Chapter 3
Three
Silas
I tossed my keys, and Zenon snatched them out of the air and shoved them in his pocket.
“You sure you know how to drive stick?” I said to him.
His yellow gaze slid to me. “Guess you’ll find out when you get back.”
“Don’t wreck this one. I like it.”
“That was Roc, he’s the one with the lead foot.”
“This one isn’t four-wheel drive, it’ll get stuck easier.”
“Damn,” he muttered, then pulled out his phone and started typing.
“You’re texting Roc right now, aren’t you?”
Zen smirked. “No.”
“If you destroy my new car, you’re buying the replacement.”
My last car was an SUV, and Roc, Zen, and Kryos had managed to total it.
Dirt, branches, and what looked like half of Oldwood Forest had been stuck all over it.
I’d seen a video on Roc’s phone, the camera had been aimed out the front window, so I had no proof who was driving or videoing, but I’d heard them all laughing their asses off.
“Deal,” Zen said.
Shaking my head, I pushed open the door to the dive bar. It was loud and hot and smelled of stale beer and sweat, and my stomach instantly knotted when I stepped over the threshold.
She was here.
Despite the crowded room being filled with humans and other beings, I’d instantly honed in on her.
Ursula’s essence, for lack of a better word, was as unique as the female herself.
When she was near, it was as if thick strips of velvet swirled around me, brushing over my skin, heady and luxurious.
The female had imprinted on me in a way that would last an eternity.
Still, I didn’t look in her direction, not yet, I wasn’t ready.
I spotted Lothar at one of the tables. Zen motioned to the bar, and I lifted my chin. Alcohol didn’t affect me, but it would give me something to do with my hands.
Lothar didn’t even glance my way as I neared him, his entire focus was locked on the dance floor.
Again, I didn’t look because I knew who I’d see.
Instead, I let the yearning that filled me, the dark need for her, build inside me.
It wasn’t like I had any control over it.
When I knew I’d get to see her, I fucking damn near vibrated with anticipation, and when we finally came face to face, Ursula would curl her lip in disgust, definitely not suffering the same affliction as me.
While I was desperate to be close to her, she made it crystal clear she’d happily slit my throat.
Dragging out a seat at the table, I planted my ass in it.
“Lothar,” I said, when he finally turned my way. I could smell the brimstone on him. He’d come from Hell. Two weeks had passed since Lucifer had asked me to take part in the tournament, but with the way time moved differently there, only a few days would have passed in Hell.
The hellhound took me in. “What brings you here, brother?”
I crossed my arms and jerked my head in Ursula’s direction without actually looking at her.
“I wish I could say pleasure, but I have a feeling the next week is going to be far from that.” Ursula was aware she’d be receiving further instructions tonight about the mystery assignment Lucifer was sending her on, but that was all she knew.
The chair beside me slid out and Zenon sat. He put his beer on the table, slid one to me, then jerked his chin up at Lothar. “Loth.”
“Zen, brother.” He frowned. “You both here for Ursula?”
“Lucifer has me playing delivery boy,” Zen said.
“And you?” Loth asked me.
“A lot more than that,” I said, and my voice sounded tight as hell.
Lothar sat back. “Urs never said it was you she was meeting.”
Because if she’d known, she wouldn’t have set foot in this bar.
“She doesn’t know. I’m not Ursula’s favorite person.
When she realizes what’s up…” I realized my fingers were curled in a tight fist. I blew out a breath to ease some of the tension running through me. “Let’s just say, she won’t be happy.”
“Best you try harder to make amends, my man,” Zen said. “Lucifer said she’s still seriously pissed at you.”
“What did you do to piss her off?” Loth asked, pity or maybe that was concern in his eyes.
He knew as well as everyone else, pissing off Ursula was a dumb fucking thing to do. I couldn’t bring myself to say my transgression out loud, so I tilted my head toward the other side of the room, to where I spotted Ursula’s twin, Uma.
Understanding instantly dawned in Lothar’s gaze and he winced. “Fuck, man.”
“You could say that,” I muttered, then unable to stop myself any longer, let my gaze slide back to the dance floor.
Right as I took a sip of beer—I spotted her.
I tried but couldn’t stop from flinching, even as velvet slid over my skin.
My heart slammed into the back of my ribs, and my gut clenched so tight I felt like I might throw up from how strongly every cell in my body roared.
