promised. "The shows are usually pretty packed. Mother would always have to call ahead to let Primrose know we were coming just so she could reserve the seats for us."

As his arm rested around the base of my back, my demon prompted me toward the tent entrance with a tense Aydin in tow. It took everything I had to walk calmly. My entire body was buzzing with excitement and I didn't mind letting that energy leak into my aura. I felt like a child on Christmas, waking up to the one gift they'd been asking for for years. That didn't stop the bounce in my step as we joined the others waiting to get inside.

Aydin released an irritable noise. "Would you like me to go on ahead and alert the staff to your arrival, sire? Waiting in line seems…awfully unnecessary."

The prince's golden eyes strayed toward me. "That depends on Quinn."

It was impossible not to detect the shock tearing through the demon accompanying us. A quick peek was all I needed to catch the silent plea within those dark eyes for me not to put him through the torment. Although I did take pity on what it would mean for him, a paranormal being that had already walked the earth for a number of decades, that didn't stop my inner desire from taking hold. "I want the full experience, even the part that includes waiting to get inside."

There was no stopping the agonizing moan that escaped Aydin's lips. Even with all the conversation taking place around us, several beings within range swung their gazes in our direction. Most of them were baffled why a demon would even utter it.

Asher couldn't stop the laughter from escaping. "I'll be sure to request something from the concession stand to reward you for your patience."

Aydin responded with an irritable growl, crossing his arms over his chest like a toddler contemplating a full-blown tantrum. "I should be asking for a raise. I thought it would be a mortal's dream to bypass all the lines and enjoy what royalty would give them. You know, all the delicious bonuses."

I reached out to poke the demon in the chest, causing him to stiffen immediately. "Just because humanity retains the rights to some pleasures doesn't mean that I did. I was essentially just a shadow that existed in the background. So yes, I want the entire experience. I have plenty of time to change my mind and bypass the lines on another night."

Just not tonight.

While it didn't seem like much time had passed before we reached the front where a cluster of staff members were collecting tickets, I could tell by the fatigue haunting Aydin's face that it was still too long in his mind. It took everything I had to suppress my grin. A part of me took pity on him. Demons were just another branch of the paranormal that enjoyed a long lifespan and the waiting game was its own form of personal punishment.

Still, it had given me plenty of time to sneak glances inside the tent. I could already smell the delicious aroma of buttered popcorn and cotton candy. There was already a noticeable change in temperature, which allowed me to shed the jacket and hand it back to Asher. If it wasn't for the large strobe light inside moving around to expose various parts of the tent, I knew I would have spent the entire time noticing how many shocked expressions were glued on us.

"Nex─!" The male staff member before us jolted when he realized who was standing before him. His jaw dropped and those hazel eyes widened. "Prince Asher! I deeply apologize for you having to wait in line like this. Please accept our sincere apologies from the entire circus staff. We will do whatever we must to make this up to you!"

Asher raised a hand to cut him off before he could ramble on. "We were not kept waiting intentionally. My mate wished to experience it as part of her first memory with the circus. It would be rude of me not to allow her to do so, yes?"

It was clear the young demon had anticipated enduring the full weight of the crowned prince's rage. The fact that it was nowhere to be seen with the prince simply grinning at him left him baffled. He drew his head back slightly, blinking. "Oh. I see. Should I ask someone to ensure there have been seats saved for you and your guests, sire?"

"I called ahead to reserve them."

The demon ducked his head. "Fantastic. Do you need someone to show you the way?"

"That is not necessary." Asher tightened his arm around mine to keep me close as the rest of the lines continued to move around us. "Come, pet."

"Enjoy the show, sire!" The demon turned to call after us. "And to you as well, miss."

Aydin trailed after us with a soft snarl. "I hope you're happy, Quinn. Being surrounded by so many people for such an unnecessary amount of time is not comfortable. This full experience of yours better be worth my pain."

Turning my head slightly, I flashed a wide smile at him. "Oh, come now, Aydin. Isn't there something that you've always wanted to do but never got the chance to?"

He responded by curling his upper lip to expose his demonic fangs. "Sure. I've always wanted to break out of Alcatraz to see if it was even possible. Doesn't mean that's going to happen."

"I could see to it that it will if you are truly eager to break out of a human prison," the prince countered.

"Sure, boss. Give me the vacation I'm going to need. This girl of yours is going to give me white hair by the time the pair of you leave Vegas."

The last thing either of the demons were expecting was for me to pull my arm free so that I could spin around. Absolute delight flooded me when Aydin was forced to skid to a halt with those brown eyes widening. While he was locked in temporary shock, I reached out to flick a finger against the gelled hair pinned against his head. "Oh, look… There's one already! You're going white, Aydin."

