CHAPTER TWELVE
Leviathan
Ihated attending these fancy events. Andras and Devon at least fit the part; they both looked excellent dressed up. We all wore custom tuxes, similar styles, but they really looked the part. I fidgeted with my bowtie. It felt more like a noose. I pulled it loose, my skin hot as the memory of my father’s torture flooded my mind.
Samuel Delano was a beast of a man, average height, but thick muscles all over. He trained almost as hard as Ty in the gym. My father was duty bound guard to Ezekiel Parrish, Dev’s father, like Ty’s father was to Laszlo Blackbyrn. While they were all the Kings of The Obscuritas, Laszlo and Ezekiel were the brains, and Darren and Samuel were the brawn. When Dev’s father was killed, the dynamic shifted to Laszlo now being guarded twice as heavy. We knew as soon as we were told about Ezekiel’s death that it was no accident. Part of Dev broke that night.
I looked over at him, his back to us as he gazed out of the window. If I were being honest, I missed my brother. We refused the dynamic of our fathers and instead vowed to be friends and equals in all things. We protected each other equally. When he cut us out, it was like a missing link, our circle was broken. Having him around just these few days made my heart ache for that bond to be healed.
My phone rang, pulling me out of the emotional spiral, and I grimaced at the caller ID.
“Hello, father.”
Samuel grunted. “Son. I assume you’ve heard about the recent death of Jackson?”
I rolled my eyes. “Of course. What of it?”
“Watch your tone, boy,” Samuel growled down the line. “Jackson was tasked with keeping an eye on Devon Parrish. And now I hear Devon has rejoined the group.”
I turned to Dev and frowned. “Not exactly.”
“Did he murder Jackson?” Samuel asked, his voice deadly serious even as I laughed.
“No, father. We’re looking into it. Whoever killed Jackson was clearly a professional. Andras has his best people on the case.” I faced the others, their attention turning to me with curious eyes.
“Well figure it out, and quickly,” Samuel shouted.
I pulled the phone away and pressed mute, ignoring his rant.
Andras raised an eyebrow as he sipped his vodka. “Why is he so angry tonight?”
I shrugged. “Who knows.” I unmuted the phone. “Father, I have to go. We’re needed at the party.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Samuel huffed. “We moved the prisoner earlier today. A tip came through that something might happen at Vespertine tonight. Stay alert. Keep your daemons close.”
“Will do.” I hung up, not giving a single shit if that pissed him off. “Well that was random.”
Ty leaned forward in the armchair, his sleeves rolled up and his bowtie hanging loose around his thick neck. “Interesting. I also received a call from my father. He was equally vague.”
Andras stalked across the room and began retying my bowtie. “Suspecting Devon is a strange accusation. If Father actually thought Devon killed that letch, Devon would be locked in a cell. He was testing you.”
I frowned. “Testing me for what?”
Andras patted down the lapels of my jacket, and I swatted his hands away.
He rolled his eyes and picked up his drink again. “As cautious as we may be, our fathers are paranoid and suspicious. They know we don’t truly obey their orders any longer. I think they’re trying to decide if the four of us are planning a coupe.”
Ty chuckled and sipped his whiskey. “Well, they’re not wrong.”
Devon stuffed his hands in his pockets. “I’m not planning shit.”
Ty stood, his hulking frame dwarfing even Devon, who was almost as fit as me. “You’re part of this Devon, whether you’ve accepted it or not.”
I was unsettled about my father mentioning our daemons. More so because lately, I felt mine more keenly than ever. When the ritual was performed just over eight years ago, we had no idea what was actually happening. No idea there was a whole world of beings you’d never believe existed outside of the movies. There were two species, daemons and lumens. The daemons were typical of the kinds you see in movies. Horns, tails, wings, and massively powerful. The lumens were similar to what humans thought of as angels, although they could be just as deadly as the daemons. The ritual our father’s performed bound daemons to our souls, the four of us. I remembered vividly that feeling of powerlessness as the daemon latched onto me.
Even now, the thing was restless and always eager for violence. We didn’t understand at the time why our fathers did this to us, until they presented our relics. Our daemons were bound to an object of power, and with those objects, our fathers were granted power—without the nasty business of housing a daemon in their own bodies. We searched for our relics, but our fathers hid them away. Only Devon was able to take his back. When his father was killed, Dev recovered his relic, and our fathers could no longer control him.
An attendant knocked on the door, pulling me back to the present. “Sirs, the party has begun.”
“We’ll be down shortly,” Andras snapped. “Ty, get dressed. You look homeless.”
Ty grinned and downed his whiskey. “Why put the jacket on when I’ll only be taking clothes off after our girl arrives.”
I laughed, clapping him on the shoulder. “I cannot wait to see her again.”
Thinking of her got my dick twitching. The images of her exquisite body squirming as I made her come all over Andras’s desk will live in my mind for eternity. Or at least until I get her naked and moaning for me all over again.
Devon stomped out of the room all moody, and part of me felt bad. He fell hard for Sara, and the idea of us all sharing her was clearly upsetting him. I didn’t want that. We were brothers. And I knew she belonged with all of us, he just couldn’t see that yet.
We walked through the maze of hallways to the ballroom. Ty fixed his sleeves and put on the suit jacket but refused to do up his bowtie. Andras muttered curses at him as we walked, making me grin.
My mood shifted as we entered the ballroom, standing at the top of the staircase and surveying the party below. Something about tonight felt different. We were coming to the edge of a precipice, and whatever happened next would change our fates.
“Damnit,” Andras cursed under his breath.
We didn’t look at him, keeping our faces neutral as we slowly descended the steps.
“My father is here.”
“Where?” Ty voiced the question as we all scanned the room.
Andras smiled as we passed the governor of Massachusetts. “I don’t know. But I can feel him probing my mental shields.”
I almost stumbled down the stairs when I caught sight of her. “Sara is here.”
The others followed my gaze.
“Fuck, she looks delicious,” Ty growled, and I completely agreed.
Sara looked as elegant as a queen in her deep-blue dress. The layers of silk and lace rippled like waves as she walked through the crowds. Her icy blue hair was curled down her back, and a sparkling crown adorned her pretty little head. I instantly had visions of her riding my cock wearing only that crown. Men and women alike admired our girl as she made her way to the bar and sipped a glass of champagne.
“Do not let my father anywhere near her,” Andras muttered under his breath.
“Agreed.” Dev, Ty, and I nodded in unison. On this, we were in full agreement.
I grinned and clapped Ty on the shoulder. “Let the games begin, brother.”