CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
Saylor
Three Months Later
Seeing Bane and my brothers working together to fix up the nursery is making me emotional. As I requested, Bane is painting the walls a sage green, and Salem and Silver are putting up the crib. Shadow is building the baby a bookshelf, and Sage is sitting in the rocking chair, eating a cupcake I made.
It’s been quiet since the whole King Bax fiasco, and we’ve spent the time working on the Demon Kingdom, building a relationship with its people, and making any changes we see fit. Bane has been welcomed back with open arms, the exiled prince and the true heir returning. He’s a fair king and a good one. I couldn’t be more proud of him.
But more than that, he’s the best mate in the world.
“Sit down, Sunshine,” he says when he notices me standing there, frowning at Sage. “Sage, get your ass up and let my mate rest.”
Sage stands, another cupcake in his hand. “Okay, okay. I’ll get back to painting.”
“I’m going to go and check on dinner, anyway,” I reply, walking back down to the kitchens. I’ve been helping Flora plan meals. She’s a young demon female, and we get along really well.
She’s singing to herself and mixing some batter in a bowl when I enter. “Need any help?”
Her red eyes land on me. “And have the king murder me? I don’t think so. You take a seat and let me get you something to snack on. Fruit?”
“Sure,” I agree, sitting and taking a deep breath. “So, how did things go with Halo?”
She frowns. Halo is the captain of the Demon Army here, and the two of them totally have a thing for each other. “We aren’t mates, so I don’t know if there’s any point going there. What if I get feelings, then he finds his mate, and I get cast aside?”
“That’s the gamble, isn’t it? I had a little fun, but I never let my feelings get involved until I met Bane,” I admit, lowering my voice so no one else overhears that.
“Halo is hot,” she admits, her lips twitching. “That body of his. Wow. Every morning when he trains, I pretend I need to help with the gardening. Gardening isn’t something I like or need to do. We have gardeners.”
I’m laughing hard when Bane wanders in to find me, his eyes lighting up when he sees me. “Is my mate here annoying you again, Flora?”
She hands me a bowl of cut-up fruit, shaking her head. “Honestly, she keeps me sane, my King. She’s a blessing to the kingdom, that’s for sure.”
“You’re going to make me cry,” I mutter, taking a bite of apple.
Bane lifts me and my bowl into his arms and carries me out. “You know I can walk, right?”
My stomach has the smallest bump, and Bane has been acting like I’m about to pop. “I know, but I like carrying you,” he replies, nuzzling my neck. “And I’m hungry for you, and I can’t wait.”
“Where are my brothers?” I ask, frowning.
“They all left.”
Well, in that case.
Bane stops before the stairs, and I stop to see why. Axe and Kai are standing there, watching us with amused expressions.
“This better be good.” Bane groans, putting me down on my feet. “I was about to have my lunch.”
“You’ll want to hear this,” Axe comments, nodding toward the couch in the new game room we set up. We all sit down, and Axe turns to me. He’s wearing a white tunic rolled up at the sleeves and tight black pants. He looks good. I’ve always known he and Kai to be attractive—they are incubi, after all—but there’s something different about him today.
“I have my hair tied up,” he announces, smirking.
Bane growls from next to me.
“Are you sure you want Saylor to be here for this?” Kai asks Bane, his brow furrowing. “She might not like what she hears.”
Bane winces and opens his mouth to speak.
“I’m not going anywhere,” I announce, my eyes narrowing to slits.
“I thought as much,” Axe mutters, then clears his throat. “We went to Red last night.”
“What’s that?” I ask.
“The sex club we have in Chaos,” Kai explains, shifting on his seat.
“Okay, so you went there to fuck some females that know the score?” I gather, glancing between them. “What kinky shit are you both into?”
Bane growls again, pulling me against him. “Saylor—”
“We’re getting off topic.” Kai smirks, and I quickly put my mental shields up before he sees what’s going through my mind about last night. “We went to Red, and Nova, Drea, and Opal were there.”
“I know who Nova is, but who are the others?” I ask, not liking where this is going. Nova was the woman Bane used to drink from. The one he almost went to when I didn’t realize I had to fucking feed him.
“Bane’s roster of females,” Axe supplies, trying to keep a straight face. “This is why we weren’t sure if she should be here.”
“Well, she is here, and you better have a reason for talking about women Bane has fucked. I’m pregnant and unstable right now. I will kill them all.”
“So there is some Salem in her,” Kai mutters, sharing a wide-eyed look with Bane that clearly says sleep with one eye open.
“Get to the fucking point,” Bane barks, having had enough. “And if you’re asking if you can fuck them all, I don’t give a shit.”
My jaw drops. “You better not be here asking for permission to what? Tag team Bane’s old flings. You’d only ask that if he had feelings for them!”
Bane looks like he wants to murder his brothers.
“No, that’s not why we are here,” Axe says, rubbing the back of his neck. “We overheard Nova telling the other two that she’s coming to see you in the Demon Kingdom. That she knows someone here and is even more in The Circle than she is in Chaos anymore.”
“I dare her to try and come here,” I threaten as Bane rubs my back to calm me down.
“I read her mind, Bane,” Kai admits, his green eyes staring at me. “She wants you dead, Saylor. It was her who tried to have you killed.”
“What?” Bane seethes, his fingers tightening on me. “She knew what we were. I made her no promises.”
“Well, she’s got her sight set on you, and she’s willing to do anything to get what she wants.”
Heavy rain starts to belt down outside. “That fucking bitch.”
His voice gentles when he addresses me, “I almost lost you because of… fuck. I’m going to fix this. I’m so sorry, Saylor.”
“It’s not your fault, Bane,” I reply, staring at Kai. “You’re sure about this?”
He nods. “I saw her mind, Saylor. It was her. And this new male she’s seeing? He has invisibility magic like Salem. That’s why no one saw who shot you. That’s how he got past all of us.”
Bane curses. “Do we know who he is?”
“He’s a guard,” Kai replies, wincing.
“Give me a name, now ,” Bane demands, standing up. The wind picks up outside, howling with his anger.
“Halo.”
Oh shit.