Chapter 52
“Gods, I hate those things,” Xeraphine mutters the moment we step off the path leading to and from the Phantasm. “That’s the last time you force me through one of those.”
“It was a dire circumstance, and all things considered, you did wonderfully,” her Familiar, Aphyllius, replies.
“I’m going to have to agree with my little demon on this one—”
“As you always should,” she snaps back instantly, as bitchy as her reputation claims in the Beyond.
“That’s not my preferred form of transportation,” he continues. “And it interrupted my road-head.”
A loud oof echoes next, followed by a slew of profanity.
Xera has rounded on him with a closed fist and a look that clearly says what the actual fuck? Kairhyse lets out a sharp bark of laughter, doubling over and clutching his stomach.
“Little deviant?”
Kayn’s voice pulls me back. He’s stepped beside me, Amarah motionless in his arms. “Do you mind taking her for a moment?”
I nod without hesitation. I’d asked to carry her through the portal, but he insisted.
Once she’s safely in my arms, I draw her close, cradling her gently. Kayn drags his hand across my cheek before turning and crossing the lush green clearing toward Kairhyse. Xeraphine stops mid-rant, steps aside, and to my utter shock… lets him hug the man.
What?
Kayn is affectionate with me, yes, but he doesn’t hug people. Certainly not like that. And Kairhyse returns it—arms around him, holding him tight in a way that hits me so sharply my grip on Amarah increases.
Heat ignites in my chest, blooming from somewhere deep and primal.
I mean, he’s attractive. This other Vampire. Light ebony skin, tall as sin, fit, and carved in all the right ways. One side of his head is shaved, and the hair on the other falls just to his shoulders.
A sinking feeling rolls through my stomach before I can stop it.
Is Kayn… Have they?
When I flick my gaze to Xeraphine, her nose is twitching at me. “Watch how you look at him,” she whispers, and although we are a dozen feet away from one another, she knows I can hear her. “I’ll take your fucking eyes out and feed them to Mister.”
Suddenly Kayn shifts, blocking my view of the Succubus—and then he’s pulling her into his arms.
“Gods, it’s good to see you both,” he says, voice thick with relief. “Just as moody as ever.”
“I swear!” she yells straight into his chest. Her arms don’t quite reach around him, but she still pats the sides of his ribs like she’s furious and fond all at once. “You can’t stay with us. I can’t handle you and Kai again.”
Again?
Kayn leans away, holding her shoulders. When he releases a breath, it’s shaky. He’s truly relieved to see them. Like… he thought he’d never again.
“I missed you too, Xera.”
It’s only when I shift slightly to see her face that I realize she’s smiling. Our kind is beautiful, and she’s no different. The smile really does make a difference with this one, but she still better watch it.
“You too, Kayn.”
Kairhyse is stepping up behind Xera and pulling her away from him. “That’s enough. Remember my comment about sharing.” His eyes then dart over to me. “Are you going to make introductions, or?”
My brute turns his gaze to me finally, a relaxed smile on his lips. “Yeah. This is—”
“Lucifer.” Xeraphine cuts him off. “I told you that would be the only reason this idiot would be going into the Beyond.”
“Right, right.” Kairhyse waves his hand. “And the girl with the bow and arrow made of light?”
Kayn hesitates, and when I drop my chin to look at Amarah, I’m reminded of their rule: her name is hers to give. She’s given me permission to say it, but regardless, it should be her that shares it if she desires to.
Kayn gives them exactly that boundary.
“She’s ours. When she heals and wakes, she can introduce herself. Her people hold their names sacred, and only share them with those they choose.”
“Her people?” Xeraphine repeats, arms crossing. “Isn’t she just a Witch? I recognized the magic, albeit far stronger than my therapist’s. Dr. Harper told me her name, and I know it was real—Sydni double-checked.”
I adjust Amarah gently in my arms. “She’s a Yldarwright.”
Xeraphine scoffs. “You made that shit up.”
“I said the same thing,” Kayn mutters.
But Kairhyse hums thoughtfully. “No… I’ve heard that before. Syd and I were digging through some old book to learn about your kind, little demon. I swear that name was in it.”
The moment he says it, Xeraphine tenses. Kai notices instantly and loops an arm around her neck, tugging her close in a silent reassurance. It’s in this embrace I see his knuckles.
Well, that’s something. They literally write out XERA across his fingers. That’s obsessive… and hot. Why does that make me jealous?
Kayn turns away from them and walks back to me.
In a low whisper meant only for my ears, he says, “I’ll explain later.”