Asher cackled behind me, the laughter easily carrying over the cluster of conversations carrying on around us.

Aydin's nostrils flared. "Very funny, princess. The next time you attempt to mess my hair up, I will bite."

"What are you going to do when she bites back?" the prince countered, the smirk simply growing over his face.

First instinct prompted Aydin's lips to part. There was no doubt in my mind that the words lingering on his tongue was "Then I'll bite harder" but common sense was quick to ensure those never took flight. He snapped his mouth shut and settled for a sharp exhale to express his irritation.

Asher snickered, pulling me back against him so he could direct us toward our seats. "No worries… I'll do the biting."

That was all it took for my cheeks to flush with the heat that I was so used to him causing. My mind immediately shifted to one of the first moments we'd spent in bed together. Even if time had passed, I couldn't forget how strong Asher's bite had been. If he was offering to deliver a harder one, I could only imagine how easily that one would bruise. The heat only grew worse as the prince couldn't contain his amazement about my behavior. By the time we reached our seats, my legs were wobbly beneath me and there wasn't a doubt in my mind that I was leaking juices.

The only thing saving me from everyone else discovering just how horny I was getting was the powerful smell floating from the concession stand.

Aydin planted himself on Asher's right. He immediately braced himself against the metal railing nearby just so that he could cross his arms over his chest and sulk. Although the annoyance was still heavy in his aura, that didn't stop him from doing his job. Those brown eyes were constantly on the move and when a concession worker came in our direction, his gaze shifted to them immediately.

"Greetings, sire." The woman bent a leg so that she could offer a subtle curtsey without dropping the tray she carried. "Would you care for some popcorn? Freshly popped with extra butter."

Asher shook his head with a slight grin teasing at his lips. "My mate would."

I didn't realize how much my mouth was watering until a bag descended in front of me. It had barely come within my eyesight before I had seized it from the woman and silenced my delighted squeal by plopping some in my mouth. A quiet scoff two seats down warned that our gloomy third wheel was dead set on being in a foul mood.

Like hell I was going to allow his moodiness to threaten my perfect evening.

Pressing my lips together, I grabbed a single popped kernel and balanced it on my thumb before I flicked it at him. My aim was never good to begin with, so I didn't anticipate anything more than a near miss that would probably not grab his attention. When I ended up getting him in the temple, causing the demon to jerk up immediately, I succumbed to a laughing fit that almost had me sliding out of my seat.

As Aydin straightened with a soft snarl, Asher simply raised an eyebrow. He didn't even have to shift those piercing eyes to the other demon for Aydin to freeze. "Don't even," he murmured.

"She flicked popcorn at me," Aydin hissed.

"Would you prefer to sit in the car?"

It took everything I had to suppress the laughter and use the popcorn as a feeble attempt to regain control over myself. I offered a grin that was nothing shy of a mix between pure delight and a slight apology. It wasn't my intention to make his mood worse, although I wasn't going to tolerate it tonight.

Being a bodyguard didn't mean he had the automatic right to be a grinch.

Aydin blew out a breath and jerked his attention away from me. "You better bite hard, boss…"

Nothing short of pressing my lips together was enough to help stifle the laugh still trying to claw its way up my throat. I quickly shifted my focus away from him to avoid the fresh memory tempting me into a moment of weakness. The waves of utter delight returned with full force as I took in the rest of the big top.

It was almost enough to completely overwhelm the strange sensation of being watched.

Without anything to offer into my childhood fantasy on what to expect, it didn't matter how raw the scene ahead even was. While the big top itself was clearly showing signs of age, no doubt from the many years it had been in business, every single part of it was inspiring. A large ring had been set up just in front of the main pole that kept the central part of the tent upright with two small wooden platforms towering in the air.

I followed the one closer to me until my head strained back far enough to take in the platform where the wire walker would begin. My excitement started to crumble when I took in the wire connecting the two. It didn't seem anywhere near big enough for someone to walk on — let alone balance.

If it wasn't for the strobe light moving around with the occasional bright flash directly on the wire, I wouldn't have even been able to see it.

That's not an act. That's a goddamn mocking temptation at fate.

Aydin released an amused snort. "She looks like a kid at Christmas," he remarked.

I responded by simply raising a hand and offering a silent insult that could only boil down to a special finger. It was enough to leave him cackling with the prince chuckling softly beside me.

While he was entertained by the sudden banter between us, Asher seemed to be more interested in watching my expression as I took in the setting around me. For every inch that I uncovered with a silent gasp, those golden eyes swirled with an emotion that was only growing stronger.

