They’d been dragged into this mess because of me. I don’t think that was a guilt that could ever be erased. Some things stuck with you, always.

  That brought small comforts from what my family didn’t seem to know. They didn’t have any idea of who I really was. It would be a grave lapse of judgement if they truly believed I’d become what they wanted me to be. I would never accept a delusive destiny.

  Matters of the soul were even riskier. You couldn’t take that away from someone or change their genetic makeup. It seemed I was born with tragedy in my blood. That could be as much of a blessing as it was a curse. When it came time for me to bleed, I would turn their whole world upside down and use it as a throne.

  There was one person I could count on to help me when all was said and done. Someone I knew I’d never truly forget.

  Ciaran Belair

  He had my heart in the palm of his murderous hands. By everything tainted and maleficent, we’re forever bonded.

  He promised he’d never let me go.

  I believed him.

  CHAPTER TEN

  I watched her from a distance.

  She glanced at me once when she did a sweep of her surroundings, but it was nothing but a passing glance as she pushed a cart down the travel aisle, walking in my direction. There was a tattoo on her arm that she hadn’t had before.

  Someone had covered the scar she’d gotten from Judicium. It had been faint, but I suppose her parents didn’t want her to notice it was there. That would require a backstory of where it came from.

  I let myself drink in the sight of her as I had been from the time she resurfaced. She was healthy and fit.

  I could probably bounce change off her ass. Her physical attributes hadn’t been altered in any way besides those few things.

  She was as breathtaking to me as she’d always been. I resisted the urge to drag her ass out of this store and lock her away. There was too much at stake for that. While she’d been hidden away from our world, it still kept turning.

  Someone else needed me now and I wasn’t going to let her down like I had Puppet. I wouldn’t let her down again either. There was a list of people that would be joining her on this trip and none of them would be returning. It was the tip of the metaphorical iceberg of amends.

  I looked over my shoulder to make sure Kyrous hadn’t gotten his ass out of the car and followed us into the store. We hadn’t been back in the real world all too long and he needed time to assimilate.

  The last thing I needed was him strolling through the store in search of his next victim.

  He damn sure didn’t need to see the blonde a few feet away, laughing at something someone out of sight was saying.

  Lana paused in front of a pack of sanitizing wipes and began to compare them with the others. Was this what fucking shopping consisted of? I couldn’t tell you the last time I’d gone into a store like this. That’s what hired help was for. What was she comparing?

  I knew for a fact her family kept her bank account stacked these days, so money wasn’t an issue. I’d been pissed when I first saw the numbers. It meant she’d pleased them enough for an allowance.

  “I think I’m nervous,” Maverick mumbled.

  “Don’t be such a pussy, you don’t even have to speak,” Charon retorted.

  Melantha came around the corner and called Liliana’s name.

  She turned away from the wipes and caught something Melantha had just tossed to her.

  “Mel,” she hissed, holding the box to her chest as Grace laughed at them.

  As I got closer I was able to get a glimpse of the packaging. Were those condoms?

  “You never know what could happen,” Melantha reasoned.

  “The fuck?”

  At the sound of my voice, my puppet turned and looked at me. I watched as surprise and confusion flashed across her beautiful face before a guarded expression wiped both away.

  I didn’t like that.

  She was mine. I was hers. It was that simple. She wasn’t allowed to be fucking guarded with me.

  If I were to bend her over that shopping cart and fuck her right here, would she remember the way my dick felt when it was inside her?

  I wanted to reach out and touch her hair. It looked softer than I remembered. I wanted to wrap her in my arms and see if she felt as safe as she used to in my embrace. That was the very reason I didn’t. She didn’t know who I was yet.

  Why the fuck did I let this happen? Their families made sure we were away on business before making the move to lock the girls up. Their location had been top-secret until it was too late to do anything. By the time we found where they were being kept, they’d already had their brains rewired.

  It was fucked what had been to them. I knew grown men that wouldn’t have been able to endure. They would’ve cracked much sooner than they had.

  I wouldn’t be letting it go even after I had her back. I had names and none of them were safe.

  Liliana shoved the box of condoms onto a nearby shelf and breezed by us with her cart, polite enough to excuse herself.

  Fuck if that didn’t burn.

  Melantha followed without sparing us anything but a cursory glance. There may have been a flicker of recognition in her eyes, but she didn’t react to it. Gracelyn at least smiled, but she always fucking smiled. Ky was going to devour this girl and then spit out whatever was left when he was done.

  At the end of the aisle, Puppet looked back at me with another flash of confusion. That was all I’d needed to see. I hadn’t come here to speak to her or demand she remembered me. I wasn’t that fucking obtuse.

  This wasn’t the time for that either. I hadn’t approached her to ease my consciousness, that was already damned. I came to obtain something and succeeded.

  “Are you good?” Charon asked, preparing to offer moral support.

  “Yeah, I got what I needed.”

  We left the store and began prepping for an appointment we’d taken the liberty of scheduling ourselves.

  You expected top-notch security in a building like this. We bypassed the locking mechanism on the entrance and strolled right in without anyone there to stop us.

