CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Everleigh stared up at him, biting her lower lip. "Are you sure you want to do this?"

He held her gaze, his expression grave. "I'm sure."

"I just don't want you to have any regrets. I'd understand if you later did, and I'd even understand if you came to hate me for—"

"I could never hate you." He framed her face with his hands. "I love every fucking inch of you, inside and out. And I would never regret falling to be with you."

"Even though you'll have to survive partly on blood?"

"Even though. I have been alone for a very long time. Alone and numb. I didn't live, I existed. Until you. I'm not going to let you go, and I'm not going to leave you. I fucking refuse to be without you."

She took in a shaky breath. "I should really push you away to spare you the consequences of falling—especially when I get the impression that there's some things you haven't told me about the curse—but I'm too selfish for that."

She kissed him. Hard, deep, and slow. She truly should push him away for his own sake, but she just couldn't find it in her to do it, couldn't—

Everything went black.

He was gone from her arms. There was no noise. No smells. Nothing to see .

But … she was moving. No, being moved by someone or something.

She opened her mouth to speak, to ask what the fuck was going on, but no words came out.

Finally, her back met something hard and cold. Her arms were wrenched high above her head. Her vision came back to her … and she found herself facing six—

A horn beeped, cutting into her sleep, sending the dreamy images dispersing and making them fade away too fast for her to remember any.

"Some people should not be allowed to drive," snarked Mia, flipping a finger at a fellow driver.

Ella straightened from her slouch in the front passenger seat. "I fell asleep?"

Her sister spared her a sideways glance as she turned the steering wheel. "Yes. I didn't wake you, because I figured a nap might do you some good. I had thought you'd take advantage of us having the morning off work to sleep in. Didn't you?"

Ella rubbed at her face. "No." She'd spent the extra time with Viper.

"Did you sleep at all last night?"

"Some." Viper had insisted on it, concerned about how tired she looked. He often did coax her to get some sleep while in his bed, and she always slept better at his clubhouse.

For just over a week, they'd officially shared a bed. Something which showed no signs of stopping anytime soon. Thankfully. Because she didn't want it to stop. Neither did her demon, who'd grown to like the angel. Or archangel. Whichever.

She'd repeatedly asked if the rumors about him were true, but each time he'd merely given her a mysterious smile. Or he'd said something like, ‘ Maybe I'll tell you one day, ' to which she'd said, ‘ And maybe you're full of shit. ' The dude had secrets for sure. A whole bunch of them.

So often he and his brothers would resort to telepathic communication in front of her. Viper would claim they were simply discussing ‘club business'. That was no doubt sometimes true, but she didn't think it was always the case.

She wasn't exactly in a position to push him to spill private stuff, though. It wasn't like they were a couple. Although … much as they'd agreed to keep things mellow and simple, she couldn't say that the arrangement centered solely on sex. They didn't go on dates or make demands of each other, but they'd each spend time at the other's home sharing a meal, watching TV, and exchanging stories.

She still hadn't told anyone that they were sleeping together. Only his brothers knew. Several times she'd turned to her sister, tempted to just blurt it out. But the words always got trapped in her throat, and she'd tell herself there was no point in saying anything unless, or until, she and Viper became serious about each other.

Otherwise, where was the sense in it?

It wasn't as if she generally talked of her flings.

"What were you dreaming about?" asked Mia, pulling Ella out of her contemplations. "You seemed … distressed."

Ella blinked. "I don't know. I don't remember. I rarely remember any of what I dream these days."

A long, guilt-ridden sigh eased out of her sister. "I really can't understand why my talisman isn't working. I'll make you a stronger one and see if that helps. If it doesn't, maybe you should reconsider knocking back some sleeping potions. I know you avoid them because you want to be at your sharpest, but you won't be if you're tired all the time."

Point well made.

Ordinarily, Ella would have been resolute on not using them when sleeping beside someone else. But she didn't believe Viper would ever cause her any harm. Neither did her demon.

