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Chapter One

“Get up,” Azazel ordered “Get up and fight me”

I pulled h et laid or so through your body, and you’re channeling it into—Fuck!”

I dove out of the way to avoid a body slam

He ground smoothly to a halt and turned to face et you killed”

“Or” I held up a finger “It ht buy me time You know, ues are a key factor in any evil sche …”

He circled me, and my heart rate did that crazy pitter-patter-thud that it always did when he was near lately He was like a predator—a powerful, silver-haired, growly predator—that, half the time, I wasn’t so sure I wanted to run away from

It was that darnwith my head Or maybe it was just the fact that I kneas there

That he didn’t know

That he ht see it

That he ht find out he was my… No Fuck that No way

I fell into a defensive stance, then, shifting to attack ed him

His eyes widened in shock Yes! Didn’t see this co, did you? But then his lips curved in a smile

What? No Was he laughing atto—

Slam into his forearm, because he’d stepped to the side and put his arm out

I lay on thehell, was I ?

“I hate you” My words came out as a wheeze

Why couldn’t we train at night when his vision was coht, but he didn’t see like regular people Just auras and shapes, or so Mal had told me Not that it affected the way he et the drop on hiht?

I studied his powerful shoulders in the workout vest The way they bunched as he crossed his ar down his nose atmachine Hell, I could probably poke his eyes out, and he’d still find me Probably by the scent of my adrenaline I bet he had super sniff power, too

“You did good,” he said

“You’re insane You call this good?”

“You didn’t bleed today” And then he turned and walked out of the room

Fucker

I glugged a glass of water and refilled it

“You look like so in and plopping herself onto the nearest seat

“Just say it I look like shit I know it I do have eyes” I smoothed back tendrils of hair that were stuck to e I ache so bad I’m tempted to take Iza up on her butt rub offer”

Cora snorted “I’luttonous maximus”

“It’s gluteus not gluttonous, and for the hundredth time, she is not in love with me”

This was the latest from Cora and Cyril They both believed that Iza had a crush onher job, and very well, too I had baths run forpad inOver the past month, I’d learned to accept that the more I asked her to chill, the more she felt she had to do So, I’d backed off and let her do her thing

Azazel only worked er play, and his favorite, the beat-down He called it hand-to-hand, but it was usually Fee-to-h, and then Mal would take over

Either one or the other was my shadow recently

“There’s pasta in the fridge,” Kiara said from the kitchen doorway “Well, similar to what they call pasta in the huarlic in there for you”

The appearance of Conah’s soul emotions Kiara was … nice Like really nice, but Conah … I still couldn’t be in the saical reason for that Nothing had happened between us, and to be honest, I was beginning to think the proble between us Still, the thought of being alone with him made me feel sick, because what the fuck would I say to him? What would we talk about? Luckily, I’d succeeded in avoiding alone tiolden-haired, blue-eyed Dominus for the past month

“Thanks” I grabbed a bowl out of the cupboard “Want to join me for a late lunch?”

Kiara looked torn “I’d love to, but we’re running low on supplies, and I need to fly to the market before it closes”

The last food delivery had been over a week ago by Drake and Carriage—huge, black, flying lizard creatures that pulled a carriage loaded up with supplies It was usually an imp’s job to order the food, but Kiara had taken over while here Wait … She was leaving the quarters … Did thatConah behind?

Cora caught the panic onback in her seat, tipped her head back to look at Kiara “You and Conah have fun now”

Kiara rolled her eyes “Conah does not do shopping”

Shit Conah was staying back My pulse kicked up “Then wait, I’ll come with you”

She bit her botto “Fee, have you seen yourself?”

I looked down at my sweat-soaked T-shirt

“Let me rephrase that Have you smelled yourself?”

I winced “That bad?”

“No, just … Demons have sensitive noses”

There was no option but to bow out gracefully “I guess a shower it is” And then I’d lock my doors until it was time to head to Deadside

Kiara blew me a kiss and retreated

I sagged against the counter Nowhere but my room was safe now I quickly piled pasta onto my plate

“You can’t hide forever,” Cora said with a sly smile “Now’s the time to confront Conah about his lies”

Tension gripped the back of my neck “There were no lies”

“Just omissions”

“Nothing happened”

“But he gave the impression he wanted it to”

We’d been over this “Cora, what’s gotten into you?”

She crossed her ar Conah had no right to get your hopes up He should have been upfront about his betrothal”

“It never came up”

“Because he hid it” Cora’s eyes flashed “You have a right to be pissed off”

“Being angry at Conah takes energy away fros, an almost-romance hardly matters”

“Fine What about theto deal with that? Don’t you think Azazel has a right to know?” She narrowed her eyes “Just like you had a right to know Conah was engaged?”

Ooh, well-played But I was sticking to uns on this one “No No, I don’t” I yanked the collar of one soon, so shut up about it”

She stared at the ether “Fucksake, woe the fact that it was there It doesn’t change the fact that Az is your soulmate”

A shiver skated up my spine “I don’t need a soulmate”

The concept scared the shit out of , and by sleuthing, I et the full deets on what a soul mark actually was It turns out that a soulyour soul to another

Both parties had to accept the bond in a special cerenored the ured it would just go away I needed it to go away because the thought of being soul connected to anyone, especially someone as closed off and detached as Azazel, scared the shit out of me I was a des the way they did, and to be tethered to one …

They were either cold or full-on They loved with no holds barred and hated with every fiber of their being Compassion wasn’t a warrior trait It was reserved for the hearth But they did prize their brood mothers—nannies who took care of the demon spawn for the nobility

It seeray, and for soround, it was all a little too h that I was bound to a celestial scythe?

“I just want to find the bad guys and kill the to stay alive in the process so as not to fuck up Lilith, you know, the queen of the underworld”

Cora dropped her arhtness in er in combat mode

“I just want you to be safe,” she said “And thatbound to Azazel could keep you safe”

“He’s cursed to protect me Trust me, he’ll keep me safe”

“I know, but that’s a curse He has no choice but to protect you, but what if he wanted to protect you?”

I snorted “Because I’m his soulmate? Honestly, I doubt that would make a difference He hasn’t acted any nicer toward litch”

“Or it needs to be activated with the ceremony for him to feel the connection,” Cora pointed out

How had we got back to this? Annoyance flared inabout my life About as best for e three months of leave for her with Soul Savers so she could stay with , and there was no doubt that she’dhere easier But the topic of the soul mark was closed er One