Chapter 8
“Who the fuck is Cole?” Dante demanded.
“Uh…”
“That’s not an answer,” Orion snapped, backing up Dante with a glare that said I’d better give them answers and I’d better give them now.
Where did I even start?
After reaching new heights together, the mate-bond should have been stronger than ever, and it was, but maybe not in a way that benefited me right now.
All my mates were on the same page about one thing: They were pissed.
I scrubbed my hair with a towel as the weight of their glares made me grind my teeth. Even Kaito looked disappointed, but really, of all my Virtues couldn’t he cut a girl some slack? It wasn’t my fault that there was another Virtue out there.
Even so, a part of me felt guilty. Water dripped as I toweled down, giving myself time to think. Because, yeah, after diving headfirst into the most incredible night of my life, I definitely needed another bath.
Once I sufficiently dried off, Hendrik watched me with a peculiar look on his face.
“What is it?” I asked him.
“Nothing,” he snapped, then summoned me a new outfit to wear and shoved it at me.
“Doesn’t sound like nothing,” I grumbled before slipping the blouse over my head.
The Hunter still glared at me, patiently waiting for me to answer his question as I pulled up my skirt. “Dante,” I began and rested a hand on his arm. He jerked away from me.
“Don’t ‘Dante’ me with those blushing cheeks and swollen lips.” He paused, looking at the evidence of what we’d all done together. He’d been the one to bite me and I ran my tongue over the delicious hurt, which only made him frown.
“I can explain,” I whispered.
All my Virtues stared at me expectantly, but it was Hendrik who seemed to put it together first. “You don’t have everything you need to fight Calamity. Is that it?”
I slapped my hands against my thighs. “I don’t know. I guess? I mean, all of you have shared… everything with me.” I glanced down, unable to meet their gazes. “It should be enough.”
Kaito slipped his arm around my waist and brought me to his chest. He’d put on a pair of pants and I tucked my hands into the back pockets. “But it’s not,” he confirmed.
I nodded against him, both humiliated and frustrated that I couldn’t just enjoy the moment. “I’m really sorry.”
“It’s not your fault,” he said, shushing me as he tucked my head against his shoulder.
“You’re a Champion, Lily, and of one of the more powerful Echoes of Calamity.
They only get stronger and more violent as the waves progress.
It’s never been like this before. Your achievements are unprecedented and we shouldn’t be so hard on you. ”
Orion’s warmth spread across my back as he rested a claiming hand on my neck, then gave the back of my head a kiss. “We support you, little star. I think we’ve proven that.”
Logan snorted. “Sure, but you have to admit, it did kind of ruin the moment.” He crossed his arms and narrowed his brilliant blue eyes at me as I snuggled closer into Kaito’s warmth. “So, what does this mean, Princess? Are we going to have to go get him? Where is he?”
“I… I don’t know,” I admitted. All I knew was that he was in pain, he suffered, and we had to get to him as soon as we could.
But he felt far away. Not in Hell, maybe, which presented a problem. I didn’t exactly know how to get out of here yet. The plan had been to trap Calamity. Escape was just a luxury.
But, I felt incomplete. I didn’t just see my Virtues as a means of survival or tools to be used. They were all pieces of my heart and when we came together, I felt whole.
I needed to figure something out… and fast.
When I released a small sound of frustration, Kaito kissed my forehead before brushing away my hair, giving me a smile.
“We’ll figure it out, Koneko-chan. First, let’s stick to the plan and find your mother.
Whatever we decide to do next, we’ll have a better shot if we have the Queen of Hell on our side. ”
I sure hoped so, because if Calamity found us before we knew how to contain it, we were all dead meat.
“Look at this spread!” Logan barked as he jumped into one of the massive chairs lined up against a dining table. After we’d all managed to get a few hours of sleep, Luc’s underlings had knocked at our door and guided us to the dining hall.
And wow, this was one hell of a breakfast.
The table’s entire surface gleamed with an assortment of delicious items that smelled heavenly, despite where we were.
“Wow,” Orion agreed, taking a seat next to the wolf. “I don’t even know where to start.”
“Start with blood sausages,” Hendrik said as he stuffed one into his mouth. His black eyes gleamed with the red glow of my power that surged through him like a drug. Out of all my Virtues, I think he took the black magic a little too far, not having anything to buffer it inside of his body.