The overhead strobe light finally went out with the smaller ones attached to the hard ring down below immediately flipping on. Every single one of them revealed a man standing in the middle of all the sand with a whip hanging from his hip. As soon as the shadows were chased away from his nimble form, he raised his head to reveal a face painted like a skull.

"Hello, ladies and gentlemen," his voice boomed off the tent walls while those lips curled into a coy smirk. "Welcome to the Kaia Family Circus. As always, we are pleased to see many familiar faces returning to our stands. Although tonight…it seems we are graced with some very special guests."

That sucked the wind out of my sails. I immediately stiffened my back and pressed my lips together. My heart was already pounding in my chest with every beat that threatened to rip me apart. It was one thing to attract attention simply because of who Asher was ─ and the fact that I was on his arm when he'd been the notorious playboy of the family. That didn't mean that I enjoyed the fact that every single place we went to seemed hellbent on sending special treatment our way.

The fact that Asher had personal ties to this place only emphasized that spotlight on us even more.

Asher rested a hand on my knee, squeezing gently to help me regain control over my panicked nerves.

Fuck it… I released the air that I had trapped in my lungs before my vision could grow hazy. Might as well rip off the bandaid, right? Lifting my jaw, I prepared for one of the smaller lights to jerk in our direction.

It never did.

The ringmaster grinned as the crowd succumbed to a cluster of shocked whispering. The only ones that didn't seem to be doing the same were the ones located in our immediate area. "If you haven't noticed who they are, you'll just have to use the entire duration of the show to figure it out because here, we don't give secrets away!" He slammed the cane in his right hand down.

It didn't matter if there was a shit load of sand beneath his feet. The moment he brought the hard metal down, a bright glow erupted from beneath it and that burst of light was content to grow. Within seconds, the entire ring was covered with runes that seemed to be carved into it. Not that they were willing to stop there.

The entire tent was flooded with gasps as the symbols continued up the raised platforms. Once they reached the top, a burst of black smoke burst from both ends. It only took a moment for it to clear before we were allowed to see two men now perched on them with pride.

I sucked in a sharp breath as they started walking straight onto the wire without an ounce of hesitation. I didn't realize I had flung a hand down to seize Asher's until he shifted to cover mine. Granted, I was in the process of digging my nails into his skin ─ only now they were going into mine. I gritted my teeth, unable to break myself out of this haze in order to stop inflicting pain upon myself.

My mind was struggling to process where this act was heading while they simply sauntered across the wire until they were on the verge of being able to touch the other. The brunette on the right whipped his arm up, bringing a pole in front of him that I didn't realize he was holding. As soon as that was horizontal in front of him, his redheaded companion grabbed the pole.

Shock tore through my veins as the brunette jerked back, using enough force to fling his companion straight over him. It didn't matter that the redhead landed on the wire without stumbling. All I could think about was what would happen if he went over the edge. There was no net below to catch him. Judging from the way gasps sprung up around me in sync with my panic, I wasn't the only one who feared for his safety.

Asher seemed to be one of the few that knew there was nothing to worry about. He simply gazed up at the men with his expression shifting into one mixed with pride and a hint of sorrow.

I studied him in my peripheral view. From the moment we had arrived in Vegas and he had been content taking me around to see some of the hidden gems, I had noticed a hint of a deeply buried pain within those piercing eyes. It had only gotten stronger with every place we went to, yet coming here seemed to break any will he had to keep it concealed. Pressing my lips together, I simply turned my hand over so I could curl my fingers through his.

It was the only way I could reveal that I knew ─ and I understood ─ what he was enduring in silence.

The slight twitch to his own lips hinted he was grateful.

Despite the initial scare with the two wire walkers, which had been revived with a young blonde woman who had appeared out of nowhere to balance on their shoulders and perform her own little dance all while the men inched toward the podiums, the next few acts were a little tamer. A large rusted trunk had been brought out and then left without any indication as to why it was there.

None of it made a lick of sense until the box started moving. It wasn't long until the lid popped open and a set of fingers squeezed out. By the time I managed to recover my breathing, the lid had been tossed back and a slender young man maneuvered his way out. The panicked gasps didn't deter him at all as he moved his body, straightening one limb at a time.

My hand tightened around Asher's, but it wasn't an iron grip like it had been with the wire walkers. I continued to relax during the rest of the show and I found myself lost in all the unique talents for every single one of them. Although none of them came close to those that brought live animals into the act. I could feel my jaw hitting my lap as three young women performed tricks as their white steeds ran along the edge of the ring.

As if that wasn't enough, two men strolled out to the center. Their looks were close enough to the other's that there wasn't a doubt in my mind that they were siblings ─ if not twins. It just didn't dawn on me what they were until one of them opened his mouth and spewed fire at the other.

