Chapter 19
T oday is the Spring Equinox.
Shiva and I walk into the courtyard hand in hand. A wreath of flowers wraps around Shiva’s hair. Lavish jewels furnish her throat, her wrists, her fingers. Ornate glitter and patterns decorate her eyelids, her cheeks, and her lips.
I’m dressed in a black veil. Tight. Near see-through. Metallic snakes wind around each arm. My hair is pinned up with a clip made of bones and honeyberry leaves, courtesy of Dae.
The horns tattoo I snuck away and got marked into my hip the day I turned eighteen is on display. The fabric slips to the side and reties just beneath it. They match Dae’s horns. I showed him the tattoo the day after I got it, and he laughed, before going and getting one of his own. His is a pale, dead head with thorns wrapped around it, vines choking the life out of its severed head, blood leaking out of the neck.
I didn’t find it funny then. I still don’t.
The courtyard is beautiful, with demons already sitting among the fae. One stands alone, dripped in gold, a wide circle around him. He shines like the sun. I blink—it burns my eyes to look at. Shiva whispers in my ear, “Aamon, the Sun God.”
I turn away and spot another, a woman with long, sharp nails and perfect skin, in a blood red dress. She lounges on a long armchair with a human nestled on his knees between her legs. She strokes his hair and smiles at me, a wicked gleam in her eyes and sharp teeth lining her mouth—all the edges are sharpened to points. “Lilith, the Blood Queen,” Shiva mutters.
I spot another. I’d almost missed him. An unassuming demon smirks up at me as he pops grapes into his mouth. “Dorian,” I say before she beats me to it.
Shiva’s eyebrow arches. “Feast, they call him.”
Across the room, shadows wreath and wind together at a spot near the back. Within them, for a second, I spot a face. Perfectly crafted, black hair and pitch black eyes. I blink and the shadows are gone. Shiva says, “Micah, the Shadow King, the king of all demons.”
Moon lanterns cast shadows over the wildflowers and I can’t help but grimace when I spot Obi pressed up against a wall. He’s mostly recovered from the beating, but his face is still swollen. He lifts two fingers, and the meaning is not lost on me. Two nights, including this one. Tomorrow we leave. I have tonight and tomorrow night to save Mum.
Shiva releases me as a hand wraps around my throat from behind and I’m pulled into a hard, warm body. Fingers graze down my side, landing on the tattoo. “Trying to torment the demons?” Dae whispers in my ear.
I smile and tip my head back, resting it on his hard chest. “Who says it’s not you I’m trying to torture?”
A chuckle ripples through my body from near my ear, the vibrations settling deep in my core. He says, “Because I get to have you at the end of the night.”
I laugh. “I didn’t agree to that.”
“You’re mine, have been since we were children.” His grip on my throat tightens until I see black spots. “I don’t need your permission.”
My hands and feet tingle and in a raspy voice I say, “Do it and I’ll cut your throat.”
He laughs and releases me. I fall to my knees, coughing and clutching my neck. He holds out his hand and with a hoarse laugh, I press my hand into his and rise on shaky legs. “You really do turn vicious in here,” I say.
He shrugs. “You look beautiful, darling.”
I wait for a blush to rise, but instead, I just smile. It feels a little like baring my teeth. He laughs and kisses my top lip. It’s time to get to work. I pull myself from his grip and say, “See you in there.”
He licks his lips and nods.