Ursula was with Roxy and a bunch of other handmaids.
They were dancing, drinking, singing. Tall and strong, Ursula’s body was finely honed.
A warrior’s body that was all long, lean muscle.
She wore dark jeans and a leather jacket that I knew concealed an arsenal of weapons.
Her thick, red hair was high in a ponytail, pulled off her lovely face the way she always wore it.
Her green eyes sparkled down at Roxy, her perfect lips, full and deep crimson, were curled up while she listened to whatever it was Roxy was saying.
“Lucifer must have something pretty good on you to get you on board with this,” Loth said.
I tore my gaze from Ursula, and it wasn’t easy.
“Nah, the knights are my family. Lucifer needed someone with my…special abilities, and since Heaven has locked me out, I don’t see any problem with it, I certainly don’t owe them my loyalty.
” And if I said it enough times, then I might actually believe it.
“You think our missions are connected?” Lothar asked me before glancing back at Roxy.
“I think it’s highly likely, given the timing.”
Loth curled his fingers around his glass. “So this thing you have for Urs, why does Zenon have to give it to her?”
“Lucifer said something about bloodlines and him not being able to leave Hell. Cryptic as usual,” Zenon said.
Avoiding Ursula’s wrath when she found out who he was sending her into the tournament with was no doubt another reason.
The song changed, and I turned back to the dance floor.
Urs wasn’t there. I scanned the room and spotted her by the jukebox.
A gritty, guitar riff echoed through the room a moment before she turned to me.
I was hit with a blast of fury before she smirked and lifted her middle finger, then went back to dance with her sisters.
I knew the song, it’d been on her playlist when we’d been spending time together.
“Why’d Ya Do It?” by Marianne Faithfull.
I only knew that because it’d been playing the first time I’d kissed her, and I’d asked her what it was afterwards.
It was far from romantic, in fact it was about a male cheating on his female, but the lyrics hadn’t mattered, only the memory I’d wanted to keep.
That wasn’t why she was playing it now though. Yes, for me it was a reminder of our first kiss, but for her it was an anthem for how badly I’d fucked everything up. For Urs, it was all about the lyrics.
I stiffened as she stepped away from her sisters on the dance floor, her sights now locked on me as she strode toward our table.
I was the cheating male in the song and she wanted to make sure I knew it, that everyone knew it.
A low sound rolled from me as I shifted in my seat, not sure what the hell to do.
My senses shorted, sparking but not igniting, like someone had dumped water on my imaginary electrical circuits.
Only she could make me feel so utterly fucking powerless.
I wanted to stand, but she’d take that as a challenge, and I would never hurt or fight her.
So I sat there, paralyzed, as she closed in, and I braced for whatever she was about to throw at me.
Not stopping, she shoved the table aside, and Zen and Lothar both snatched up their beers before they hit the floor.
I wanted to reach for her, but instead curled my fingers into fists and watched as she flicked her red hair back and kicked her leg up, so it rested on my shoulder.
I dragged in a sharp breath as she leaned in, only an inch from me, as she sang along to the rage-filled words, and before she sang the word bitch, she spun to Uma, who was watching like a shark, and said it with emphasis right at her twin sister.
Uma tried to come for her, but several handmaids held her back. Ursula’s laugh was raspy and lifted goose bumps all over my skin as she turned back to me and trailed her fingers down the side of my face, in a touch that was deceptively gentle, before her hand snapped out and gripped my throat.
I locked every muscle in my body, because I still wanted to grab her, to pull her to me and demand that she believe me. “I never slept with your sister,” I ground out between clenched teeth. “I’ve told you a thousand fucking times, we only kissed, once, because I thought she was you.”
Ursula flashed her teeth. No, she bared them, like a wild animal, and her grip on my throat tightened before she leaned in again. “Do you really think I give a shit whose mouth you stick your tongue in?”
My nostrils flared as I sucked in a breath, taking in a lungful of her drugging scent. “You played the song, Ursula. You walked over here fucking singing it,” I growled. The song that was playing the first time I finally got to taste you. “What else am I supposed to think?”
Her perfect, vicious lips curled up, and she chuckled huskily. “Jesus, you’re too fucking easy, Si. I think playing with you has become my new favorite thing to do.” Her little pink tongue slid along her lips. “I bet if I checked, you’d be hard as fuck right now.”