It felt strange to be so sure of someone when they were near strangers, but he made her feel safe. Her demon didn't read him as any kind of threat to Ella.

Not long later, she and Mia were striding through the Underground, passing pedestrians and vendors and various types of premises. The guards that Luka had assigned to Ella—Kasper and Arman—followed them, though they didn't come too close.

Despite the cacophony of sounds—chatter, laughter, footsteps, music filtering out of windows—she easily heard Mia's phone ring.

Her sister fished her phone out of her purse, and her brows knitted. "It's Leif."

The name rang a bell. "Joe's best friend?"

"Yeah," confirmed Mia, slowing to a stop. "Just give me a sec." She walked into a side alley where there was less noise to take the call.

Ella held up two fingers to her guards, indicating that they'd be on the move again in a matter of minutes. Nodding curtly, they took positions close by and let their sharp gazes wander their surroundings.

Ella did the same, humming to herself as people walked around her, heading in various directions. A lot of them were walking to and from eateries. One person caught her attention—firstly because they were familiar, secondly because they were staring at her.

The blonde from the Red Rooms who, according to Viper, didn't like the word ‘no'.

Ella's demon narrowed its eyes, disliking the woman on principle. She could have been the sweetest creature to have ever walked the Earth and the demon still wouldn't have liked her because she apparently had a thing for Viper.

She also apparently thought it a good idea to approach Ella, because she did exactly that. The blonde didn't speak, just stared. Hard. It wasn't an attempt at intimidation. No, she looked at Ella the way you would at a math equation that made no sense to you.

Both Ella and her demon stared right back at her. Descendant , the entity sensed. She probably belonged to Maddox's lair, then.

A male psyche touched hers. Need us to deal with her? asked Kasper.

Ella responded, I doubt it'll come to that. I'll let you know if I need backup. "Can I help you with something?" she asked the blonde.

The woman blinked twice. Poking her tongue into the inside of her cheek, she leaned forward and said, "I know."

Ella's insides seized. "Sorry?"

"I know something's going on between you and Viper," the woman elaborated, her voice not loud enough to carry to others.

Personally, Ella doubted that the woman ‘knew' anything . The descendant was more than likely just guessing, throwing out the comment to test Ella's reaction.

Though she and Viper spent a lot of time together, it was only in the confines of their own homes. Ella never drove to and from his compound, just as he never drove to and from her apartment complex. They traveled together using teleportation, and no one ever saw. Other than for his brothers, of course. They'd never tell anyone about it.

"I don't need you to confirm or deny it," the blonde added. "And I'm not looking to cause trouble for you or to spread your secret around."

Again, doubtful. The descendant would have no reason to protect Ella's privacy.

"I just wanted to warn you, one woman to another, that you are wasting your time with Viper," the blonde explained, her voice laced with a candid sympathy.

Oh, so this was her game. She was going to pressure Ella to steer clear of Viper, acting as though she was doing it in the name of sisterhood.

"He'll never commit to a demon. There are too many things he'd be unable to share with you. And before you ask how I could know that, given I'm not part of his club"—a gentle smile curved the descendant's mouth that carried a hint of condescension—"I just know."

"If you feel the need to chase away any women you think might be involved with him, you very obviously are looking to land him. Which begs the question: why would you bother to try when you believe he'd never commit to a demon?"

"He'd make an exception for a descendant. We have similar secrets."

So she was eluding to things that were connected to his angelic nature, then.

"I understand him in ways you never will. Ways only my kind and his own could understand."

"How marvelous for you. Thanks for sharing what is totally irrelevant information. I'll, uh, see you around, I guess. I mean, you are around a lot."

The blonde's eyes narrowed at the taunt.

"Okay, I'm done," announced Mia as she sidled up to Ella. She did a slight double-take at the sight of the descendant, who appeared equally surprised to see her.