When he reaches us, he brushes his fingers through Amarah’s hair and slides his other hand behind my neck.
“We have much to discuss,” Aphyllius says as he hops up onto Xeraphine’s shoulder, perching like a smug little gargoyle. “But for now, get cleaned up. Put the girl in bed. This place is safe.”
This place?
All I see ahead is forest. But when I glance back over my shoulder, a home sits behind us—a modernized cabin with oversized, blacked-out windows that reveal nothing inside.
“Catch up later,” Kairhyse calls as they pass, his Succubus still tucked protectively under his arm. She shoots me a narrowed look that promises we’re going to talk before they disappear through the door.
Kayn draws my attention back with a firm tug. His thumb drags slowly along the side of my throat, right over the vein that beats for him. “Let’s get her cleaned up and into bed,” he murmurs. “Then I’m going to shower.”
I nod. “Alright, we also need to talk. Fuck, there’s so much to discuss, I—”
He leans in, cutting me off and kissing me.
“I know,” he breathes against my mouth. “I know.”
After we got inside the house, Kayn guided me down a hallway into a bedroom with a large bed and an adjoining bathroom.
I barely registered the interior—the dark wood, the soft lighting, the clean modern lines—because my mind was running in a dozen directions at once.
I had to force myself to choose one: get Amarah clean, get her safe.
We put her in the bath. I knelt behind her and kept her head supported while Kayn washed the dirt and blood from her skin.
She didn’t move once. Not a flinch, not a twitch.
When the water finally ran clear, we could take in the extent of the damage: the entire side of her face was bruised, one eye swollen shut, and a fist-sized lump protruded beneath her hairline.
The fractures across her skin were still there, though thankfully fewer than there were when she’d fired that arrow and blown my father’s arm off.
Afterward, we dried her carefully and settled her in the middle of the bed, naked under the covers so nothing rubbed or irritated her injuries.
Zuhara leapt up immediately and tucked herself beside her, curling protectively against her side.
She had thrown herself into one of the streams outside to wash away the gore clinging to her fur, and now she was clean, warm, and watchful.
Kayn left to shower a few minutes ago, and I’ve been sitting here ever since, fingers combing through Amarah’s soft white hair—twirling strands around my knuckles, letting them slip free, repeating the motion like a prayer and a grounding spell in one.
“I’ve got her.” I look up to my Familiar. “You’re worried he’ll come for her in your absence, but he won’t. Hex has told me Belial is furious, but understands that the presence of Xeraphine with you complicates things.”
“Why?” I’d asked my father why she was there in the first place, and he told me not to worry about it. Even my own mother wouldn’t speak of the Succubus’s presence.
“Apparently, she’s important to what your father has planned. It’s in his best interest to leave you, the girl, and Kayn, be for the moment.”
I shake my head and pinch the bridge of my nose. “What are the odds that Kayn knows that Succubus? That he went to Amarah of all people to come get me. This all seems…”
“Coincidental? No, I don’t believe in that, Lucifer.” She settles further into the mattress right beside our girl. “The three of you have a lot to discuss. Especially her. But go be with Kayn.”
I know he’s hoping I’ll join him, and I want to, but I’m still so pissed off at him and terrified for Amarah, that I don’t even know where my head is supposed to be. Still, instead of arguing with Zuhara, who is unfortunately right, I force myself to stand and head into the connected bathroom.
It’s warm inside, brown and black tiling soft on the eyes, the dim lights giving the room a calm, almost gentle ambience that feels completely at odds with the knot of tension living in my chest.
Kayn has the glass shower door open. He stands under the overhead spray, naked, head tilted back, water streaming down every powerful line of his body. He looks carved from something not from the three realms and for a moment I just stare.
“I was worried Kai or Xera would show up first to tell me to turn the damn water off,” he says, voice rough over the patter of water.
I take a long breath, strip, shove my clothes under the sink, and step inside with him. I close the door but don’t move any closer.
He lowers his head, and the second his red eyes lock onto mine, I know he’s bracing for this. He sees exactly what’s coming.
“I’m sorry,” he says before I can even start.
I shake my head, searching his expression for something—regret, understanding, a reason I could forgive—but there’s nothing there that explains why he’d risk what he did. Nothing that makes it even slightly okay.
“It wasn’t—”
“I could’ve lost you both.” I cut in, voice sharp and low. “And you think ‘sorry’ is going to cut it?”
“Lucifer,” he says, stepping closer. “I only did that so you could protect her. Not me.”