I sucked in a sharp breath as the other man managed to deflect the flames. Every time he responded with a flick of his hand, a chunk of the fire would be redirected at the women still doing their own thing. It quickly became clear that it was a delicate dance they were performing where the timing was absolutely critical. The flames would narrowly miss the steeds every single time.

Still, I could detect a change in the energy hovering in the air when all of the animals filed out. There was a part of me that was worried the show had come to an end and I just hadn't realized it yet. It wasn't until I spotted long silk ribbons being lowered from the top of the tent that I finally understood we'd simply reached the final act.

A sense of awe descended on the entire crowd as a man came down with the ribbon, his leg already tangled within the material. He slowly released it so that his body tumbled down to align with the ground, bringing out a few more gasps from the crowd.

Asher leaned forward slightly with his golden eyes narrowing into thin slits, but his attention wasn't glued on the male hanging from the ribbon. He was focused on the young woman strolling out onto the sand and peering up at the man. His gaze didn't stray in the slightest bit as the couple started performing their angelic dance that quickly took to the sky.

With the prince now completely relaxed beside me, I was able to focus on the act. There was a peaceful edge to how they were taking such a simple dance high up. While one single wrong move would certainly result in great injury, just like with the wire walkers. Still, I got so entranced that horror wasn't through my veins when the pair of them started rolling down the ribbon.

My heart pounded in my chest. They're getting too close to the ground! I was on the verge of rising from my seat when they suddenly came to a halt with the male's legs tightly wrapped while the female held onto his hands. Judging from the smiles on their faces, it had been an intentional fall.

The rest of the crowd lunged from their seats, crumbling into a fit of pleased roars and relieved cheers. Although Asher wasn't quite over the top about how much he enjoyed the show, he did rise and offer some applause of his own.

The male released the woman, allowing her to land on the sand safely before he finished climbing down the ribbon to join her. Tucking an arm behind her back, the duo offered a bow for every direction.

Aydin yawned. "I like the show better when they let Braixon shift into his dragon form."

"You can only put horses through that so many times before they refuse to behave," Asher countered. He took my hand, prompting me to wrap my arm around his before he started leading me around the ring.

Now that the show was over and there was nothing left to distract the crowd, it didn't take the others long to realize who the ringmaster had referred to as their special guests. They succumbed to a mixture of shocked pointing and stunned whispers that couldn't even reach our ears from the rest of the conversation.

Still, Asher didn't take notice. He simply led the way toward the back of the tent where a sole open doorway stood between the main piece and the smaller ones concealing personal areas for the circus staff.

One of the tall men swung around, his eyes narrowing into thin slits. "Hey, you can't─" The agitation dissipated the moment he recognized Asher. It shifted into a brief surge of shock before absolute delight settled in. "Well! If it isn't Brielle's boy." Turning his head, he roared over his shoulder, "Ey, Prim! We've got company!"

That was all he had to do in order to attract the attention of every single person around him. All of the conversations ceased as their eyes strayed toward us. While there were a few people that didn't look happy to see Asher at all, most of them offered excited greetings.

My stomach twisted into a painful knot. The fact there were a few that seemed to prefer him nowhere near their circus left me with the uneasy feeling that something had happened to create this rift. Whether it extended to the rest of the staff remained to be seen. Nibbling my lower lip, I focused on the way they parted to allow the same duo from the final act to stroll toward us.

As soon as the man was the only one left in their way, the young redhead beamed. "Asher, il mio ragazzo! You are a sight for sore eyes."

The prince gently pulled his arm from mine, taking a step forward to greet her. Although he towered over her by two full feet, he had no problem with the woman throwing her arms around him to engulf him in a hug. "You look like you're doing well, zia. From that crowd, it looks like you're still selling out shows. Mother would be happy."

One of the grumpy grinches in the back responded with a loud snarl. "Yes, our shows are still doing fine, prince. No thanks to you and your father."

Primrose's silver eyes fluttered shut. The muscles in her jaw flexed as she struggled to contain her own surge of annoyance. Only when she'd kept a lungful of fresh air trapped in her lungs for a few seconds did she finally turn on her heel to deliver a glare that had every single person in the room flinching ─ myself included. "That isn't necessary, Tydinn. We have guests."

His upper lip curled immediately to expose the same type of fangs as Asher. "They're not guests, zia. They're pests and none of them belong here." He jabbed a finger at the direction he'd come. "Why don't you follow everyone else out and leave us in peace?"

"Tydinn."

Although that was enough to stop any further words from coming out of Tydinn's mouth, he didn't even seem to contemplate backing down. He simply straightened his back with his nostrils flaring.