Worried the blonde might blurt out something she shouldn't, Ella quickly guided her sister away.

"You know her?" Mia asked.

Ella gave a small, flippant shrug. "I don't know her name or anything, but I know her face." Change the subject, change the subject. "Anyway, what did Leif want?"

Mia heaved a sigh. "Apparently, Joe is having ‘a bad time' and Leif feels it would be good for me to go visit him. I got the feeling from some of the stuff Leif said that he's not aware of how Joe's been acting toward me lately. He seemed to think I'd be like, ‘yeah, sure, I'll track him down right now.'"

Maybe it made her a little insensitive, but Ella wasn't feeling too bad for her sister's anchor—he'd behaved like an ass recently. Still, she'd support Mia in whatever she wanted to do. "Are you going to check on him?"

"I don't think he'd want to see me. And, if I'm honest, I don't really want to see him. There's too much tension and bad vibes between us at the moment. Giving each other space makes more sense."

Ella gently bumped Mia's shoulder with her own. "It'll all sort itself out eventually. I truly believe that."

"I hope you're right. I really do."

At Ghost's telepathic news, Viper felt his hand flex around his mug. What do you mean, Neta approached her?

It didn't seem that she was being confrontational or rude , Ghost replied. I couldn't hear any of what was said, I wasn't close enough. But Ella didn't look upset or rattled. More like … inconvenienced.

Viper clenched his jaw, biting back a curse.

At the breakfast bar, Jester caught his eye and flicked up a questioning brow.

Viper raised his forefinger, wanting more information from Ghost before he relayed the conversation. You're sure Ella ain't upset?

She doesn't look it. She waltzed off with her sister, shrugging off the whole thing with Neta easily. She seems more focused on Mia.

That was something, at least.

Want me to nab Neta?

No, stay on Ella. I'll have someone else do it. Focusing on Jester, Viper informed him, "Neta spoke to Ella in the Underground just now."

Jester's brows slid together. "Spoke to her about what?"

"Ghost doesn't know." Viper set his cup down on the counter. "He says Ella doesn't seem fazed or upset. While I'm confident she can handle Neta just fine if need be, I still don't like it. And I want to know what was said."

"It could be that Neta simply asked her if you two are seeing each other. Maybe talk to Ella first. She's more likely to spill all."

Viper rolled his shoulders. "Not really feeling in the mood to delay—" He cut off as Darko teleported into the kitchen of the clubhouse, the light of urgency in his gaze.

"Hudson, we have a problem," Darko announced.

"You mean Houston," Jester corrected.

Darko shrugged. "Whatever. There's a problem."

"Which is?" asked Viper, pushing away from the counter.

Darko planted his feet. "I tracked down some strix, but they're in a pretty public place."

Viper felt his eyes narrow. "How public?"

"They're at a damn carnival."

Shit. "Coordinates?"

After Darko rattled them off, Viper telepathically sent them to each brother along their club's ‘channel', adding, Other than Ghost—you need to stay on Ella—I want everyone to teleport to this spot. There are some strix there. He refocused on the angels in front of him. "Let's get gone."

As one, they teleported to a shadowed spot among the trees at the carnival's perimeter. It was like walking into a wall of noise. So much talking, laughing, circus-like music, chugging machinery, screams of riders, and the spooky theatrical sounds filtering out of the haunted house.

"They've separated into groups," said Darko, who then pointed to the clusters of strix that were hovering out of sight near amusement rides; watching the children with a predatory gaze.

In quick bursts, more of Viper's brothers materialized, gathering into a tight huddle as they spied on the demons.

"There's, what, twenty of them?" estimated Omen, a slight question in his tone.

"Looks like it," replied Razor.

"We can't really afford to have our usual fun," said Viper. "Too many people would see things they shouldn't, not to mention get hurt."

Jester cocked his head. "What are you thinking we should do?"