  Even at this hour, our building would be impossible to enter with such ease and it stood fifteen stories high directly across the street.

  My mom had agreed on the location so that she could piss off the Serpines bright and early every morning.

  The black glass windows reflected the glow of Maverick’s mask as he made a show of looking around the spacious lobby. “Is this stupidity or arrogance?”

  “Probably a bit of both.”

  “He knew we were going to come, right?” Charon asked, shifting the black case in his hands.

  “Only one way to find out.”

  We walked towards the north wing, slowing when a loan guard entered from the east. He froze at the sight of us, his eyes going round with fear.

  “Hey, how you doing tonight?” Charon playfully queried.

  “You need to leave.” The man went for his radio and then must have thought better of it, going for the gun on his hip instead.

  “I’ll meet you upstairs,” Kyrous remarked, making his way towards the guard.

  “Stay back!” the man drew his gun and leveled it at Ky’s chest.

  That wasn’t enough to stop him.

  “You’re not going to shoot me,” Ky monotoned. He walked right up to the guy and grabbed his arm, bending it at an unnatural angle to point the gun away from him. At the same time, he grabbed the man by the throat, cutting his scream down to a garble.

  Leaving him to handle the guard, I continued through the lobby. “Leave him alive, Ky,” I tossed over my shoulder.

  We approached the elevators, and I used the key card our tech guy had made to grant us usage. Once we were inside, I let it flit between my fingers to land on the slate floor so Kyrous could use it when he was done with the guard.

  “The top?” Maverick asked.

  “Straight to the top,” I confirmed.

  The doors slid shut and he hit the button. We didn’t encounter anyone else on our way to the top.

  We passed floor thirteen where the Astaroth offices were, Gracelyn’s family. The Lamashtu where Melantha’s worked on floor fourteen, and then finally our ride stopped, and the doors slid apart. Another lobby of sorts awaited us.

  Frosted glass doors with two silver handles in the shape of an S complete with red jewels were a small boast of the Serpines wealth and power. If I didn’t come from a family just as powerful with powerful friends, I might have been impressed.

  Most of the lights were off. Only a few wall sconces had been left on, giving the space an intimate glow. We crossed the partial lobby and through the doors.

  I didn’t waste time sight-seeing and went straight to where we needed to be.

  When we walked into the office of Amon Serpine, he didn’t look the least bit surprised to see us. As suspected, he knew we’d be coming just not when. I was a little disappointed I hadn’t been able to surprise the old man.

  “You boys don’t know how to knock?”

  “Isn’t the surprise better if we don’t?” Maverick countered.

  He grunted and sat back in his large leather chair. His brown eyes took in our outfits, lingering for a second on the masks. “You might as well sit down. Drink? Or are the masks staying on?”

  “We’re good,” I answered for both questions.

  “Eh, suit yourself.” He reached for the bottle of whiskey sitting near the edge of his desk and poured a decent amount into a glass he’d already been drinking from.

  We settled onto the U-shaped sectional across from his desk and Charon placed the case he was holding on his lap.

  Amon looked at it with a slight twist of his mouth. His grandchildren were the perfect mix of him. I could see pieces of both Liliana and her brother in his face.

  “If you knew we were coming, you know why I’m here.”

  “Is no if kid. I had the building all but freely accessible for weeks now waiting on you to get your asses up to my office.”

  “You never heard of a phone, old man?” Charon questioned, throwing in a jab of his own.

  “You’re going to help me secure your granddaughter’s hand.”

  His brows slightly rose. “You must mean in the eyes of the syndicate because we all know you’ve marked my Lilly in every other way.”

  He had to of been referring to the oath. I wasn’t sure how he knew of it when not even Liliana’s parents were aware. Their rat hadn’t been informed about that. To make sure he wasn’t having any doubts of its validity, I motioned to Charon.

  He popped open the black case he was carrying and lifted the lid before turning it around so that Amon could see what was inside.

  “We’ve got the game covered for the first two phases. After the gig is up, we may need your help. This is on top of you ensuring me and your granddaughter are engaged.”

  Kyrous came strolling into the room just as I finished speaking and sat down beside Charon. There was a dot of blood on his mask. I could guarantee he didn’t listen and killed the guard downstairs. He was moody as fuck these days.

  “What made you so sure I’d help you?”

  I laughed derisively. “If you don’t help us what good are you to me? Because if you don’t help us, you’re turning your back on Liliana.”

  “That’s not--.”

  “If you don’t help us, you’ll be a thing of the past when I hand her the match to burn this whole fucking empire to the ground so she can rebuild her own.”

  “You see where he’s going with this?” Maverick chimed in. “If you don’t help, you’re fucked.”

  Amon examined the vials of blood inside the case with a bleak expression. I wasn’t sure if it was from him struggling with my ultimatum or something else. I didn’t feel any sympathy for him, but I wouldn’t want to be in this same position. He’d have to betray his family and each one of their alliances.

  It was for a more than worthy cause.