My nostrils flared, humiliation slamming through me. She was right. I was so hard it hurt.
Ursula laughed. “You really are pathetic.”
“Back the fuck up,” I said, breathing like I’d run a marathon.
She smirked and straightened. “I take it since you’re sitting here like a stalker, you’re my new travel buddy?”
I dipped my chin, grinding my damn teeth.
I’d miscalculated. I thought I could handle this, that maybe having this time alone with her, I’d finally be able to make her understand, to believe me, but I realized in that moment, looking into her eyes bright with fury disguised as humor, I was seriously wrong.
Her smile widened. “Oh goodie. We’re going to have so much fun.”
Zenon called her name. Ursula turned, and he tossed her the key, the official tournament invitation.
She snatched it out of the air, and her eyes widened momentarily, the only sign of real emotion besides anger since she’d laid eyes on me.
“From Lucifer,” Zenon said, then he got up and strode out of the bar. He couldn’t get out of there fast enough, and I didn’t blame him.
Ursula grinned down at the stone key. “About fucking time.”
Ursula
I kept the smirk on my face as I spun away, but as soon as I was out of sight, I let the fury take hold. Rox watched me coming, question in her eyes. I grabbed her hand and led her from the room and down a short hall to the restrooms.
Shoving the door closed, I locked us in, then unable to hold it together another moment, I snarled and slammed my fist into the wall.
“What’s going on, Urs?” Rox asked, concern filling her voice.
I held up the jagged stone key, the official invitation to The Tartarean.
“Holy shit.”
“What the actual fuck is Lucifer playing at?” I hissed.
She frowned. “Urs—”
“First, he sends you off with Lothar, and now me and fucking Silas?” He said he loved us over and over, but then pulled shit like this?
I shook my head as I paced the room. “I’ve been wanting to represent Hell in The Tartarean for centuries, and he’s forcing me to do it with Silas?
I’m not doing it. No fucking way.” Nausea rose from my stomach to my throat, and my blood burned hot in my veins.
This was a betrayal. Lucifer knew how much the situation with Silas, the shit that happened between us had messed me up, but he obviously didn’t care.
Just like he didn’t care that Roxy was in pain having to be with Lothar twenty-four seven.
“You don’t have a choice,” Rox said gently.
I kept pacing. “I will never forgive Lucifer for this, for making me do this. Never.”
“You don’t mean that,” she said and closed the space between us. “If I can forgive him, then so can you.”
I spun to her. “And have you? Forgiven him for making you spend every moment with Lothar for the foreseeable future? The male you once loved with your whole heart? A male who doesn’t remember that once upon a time he loved you too?
” She looked like I’d just punched her in the chest, which was answer enough.
“Exactly,” I bit out. “He says he loves us, then personally tears open our wounds, not caring if we fucking bleed out.”
“You’ve wanted this for so long, and this time your skills will be invaluable. You have to do this—”
“I know,” I snapped. This wasn’t Roxy’s fault, but I had to purge this anger before I went back out there. “I know I have to do this, but it doesn’t mean I’ll forgive him.”
She squeezed my hand. “It’ll be okay.”
I dragged in a steadying breath. “Do you really believe that?”
“I have to,” she choked out.
What Rox was going through with Lothar was far worse than my bullshit with Silas.
Someone banged on the door.
If she could do it, then so could I. It’s not like you have a choice.
“I hope you’re right,” I said, then yanked the door open and strode back out to the bar.
If I stayed in here any longer, I’d never leave.
I wasn’t this weak creature, and no male would stop me from doing something I’d wanted to do for centuries.
I headed straight for the table where Lothar and Silas still sat. Both males stood as Roxy and I neared.
Silas let his big hands fall to his sides as we closed in.
To anyone watching, he’d appear casual, but the way the veins had popped along those strong inked forearms, the way his wide shoulders shifted, he was bracing for attack.
Good. He knew where we stood. The prick better sleep with one eye open.
I slung my arm around Roxy’s shoulders and pulled her in for a tight hug. “We got this,” I said for her ears only. I wasn’t sure which one of us I was trying to convince more.
Roxy nodded, then I reluctantly released my sister, and without looking at Silas, I grabbed my bag from the floor by Lothar, and strode from the bar.
I didn’t need to look back to know he was right behind me.