Viper pursed his lips. "I'm thinking we teleport behind each of them, snap their necks, and then whisk their corpses out of here."

Rebel frowned. "Do we really have to make their deaths fast? They're about to snatch kids . They don't deserve quick and easy."

Viper sighed. "Fine. We teleport behind them, grab them before they can act, and whisk them away from here so we can kill them in privacy."

Darko grinned. "I like that plan better. Where do you wanna take them?"

Viper chewed on the inside of his mouth, pensive. "Strix hate water, right?"

A smile curved Omen's mouth. "You're thinking the small stretch of beach where we once had that party."

"No one goes there, and it's far away from everything." The perfect spot.

"The beach it is," decided Merchant, who'd been out of isolation for a few days now. He pointed at a particular strix. "I want that one in the green jumper. Which one do you want?" he asked Sting.

At that, each of the brothers chose their own target. Several of the angels would return for the last cluster of strix before they could notice their brethren had been taken.

"Right, let's move," said Viper. He teleported to a particular demon, grabbed it from behind, and teleported it straight to the destination in mind.

As he and his brothers all stood in a long line on the shore, they became instantly smothered by the scents of salty air, brine, and seaweed.

Release them , Viper telepathically ordered.

As one, the club let go of their captives, who all lurched forward and then spun to face them. The strix's gazes darted around, taking in their new surroundings.

It wasn't a pretty beach. There was no white sand, no turquoise water, no seagulls crying overheard, no signs of human life.

Small and cramped, it was bordered by tall-as-hell cliffs. The tawny-brown sand was littered with grit, sharp pebbles, and seaweed. Frothy, dark-blue waves tumbled inland and turned into foam. Other waves angrily crashed against rocks. Thick gray clouds blocked the sun and cast shadows everywhere, giving the beach a gloomy look.

Unease flickered in the demons' red eyes as they stared at the sea. A strix's aversion to water wasn't about fear. They just hated being wet. And Viper had no reservations about exposing fucking child eaters to anything they hated.

All the strix are now here, including those we had to go back for , Jester reported through the telepathic channel as everyone shrugged out of their jackets.

Viper dropped his on a rock that protruded out of the sand. "You were all gonna feed on children? Really?"

"What do you care?" a demon sniped. It stepped back but then stilled as water lapped at its feet. "They are human. Cattle."

The strix beside it hissed at Viper, greed carved into its face. "Now we feed on you instead." It leaped at him.

Viper didn't try to dodge it, just braced himself for impact so he wouldn't tip over. The strix landed on him, snapped its limbs around his body, and sank its teeth into his throat. It was a hard, vicious, feral bite that hurt like a bitch.

But not as much as it hurt the strix to drink Viper's blood.

It slumped to the sandy floor at his feet with an agonized cry. Arching and writhing on the ground, it hissed and cried out as Viper's blood ate at its insides.

Letting out a shriek of grief, another strix came at him. Viper telekinetically shoved it hard, sending it zooming backwards. The demon hit the water with a plop. It emerged, staggering under the pull of undertow; its shriek getting lost beneath the sounds of battle as chaos broke out.

Viper released an archangelic blast that gleamed as it rolled toward the demon. The slice of unholy fire severed the body with no effort, sending its ashes scattering into the sea.

Battle adrenaline flooded his bloodstream as he fought alongside his brothers. Orbs were volleyed this way and that. Whips of black fire cracked out. Strix were dumped in the sea or thrown against the cliffs.

The earlier peaceful vibe to the beach disappeared, its natural music disappearing beneath the cracks of whips, the snapping and popping of flames, the harsh splashes of water, the grunts and hisses and laughs and shrieks.

The fresh smell of the sea air became tainted with those of sulphur, brimstone, acid, blood, and pain.

Even as sand stuck to his blistered skin, even as splatters of salty water stung his wounds, even as fucking Darko annoyingly sang "Under the Sea " in a Jamaican accent, Viper kept fighting.