Kaito pulled out a chair at the head of the table and ushered me into it while Dante took a napkin and folded it onto my lap—of course copping a feel on the way. I glowered at him, which only earned me a dimple-studded grin.
All the rest of my Virtues took their seats and began filling their plates while demon servants stocked the table with what seemed to be an endless supply of food.
Something felt off about all of this. I couldn’t help but notice the heady scent that made my eyelids heavy and urged me to gorge myself.
“Guys?” I asked, the pitch of my voice going up with worry as they all began to feast. “I don’t think we should eat this…”
Only Kaito didn’t join in as he sat at my right hand and surveyed the food with a calculating stare. “I feel it too, Koneko-chan.”
“Good mor-ning!” Jess said in a sing-song voice as she pranced into the dining hall.
I tore my gaze from the array of pastries, bacon-wrapped sausages, and sugared berries to find the demon leader coming in behind her, stretching his bat-like wings as he watched Jess with an amused smile.
The gleam in his red eyes said that they’d definitely been up to something last night, and when he gave me a wicked grin, I cleared my throat and absorbed myself with my plate, because I knew the same look was probably all over my Virtues, too.
“Eat, drink, and restore your reserves because today, we travel into the pit,” Luc boomed, spreading his arms for dramatic flair.
He retracted sharp black talons as he took his place at the other end of the table and began barking orders at the demonic servants for more food than I thought possible to eat.
Jess leaned over the table to grab a peach. “This looks delicious!”
“Yeah, about that,” I began, glancing up at the horned leader with red eyes, “how is it that Hell has fresh fruit and…” I held up a sugared treat, “pastries?” Something felt off about this spread and I hadn’t eaten a single bite.
He smiled, showing off sharp teeth. “Your ignorance is truly endearing, Princess.”
“Careful,” Logan warned as he held up a piece of half-eaten bacon, despite my warnings. “That’s my mate you’re talking to.”
Luc bowed his head. “Of course, I meant no disrespect.” He cleared his throat.
“Hell has many inner layers, including layers that align with the seven sins. Gluttony is the largest, understandably, and it’s a simple matter of knowing the right tunnel to use to drop in and get food for royal visits such as this.
” He stretched his wings before pulling them to his back as the servants set multiple plates in front of him.
“Demons don’t technically need to eat, but I do enjoy the excuse to indulge in…
” his red eyes locked in on Jess, “temptation.”
She grinned, then turned to me. “You gonna eat that?” she asked, indicating my untouched sausage rolls.
I leaned back and raised my hands. “Have at it.”
Kaito remained silent as the rest of my Virtues devoured their share of the bounty, not seeming to be bothered by the fact that it came from one of the seven sins that had its own realm in Hell.
I glanced at Orion. “You really have no problem eating that?”
He grinned as his freckles sparkled with renewed energy, shining golden sunlight through his skin. “Food is food, little star.”
I rolled my eyes. “If you all combust into hellfire, I am not saving you.”
“Agreed,” Kaito added.
My stomach growled while everyone stuffed their faces.
Logan groaned in pain as we ventured further into Hell with Luc. The demon leader left his entire army behind to guard the city, although I suspected the real action would be down here with us if he really wanted to join our little parade.
Already he was proving to be untrustworthy. All my Virtues aside from Kaito stumbled as they held their stomachs, regretting their adventure with the sin of gluttony.
Kaito chuckled, being the only one spared from the consequences by abstaining from food. “We warned you not to eat it.”
“I think I’m dying,” Logan lamented.
Dante, Orion, and Hendrik also looked a little green, but they hadn’t gorged as badly as my poor wolf.
My caution was paying off. Sure, I was hungry, but I had the power of my Virtues coursing through my veins.
Being part Demonspawn and succubus, it was enough to keep me energized even without nourishment.
Plus, the last thing I’d eaten in this place had been mind-bending Hell shrooms, so I really wasn’t interested in seeing what effects delicacies from the realm of gluttony would have on my body.
“There,” Luc said, indicating a glowing red tunnel. “That’s the route to the Royal Courts.”
“You really didn’t have to come with us,” I insisted as I marched in front of him. I didn’t trust the demon leader, even if Jess seemed completely smitten. Sexy demon abs could have that effect on a girl.
Good thing he wasn’t one of my Virtues, or I might have been distracted. Instead, I kept a wary eye on the horned male as we descended. The air shimmered with heat as sweat gathered at the back of my neck.
That concerned me. Until now, I’d been comfortable even through the wild temperature fluctuations of this realm.