  We all knew that this was the best decision for everyone partaking in this secret meeting and more importantly, his granddaughters. With or without his compliance things were set in motion for the biggest event of the year.

  I didn’t give a fuck about the history between my father and Pandora. Neither did he. He had let it go until the crazy bitch got my brother involved in her personal vendetta. That made it harder for Puppet’s grandfather to turn down my deal.

  Three of the most prominent families the syndicate had were backing it. He sighed deeply and took one final look at the vials from the night of the oath. We’d bottled it for insurance purposes back then and kept them stashed away.

  It was one of the smartest things I had ever done. All he needed to do was test the blood to make sure it matched Puppet’s if any doubts surfaced.

  “Why are only two of the girls included?”

  “We knew they were a package deal, but two is still better one, don’t you think?”

  “And my brother would have thrown a fit otherwise. Nobody wants that,” Charon added, clapping Ky on the shoulder.

  “Why my Liliana?”

  She wasn’t fucking his. I bit back that retort and grinned. “Puppet knows who pull her strings.”

  His bushy brows slammed together in confusion that had my grin widening even though he couldn’t see it. I didn’t need him to understand my meaning.

  The ones that mattered did.

  She did too. That look of confusion told me something inside her still knew who I was. Her family wanted to take what I already deemed belonged to me. She was mine. To fuck. To protect. And use to bring the Serpines to an end.

  She was everything to me.

  Her grandfather nodded once, and elation spread through my chest. “They leave for their trip in two weeks. I’ll have their necklaces to them before then. Is that enough time for you to do what you need?”

  “I’m already ten steps ahead.” I leaned forward and braced my hands on his desk. “You wouldn’t happen to have a knife preference, would you? We’ve already got one prepped.”

  EPILOGUE

  The nights we had together should’ve been impossible to forget.

  It’s not her fault she doesn’t remember.

  It was them who made sure she forgot.

  They eradicated me from her mind, not doing shit to ensure she was gone from mine, too.

  And that’s where they fucked up.

  As if that wasn’t a death-worthy violation in itself, they went a step further and destroyed one of their own. The Serpines and everyone in their inner circle deserved everything that was coming to them.

  But where was the fun in letting them off easy?

  For years, we’d been watching.

  Learning and plotting.

  We remained obedient and kept our distance. All of that was now a thing of the past. I had the only permission I needed to keep Liliana by my side.

  The two of us together was a nightmare in the making. What could be more beautiful than a bond formed from blood and chaos, blessed by the ones that worshipped everything below?

  I was ready to take this game to a higher level. The clock was ticking, and when it hit zero nothing was going to be the same.

  It was time for my puppet to wake up and remember who she was.

  They wanted a show that would go down in history, I was going to make sure they got one.

  DEVIL’S PLAYGROUND

  Daemonium Excerpt

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  (spoilers below if you have not read Maleficium!)

  The sight of blood had never bothered me much. It was a natural part of life and one of the very things that kept us all alive. Sometimes it could even be considered art. Like blue ocean waters or radiant sunflowers--two of my favorite things. When I was forced to watch it spill from one of my best-friends, I suddenly found it to be deeply unsettling.

  A coppery stench lingered in the air and clung to the pile of rags discarded in a dark corner. Most of them were remnants of things that had been scrounged up from inside the warehouse we’d taken refuge in. Their colors varied by how saturated they were, bold crimson to russet brown. The arrow that had pierced Mel’s chest was hidden beneath them, out of sight but definitely not out of mind.

  It wasn’t remotely sanitary to use them as medical gear but it’s all we’d had to work with.

  Her wound would have to be watched closely to make sure it didn’t become infected.

  Brody swore on his life that the pills he’d handed off after helping remove it were a brand of pain medicine. I didn’t know him well enough to buy the claim, but Mel hadn’t dropped dead yet or complained so I took that as a good sign he was telling the truth. She was doing a remarkable job of keeping her composure despite the agony she had to be in.

  I hated that there wasn’t much else we do could for her right now. Considering everything that had happened thus far, stumbling across a pharmacy wouldn’t be surprising. What we’d have to do for any real meds would certainly be a different story.

  This was such a mess.

  I huddled into the corner of the sofa and wrapped my arms tighter around my middle, making a conscious effort not to fidget like an addict needing a fix. Whether it was frayed nerves, exhaustion, or the experimental drug that had been forcibly injected into my veins, I couldn’t settle. This debilitated feeling was messing with my ability to focus.

  I needed to get my thoughts in order and had no clue where to start. It wasn’t helping that memories were resurfacing, many of them too hazy for me to fully understand.

  Casting a sidelong glance towards the metal table everyone was standing around, I tried to focus on what they were discussing. I needed to get off my sorry ass and join them, but only after I conjured up some positivity to contribute. I’d been struggling to find a morsel of it since we’d arrived here.

  In less than twenty-four hours I’d been dumped in an insane asylum, cut off someone’s head, and watched one of my best-friends get hit by an arrow all before coming face to face with tombstones engraved with our names. It was a lot to deal with on top of everything else going on.