"Come, boy." Primrose's performing companion slapped a hand down on his shoulder, forcing him to turn away from us. His brown eyes narrowed into thin slits when Tyinn immediately started to resist. He simply dug his finger into the young man, forcing the desired action anyway. "You need to go help with the animals if you want to stew over something that's long been forgiven."

I tensed as Tydinn released a snarl that left every part of my body cold. If it wasn't for Asher being right beside me, I would've succumbed to the urge to bolt. A pissed-off demon wasn't one I wanted to be nearby, especially if they saw me as nothing more than a pest.

Granted, that insult was probably mostly directed at the men in my party.

"Who's forgiven his betrayal, Kythinn?" Tydinn jerked against his hold despite the feeble attempt of actually breaking free. He eventually allowed himself to be pulled away, but that didn't mean he was willing to go quietly. Adding another snarl over his shoulder at us, he added, "I know I haven't! Fucking lying bastard."

Asher simply stared after him without his expression changing at all. Only the slight shift in his jaw revealed just how much the insults had bothered him. Yet, he was so accustomed to concealing what was brewing within him that it didn't show on the surface unless someone was specifically looking for it.

Primrose returned her attention to us with a weary sigh. "I apologize, il mio ragazzo. Tydinn has never grown out of his wild card phase, it seems. Come. Let us go out back and catch up. It has been so long since you've come to see us last." With a curl of her finger, she gestured for us to follow.

Although Aydin had inched around in case he needed to step in, he was fully content to bring up the rear this time. The tension had already leaked out of his body. This cluster of demons he knew and he was already lost in his own thoughts. As far as he was concerned, any history that was still only partially buried wasn't his problem.

The air didn't grow light until Primrose took us through a thin blanket draped over a doorway, concealing an open tent attached to the back. It was such a simple area, yet I couldn't overlook the amount of love that haunted the silk material and the wooden benches lining up the space. It was even complete with a large pit burning within a ring of stone nearby, its presence beating back the chill of the desert.

I didn't realize Asher had pulled away from me until I absently hugged myself. "It's so peaceful out here," I murmured.

The prince paused, quickly taking note of the subtle shivers. All it took was for me to blink once before he had his suit jacket shrugged off and tucked around my shoulders once again. "I'm glad to see that much hasn't changed."

"Very little has strayed from what you remember, Asher." Primrose gestured for us to take seats close to the burning pit while she moved on to open a trunk nearby. From the small runes that would occasionally light up with a bright white glow, it was obvious that it was enchanted. All she had to do was open the lid for me to see a cluster of fog escaping from within it.

I had no problem with taking the seat closest to the pit, sinking down onto the bench with a relieved sigh. "I don't think I've ever been on my feet as much as I have been today," I remarked with a sly smirk at my demon.

Asher responded with a quizzical look of his own.

Only Primrose seemed to detect there was an underlying meaning to those words aside from the possible sexual angle the men seemed stuck on. The edges of her lips twitched until a pleased smile stretched across her face. "I could sense something very unique about you from the moment the show started tonight. When Xiather mentioned we had special guests sitting in the stands…it helped me hone in on your energy." She straightened with a large ball of dough wrapped in seran wrap cradled in her palms. "Do me a favor, il mio ragazzo. Split this up for the three of you."

"I appreciate the offer, but I'm not hungry." Aydin plopped down close to the main tent with an irritable huff. "His little pet over there kept flicking popcorn at me during the entire show. I've lost my appetite."

Turning my head, I threw a glare in his direction. "I get that you work for a demon lord, but do you really have to keep that log up your ass all the time? You can relax, you know."

The demon responded with a slight curve to his upper lip. "Relaxing in times of war is a reckless move, Quinn. The faster you learn that, the faster you'll adjust to our little corner of the world."

The last thing I expected was for the nimble young woman to immediately shift the dough onto one hand and use the free one to hold up a finger at the irritable demon tucked into the corner. "Uh uh! If you keep this behavior up, I will send you to help Tydinn to clean the stables. We don't need this negative energy at my circus."

Asher's lips twitched. He came around the table and took the seat across from me, gesturing for her to hand him the large ball of dough. His fingers had barely curled around it when the air directly in front of his body shimmered and a large wooden tray formed. "I don't think Aydin has quite gotten used to Quinn's blossoming personality. He's more accustomed to dealing with Archer on a daily basis."

The other demon responded by rolling his eyes, grumbling, "At least I don't have to worry about anything being thrown at me…"

"You're no fun, Aydin."