A sweltering hot orb collided into his chest, punching the breath from his lungs and sending pain radiating through his torso. He tracked its sender, conjuring an orb of unholy fire. But then Dice curved his covered-in-flames body around the strix, burning it alive with a bear hug.

All right.

"Coming to the beach was a bad shout," clipped Jester as he stomped out of the water. "Fucking hate salt water."

Blackjack smirked. "You hate everything."

A series of flaming balls whooshed through the air toward Viper. He returned fire. Literally. Hurled several orbs of unholy fire at his foe until, finally, the fucker became ashes.

A heavy weight landed on his back as two hands grasped his head in a viselike grip. He grunted as sharp nails dug into his scalp like thick needles.

As those hands tried wrenching his head to the side, Viper teleported them both right into the sea, the shock of the cold water making him go still for a split second.

With a dramatic shriek, the strix strived to rise and escape. Viper surfaced at the same time, nabbed the demon by the throat, and plunged its head back into the sea. Its limbs flailed frantically, splashing water everywhere. He tightened his grip on the strix, not allowing it to resurface. Finally, its struggles ceased and the body disintegrated in his hands.

Viper teleported back onto the shore, water sluicing down his body and weighing down his sodden clothes. He noted with relief that none of his brothers were badly injured. In fact, they were laughing and grinning and living their best lives. As for the strix? Their numbers had dropped fast.

Omen groaned, his face all scrunched up. "Think I've got sand in my eye."

Jester grunted, his back covered in sand as if he'd fallen at some point. "Think I've got it down the crack of my ass."

A stream of ultraviolet fire gushed past Viper, lighting up the strix who'd just been coming at him from the side. Before he could give Jester a nod of thanks, another strix advanced on him, all nails and fangs and long limbs. Viper was impressed it was still alive, considering its skin was a collage of blisters, burns, cuts, and rotting patches.

The demon vaulted its body right at him … but was incidentally knocked down by a wayward telekinetic strike from Dice. The strix zoomed backwards and hit the sand, sending it puffing everywhere. Before the strix could rise, Viper telekinetically snapped its neck.

An enraged hiss emerged out of a nearby strix, who then pinned Viper with a hateful glare.

Viper flicked up a taunting brow. "Problem?"

The demon rushed him, kicking up a cloud of sand. Viper slashed out his arm, telekinetically slamming the strix into a rock wall. The impact caused little stones to break away and patter the sea below as the body sank into it. But the strix surfaced, shifting into a bat in the process, and then bulleted through the air toward Viper.

He slammed up a telekinetic hand to stop its momentum and shoved it hard, sending the bat crashing into a rocky outcropping. Maybe the impact cracked its skull or something because, like that, the strix was dead.

A fiery whip slapped at Viper's face, splitting his lower lip and burning a line along his cheekbone. Even as his injured skin began to prickle and sizzle, he turned toward the new attacker; saw a strix charging toward him. Viper flicked a hand, telekinetically wafting up a shit load of sand toward the demon.

It coughed and rubbed at its eyes, stumbling to a halt. He took advantage, driving his teeth down hard into the prick's throat. He gulped down blood, letting it heal his injuries, and then sliced downwards with an archangelic blast that split its body in a vertical fashion.

"Nice," praised Omen.

Viper grunted, gratified to see that the battle was over. No strix were left. Ashes mingled with the sand and floated on the water.

"Well, I enjoyed that," Rebel announced, shoving at the wet strands of hair clinging to his forehead. "Though I have sand in places it has no right being."

Sting snickered, scrubbing away the bits of grit dusting his face. "Don't we all?"

Jester crossed to Viper. "When these demons don't return to the colony, the queen will know it was likely us who'll kill them. This makes three times we've chipped at their numbers. She's going to launch a mass attack eventually."

Since it would enable his club to eradicate them in one swoop … "I look forward to the day she finally does."