Chapter 46
VALEN
A few weeks later, I drop Ava off at work and head over to Luna’s. I’ve been avoiding Luna’s place and making Zavier do blood runs for me so that I don’t have to see the demon.
But it’s time for me to put on my big boy pants—as Ava likes to say—and face him.
After all, he’s more than likely not the demon who killed my sister.
The chime dings merrily as I step inside the café.
Luna’s behind the counter, making some sort of drink, so she doesn’t notice me at first. She passes the drink off to a customer and winces, then hastily jumps back when I assume she takes a step too far.
I look around, though, and don’t see the demon.
“Hey,” Luna greets when she spots me. “Haven’t seen you in a few weeks.”
“Yeah, sorry about that.” I rub the back of my head. “I’ve been avoiding…”
“Levi? Yeah, wish I could do the same.” I hear a snicker that must come from the demon himself. “Do you need a drink?”
I shake my head. “Uh … no. I wanted to talk to him. Where is he exactly?”
A hand shoots up from beneath the counter. “Right here.” He waves his tattooed hand.
“He’s under the bar?” I ask Luna.
“Where the hell else am I supposed to stash a demon? I’m not going to piggyback him all day,” she grumbles. She opens the hinged part of the counter and gestures for me to come back. “Have at it.”
I come around to the back of the counter, and sure enough, the demon is sitting on the floor, tucked up under the counter.
He waves. “Howdy.”
With a sigh, I crouch down across from him.
“What?” He rolls his eyes. “Too scared to sit beside a demon?”
“Please, I’ve faced worse than you in battle,” I grumble, settling down. “I refuse to make skin contact in fear of necrosis.” He scoffs in return.
The demon watches me with acute golden eyes. To most I’m sure they’re intimidating. “Spit out whatever it is you have to say. You wouldn’t have come here without a good reason, Valentine.”
Suddenly, Luna squats down and eyes both of us. “No physical altercations under the bar. I know it’s tempting, Valen, but please refrain while in my place of business,” she hisses before popping back up.
“Spicy, isn’t she?” He licks his lips, and I feel my lip wrinkle in disgust.
“I do not like you,” I say with finality.
The demonic spawn snorts. “Should I clap for that revelation? I fucking know.”
My fist clenches with the urge to punch him in his stupid face. Violence isn’t strong in me, even as a warrior in the past, I didn’t crave it like some of the others, but in this moment, I’m feeling the need to spill some blood.
“Not only are you crude, but you’re tasteless in your vernacular.” He rolls his eyes at my statement. “A demon killed my sister, so excuse me if I don’t take much liking to your kind.”
Golden orbs snap to mine and flare slightly. “Is that what you think?” A smile that’s all sin and immorality stretches across his face.
I sit up. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
The smug expression continues to grow, and he trails a hand up Luna’s leg where it steps closer into his space. She swats at him, and he blows a kiss up toward her.
“Leviathan,” I snap.
“Aw, you finally said my name. I’m touched.
I guess we’ll work our way up to Levi as we get closer,” he croons, only serving to make me more furious.
“I’m sure you’ll figure it out soon. I prefer to sit back and watch the drama unfold rather than rushing to the end.
More fun that way, don’t you think?” He tilts his head and stretches out a long leg to brush his black boot against mine.
Jerking away, I settle farther down the bar.
“Luna, I don’t know how you go about your day to day with this heathen,” I call up to her and cross my arms over my chest.
She gives a humorless laugh. “It’s like living with a toddler with a penchant for touching your butt and driving you to your mental brink on a daily basis. Remember when I mentioned I wanted a pet after seeing Pom Pom and Midnight? This one needs to be rehomed, preferably in the hellish variety.”
A small smoky mass dances across the demon’s shoulders, and I watch as it seems to travel across his body and down to where his hands rest on his thighs.
“What is that?” I ask. “Some kind of demon magic?”
A soft smile I didn’t know he could make forms. I don’t like humanizing him or thinking he’s able to have genuine emotion.
“Something like that.” He sifts the black fog through his fingers, and it flashes the outline of a figure quicker than I can track. “Is that all you had to say? No other questions for me? Or did you want to bond, unlike you and your pink-haired friend.”
A tug in my chest at the mention of Ava has me resisting the urge to go to her. Sleeping next to her and being physically intimate continue to be a struggle.
“Oh, I see.” Leviathan, I suppose I can call him by his full name, traces one of his tattoos in the shape of wings on his forearm.
I wonder if he knows how close to the mark he is with that one.
“Trouble in paradise? Do I need to tell you about the birds and the bees? Make sure to wrap it up and practice safe sex,” he chides.
“I’m fucking leaving,” I conclude and stand up.
Luna peeks at her watch. “Lasted longer than I thought you would. Say hi to the girls for me. I’m going to continue to hope I can lose the dead weight, because the alternate makes me want to cry.”
Nodding to Luna, I start to step out from behind the bar.
Before I can, though, I make eye contact with Leviathan.
So many secrets swirl within their depths, and I squint at him, trying to figure out his angle.
He seems mighty comfortable acting like an unwanted pet when he’s powerful enough to force hands.
“I’ll be seeing you, Valentine.” He tips his nonexistent hat my way and I stroll out of the coffee shop, away from the being who clearly knows more than he’s letting on.
It’s not until I’m a few blocks away that I realize I’ve never told him my full name.