Primrose was on Aydin before the demon had a chance to do more than release a snarl and lunge onto his feet. She snapped her fingers to get his attention. "Go help Tydinn. The mundane work will work you through that rage that you can't quite seem to let go of. You'll return to me, hungry and tired."

My mouth immediately snapped shut with a surge of shame tearing through me. While it was fun to poke at Aydin and test the limits of just how far I could push before he snapped, I didn't like the fact that I had essentially gotten him in trouble. While he stormed off, snarling under his breath in his native tongue, it only took me a quick check to realize Asher was struggling not to laugh. I immediately honed in on him with narrowed eyes. "Were you just letting me wing it until he lost his shit?"

Asher worked on getting the wrap off of the dough before he started wiggling his fingers to separate it. "You'll come to see that what makes most of the demons tick is their relentless determination to maintain constant focus, pet. Especially for those that work beneath a demon lord. Every single one tied to me demands extremely high standards. They're not trained to handle teasing like you've been doing tonight."

"So why did you let me keep going?" I hissed.

The edges of his lips curled. "To see how he could handle a unique situation like that. Things are changing within the empire, pet. I have no intention of running it like my father did."

Primrose joined us at the table with a smaller trunk in her hands. She flicked open the locks and eased back the lid. "Is that why you've come by for a visit after so long? Your father has passed, which leaves you to prepare for the Council and their tasks?"

A wooden tray shimmered onto the surface before me, solidifying seconds before Asher had a small chunk of the dough separated. He didn't set it down until our host had sprinkled both of the trays with a thick layer of flour.

I eyed it with a hint of excitement and curiosity. "Are we making homemade pizza?"

Primrose uttered a delighted chuckle. "I prefer not to weigh the circus down with too much of that modern bullshit. We make all of our meals from scratch while we honor our roots. As long as it can cook over the pit, it will be done." Her silver eyes honed in on the prince when he gestured for me to simply mimic what he was doing. "Are you sure you remember how to do it, il mio ragazzo? You've been quite spoiled by your father's preferred method of raising."

The prince arched an eyebrow at her. "Just because it has been quite some time since I've done pizza from scratch doesn't mean that someone else makes my meals. Do you really think I would bring someone into my personal home when Quinn was still getting used to our…original arrangement? I can cook and I did ensure she was fed."

"Before or after you got me on the counter?" The words escaped my mouth before I had a chance to stop them. Where the lingering boldness had come from, I didn't have the slightest clue. My cheeks were burned with an embarrassing heat. From the way Primrose was cackling, even Asher's cheeks had turned red. I rested the back of my hand against my forehead while the other hand remained lodged in the dough. "I am so sorry. I don't know what's with me tonight."

"There is no need for you to apologize," his aunt chastised me. She laid out all the fresh ingredients on another wooden board nearby with a large pizza peel just waiting for the first one to be finished. Slapping her hands together, she started working on her own dinner. "I am fully aware of how the two of you crossed paths. Asher's…playboy ways weren't unknown to the rest of the family. It is, however, very exciting to see how much things have changed and the strong bond that now connects you. That was all I had hoped to see with Brielle and Salvatore."

I noted the way her aura became flooded with sorrow, which was immediately mirrored by Asher. Nibbling on my lower lip, I worked on getting the flour into the dough so that it would quit sticking on my fingers. Only when it lost some of the moisture did it finally start spreading like I wanted. "Brielle sounds…amazing. I wish I could've met her."

"You and I both, bambina. I was very close to my sister, even after Salvatore forced her to sever ties with us." Primrose cocked her head to the side while she worked. "There's no doubt in my mind that she would've accepted you immediately, taking you under her wing. She would be very proud that Asher is doing his best to show you our ways. The comfort level you've displayed tonight goes to show you have come a very long way. You should be proud. Both of you."

I flushed under the weight of her praise. "Can I…ask about Brielle?"

Asher's golden eyes flickered to me for a moment. Although it quickly became clear that he was using his focus on spreading the dough as a dominant distraction to conceal just how deep that sorrow swirling within him went, he made no verbal rejection to end this conversation immediately. He seemed content to let it go where it would.

Even Primrose seemed delighted by the request. "Of course!" She beamed. "You are family, Quinn. I'm sure that part of Asher's…plan for today was ensuring that you no longer felt isolated. It isn't easy having a foot in two worlds as a child."

Pressing my lips together, I offered a grateful smile while I struggled to pull together the proper choice of words. My mind was running a mile a minute, leaving me frazzled and not sure where I could even begin. This was uncharted territory. It wouldn't take much to say the wrong thing and turn a magical evening into one from hell. "What…happened? It sounds like Brielle was heavily involved in the circus. How did she go from being a part of the show to…all ties to you severed?"

Her silver eyes locked on me. "Do you remember my act tonight with the ribbons, Quinn?"

I managed a small nod. "Yes…"

"That was originally done by Brielle. No partner, just…her. She was very fond of the way it made her feel like a majestic beast hovering in the air. Demons don't have wings, much as some of the humans like to believe we do. It was the closest she could come to actually flying." Primrose tilted her head and her lips curled into a small smile. "It never mattered if we had a full house or just a few loyal customers in the stands. She was always lost in her dance."

"Is that how Salvatore saw her?"

"Yes, it is." Her lips curled into a small smile, although the gentle action quickly faded as the heavy weight of the memory came down upon her. "Brielle was happy performing in the circus. Sol and Dario never enjoyed it as much as the rest of us growing up, but they gave it their all until it was decided they could go in their own direction. For Brielle and I…That was all we needed. Family…the performances…our loyal customers." She chuckled softly. "I can still remember hearing that the new king had decided to come see one of our performances. From the way the others spoke about it, his own right hand convinced him to come."

My fingers stilled and I wasn't the only one that seemed to struggle keeping my body busy. I threw a quick glance at Asher, noticing how every part of his body had tensed. Granted, neither he nor his sister would have been born if this union hadn't taken place. That didn't stop how obvious it was which parent he'd been closer to.

Releasing a weary sigh, Primrose managed to pry her pizza dough off the wooden tray and started working on spinning it on her fingers to ensure it had been stretched out enough. She didn't continue speaking until she flung it down onto the pizza peel. Her hand shifted over toward a glass jar filled to the brim with a red sauce. "Once Salvatore saw Brielle perform, he became…addicted to her presence. He demanded an audience with her and requested her hand almost immediately."

"What did she do?"

His aunt's eyebrows furrowed. "What can you do when the new king of demon kind wishes for your hand in marriage? She had no choice. For a little while, she seemed to enjoy the lifestyle Salvatore brought and she attempted to maintain a part of the circus. That…ended when she learned she was pregnant with Asher." She tilted the jar sideways, allowing the sauce to escape out directly onto the dough. A simple flick of her finger and it was smoothed by an unseen force.

"Mother would bring me to the shows whenever the circus came back into town," Asher spoke softly. "I was always fascinated by the acts, although it didn't quite beat getting to go behind the scenes. Seeing some of the animals up close, watching some of the others practice something new…I was young, but I could see that she missed it. She'd always have sorrow in those eyes. It didn't matter how often I asked what was bothering her, she'd brush it off and claim everything was fine."

Primrose reached out to set the sauce jar down close to us. "You were very observant, even as a child. Brielle just wanted to spare you of the toxicity of our world for as long as she could manage. Being heir to the throne would suck you into it eventually. She didn't want that light put out if she could prevent that."

Don't snuff out his fire.

I didn't stop myself from nibbling on my lower lip while my mind struggled to process everything that had been admitted so far tonight. "With your father…passing on…will you be coming back to watch the shows more often?"

His golden eyes rose up to meet my gaze, his aunt doing the same ─ only she had her attention fixated on him. Although it felt like an eternity had passed for me by the time those lips parted, it was no more than a few seconds in reality. The edges of his lips curled into a slight smile. "Would you accompany me if I did, pet?"

"Are you really asking me that?" I teased. Dipping a finger into the sauce, I reached out to tap it against his nose. I couldn't stop the mischievous grin from crossing my face when the prince pulled back immediately with a stunned expression. "Getting to watch the performances tonight was such an amazing experience. I would love to come back any time your heart desired."

Primrose snickered softly as Asher worked quickly to wipe the sauce away with a blush already working away on those cheeks. "Xiather was quite pleased to hear you were coming tonight."

With a quick glance in my direction, that silent promise to punish me for my little rebellion swirling within those golden eyes, Asher offered a small nod. "We'll be coming to more of them, zia. As many of them as Quinn wishes."

"Good. I will keep you to your promise, il mio ragazza," his aunt responded softly. She pried the lid off the small container filled to the brim with shredded cheese. With a handful trapped against her palm, she started releasing it all over her pizza. Those silver eyes flickered toward the prince as he started scooping the dough off of the wooden tray. "Are you sure you remember how to do it? It has been a long time…"

Asher released a sharp breath that sounded borderline annoyance, although it was allowed to escape with a playful edge involved. He braced the dough on his hand. "I remember how to do this─" The words faded into an immediate silence when the dough spun off his fingers as soon as he attempted to mimic the spinning.

His dough managed to sail straight between us and land on the grass.

It took everything I had not to let the laughter escape me, managing to bring it down to a stifled squeak, while Primrose had absolutely no shame in letting her own amusement run wild. She slumped against the table with her cackle dancing around us. "I warned you, boy!" She smirked at him. "You may be willing to cook your own meals, but there are some of them that you haven't done since your mother last brought you here. That includes making pizza from scratch."

Before tonight, I would have quickly crumbled into the assumption that our laughter would simply cause the prince to succumb to a fit of rage. We'd witness his painful failure, after all. Yet, he simply blew out a breath and eyed his aunt. "You always did enjoy it when you happened to be right."

The pair fell into a friendly banter over how Asher could help relearn some of the skills he desperately needed to relearn when it came to some of the beloved Italian meals of the Kaia family. While a part of me was fully aware that I needed to start saucing my own dough so it could go over the firepit with Primrose's, I was content just to watch Asher brush off the embarrassment like it was something that happened every day.

For someone that was forced to maintain a perfect, calm demeanor and strategize his entire life to keep himself ten steps ahead of his enemies…it was bittersweet to see he was just like the rest of us. Mistakes happened. He could still be embarrassed when his confidence didn't quite live up to the skill he expected to still be woven into his being without losing his shit.

This was the side of Asher that I was finding myself falling in love with. The demon that had ordered the rest of the APL organization to be shot down before buying me didn't seem to exist anymore. This was someone who wasn't ashamed to bear his soul just so I could see what pain might still be scarring him, nor was he afraid to admit he was wrong.

The conversation eventually shifted into Italian and that was the point where I could only stare at them both with a baffled expression.

It only took Primrose a moment to realize that I had been completely left behind. She raised her eyes toward the tent with a huff. "Il mio ragazzo, you must start teaching your future queen Italian so she can follow our banters."

My cheeks grew hot. "I don't even know if I'll be able to retain a foreign language. I wasn't exactly…let loose in the world. The fact I even knew English was an accomplishment in itself."

"Don't fret yourself, amor." His aunt reached out to tap my hand gently before she grabbed my unfinished raw pizza. She threw herself into adding the ingredients until it was completely covered just like hers. "You are no longer being held back by the challenges of your past. Although, I would encourage you to attempt Italian. There will come a time when Asher must tend to business back in Europe." Her silver eyes flickered toward the prince. "I do believe the coronation will take place in Italy."

"It will," Asher agreed softly.

"Now, now. You will have the chance to change what you see fit once you have been crowned the new king. Consider it one of the final ways to honor how the kingdom was run beneath your father." Primrose spun around on the bench, easing back onto her face with a flawless grace that mirrored her performance. She reached back to grab both of the pizza peels. All she offered us was a quick wink before she carried the pizzas over to cook them on the flattop stretching across the pit.

I was content to snag some of the shredded cheese to nibble on until he reached out to catch my hand. I immediately froze with one of them still trapped between my lips. "Is it…Is it an insult to snack on the ingredients?"

A soft chuckle escaped the prince. Shaking his head, he simply pried my fingers loose so that he could grab some directly from my palm. "It's considered more of an insult not to try to grab quick bites while the meal is being prepared. They'll tease you for it and it might come off as anger, but it is seen as a compliment to do so." With the cheese devoured, he rested my hands on his. It seemed like he was tumbling back into his own thoughts and he was desperately using the physical contact to ensure they didn't stray too far.

"Thank you."

Asher blinked, his golden eyes locking on me. "For what, pet?"

I stretched out toward him so that I could shift my hands further up his arms. "It means a lot that you wanted to show me the hidden gems of Vegas, but the fact that every single location you took me to was tied to your family… I felt included, Asher. You already knew I had a shitty childhood and I had no idea what it felt like to be welcomed. I look forward to seeing them all again."

His expression softened. "I am glad you've enjoyed getting insight into my mother's side of the family. I just wish…that you could have met her. Mother was a lively person up until her final days. It was agonizing to watch that light go out. Calianna never had the chance to discover it within herself before our father chose her path for her." A weary sigh escaped him as he hung his head. "Now she never will."

It is a crime to inflict violence upon a demon lord…and those that work for them.

I squeezed his arms. "You handle this the best way you feel that you should. I will support whatever you choose to do. All that I ask you is to remember this: you are not your father."

I will never snuff out your light, Asher. Not if I can help it.

Asher tugged an arm free, shifting so that he could brush his fingers along my cheek. He couldn't seem to bring himself to stop until he'd nudged my hair back behind my ear. Only then did he let the tips start back down my jaw. "You will always have my heart no matter what happens in the coming days, Quinn Faxiss. I love you."

The final three words left my eyes misting. Sniffling, I turned to tuck my head against his hand. "I love you, too, Asher Alessio Aeternus…until my final day by your side."