Caera eyed him, frowning. He could whisper it to her, right now, no problem. It was just the two of them in the room. He wanted to. Christ, he wanted to. Holding a secret felt like drinking poison. But as long as Acelina was with them, each person who knew what Mia had done was a risk. A slip of the tongue, a heated argument, anything could go wrong, and if Acelina found out what actually happened, she’d try and kill David. Or worse, find a way to get to Mia.
“It’s important,” he whispered, and chewed the inside of his lip. “Please?”
Her frown melted away, and she nodded.
“I trust you.”
“Thanks.”
Nodding, she followed the Las.
And got a whole three steps before the group came to a stop.
“Well well, is that Vicus? Where you been, you damn rat?” Yet another new voice. Holy fuck, he was getting sick of new voices randomly showing up out of nowhere.
Vicus had started them toward the tree line, sharp woods with more space so the girls could walk it, but some demons had come out of the woods, instead. A few dozen demons. More. Vrats, brutes, gargoyles, one tiger, a couple bat girls, with more hidden in the fog. Two tetrads led the group.
A korgejin and a bolstara.
Korgejins and their gorujin counterparts were the only large male demons with wings, ten-foot-tall titans of muscle and power. Korgejins had hooves, no tail, and faces that bordered right on the line of fucking scary and kinda awesome, demony with big jaws and hard eyes. And damn, those were two big horns.
Bolstaras and fujaras both had four arms and no wings, but like the korgejin next to her, the bolstara had hooves and no tail. Four enormous horns decorated her hair, like a crown sitting on her long black dreadlocks. Both demons wore slabs of black metal across various body parts, along with most of their friends.
Vicus sucked in a hard breath and took a step back. No point. More demons came out of the woodwork, circling the group.
“Zalia is dead,” he said, backing up until he almost touched Jes and Acelina. “I surrender.”
The word choice was a bad one. The demons laughed.
“Dead?” The korgejin stepped forward, rumbling in his throat and chest. Two axes dangled from his hips. No hellfire glow.
“The rider got her.”
“The rider is here?” The bolstara joined her fellow tetrad and walked forward. She had four swords, two on her hips and two sticking up over her shoulders.
For a tiny moment, David stared at the bolstara, and did a double take on her and Acelina. They both walked with the same strut, thanks to their hooves, but the tetrad woman had a foot of height on Acelina. Even so, the rest of their proportions were similar, and the hip sway grabbed David’s eyes and didn’t let go. Now was not the time to think of sex, but… damn.
“The rider is,” Vicus said. “He–”
Jes and Acelina jumped back, and both flapped their wings and snarled at the korgejin. One of his axes stuck out of Vicus’s head, buried deep, a double-bladed axe with a short handle; perfect for throwing at unsuspecting vrats. How could someone that big be that quick? Quick and accurate. The axe stuck out of the dead center of Vicus’s forehead, and the vrat lay perfectly on his back, limbs spread. Someone might as well have sniped him with a silent gun.
“How dare you!” Acelina yelled, flaring her wings. “He was to escort us to Timaeus! I must speak with Azailia at once.”
The two tetrads glanced between each other, an eyebrow raised each.
“A zotiva?” the korgejin asked, and he stepped closer. “From Death’s Grip?”
Snorting, Acelina walked forward, her axe hanging along her back. If she drew it, the tetrad might cut her down. Much as Acelina whined and complained a lot, she was smart.
“You know about the tragedy of Death’s Grip?”
“We heard Zel died. But we haven’t confirmed.”
“Then I confirm. Zelandariel is dead, and something catastrophic has ripped the province in half.” She gestured back to David with a wing. “You’ve heard of the unmarked?”
Caera took a step forward. “Acelina, don’t–”
“It is important he remains unharmed. You need not know why. Take me to Timaeus, and your bailiff will take us to Azailia.”
Royalty indeed. David froze, hands tight on Caera’s spikes, and he looked at the demons that’d completely circled them. The Las stayed close, almost pressed to Caera’s sides, while Jes and Dao stood just ahead, weapons already drawn.
The korgejin growled down at Acelina. Considering how tall and thick he was with muscle, he probably weighed over thrice what the enormous demoness did. But something in his eyes relented, and he smiled.
“Name?”
“Acelina. You?”
“Teleius.”
“Teleius. And you?” Acelina set her eyeless glare on the woman demon.
“Laoko,” she said, and she strutted up and stood beside her fellow tetrad. “You have some nerve making demands of us, zotiva.”
“Have you ever known a zotiva to leave her spire? Why would a spire mother leave her home?”
Laoko tilted her head to the side, and some of her long dreadlocks spilled over her shoulder.
“No, I haven’t.”
“Then you should know this is important. Take me to Timaeus, or Azailia, if you are willing to make the trip.” Acelina folded her arms under her chest and tapped a hoof on the soft dirt. “Now.”
David’s jaw dropped. The Las stared, frozen. Only Jes, Dao, and Caera didn’t freeze, but they’d also stopped watching the demons circling them, and stared at Acelina instead. It’d been one of David’s reasons for keeping Acelina around, that she could deal with political situations, parley and whatnot. Apparently, it’d been a good call. Maybe. Hopefully.
“I suppose Timaeus will reward us for bringing him a zotiva, and an unmarked.” The korgejin Teleius shrugged and gestured to the group. “Kill the rest.”
Fuck. The Las hissed and waved their weapons around, and Jes and Dao backed up more until they stood near Caera. Every muscle in Caera’s body turned to steel underneath David, and she growled as she looked between the approaching demons, ready to fight.
“Do not kill the others,” Acelina said. “They have served me well, and once Azailia learns of our mission, she will be glad they live.”
They hadn’t really figured out how much they were going to tell Azailia when they reached her. Jes probably wanted to dump Acelina on her doorstep and take off, but without the spire mother, they’d have a hard time crossing the rest of the province without running into trouble. Like now. But if Acelina was going to keep them alive by taking charge, then, sure, let her take charge. Hopefully, the girls would agree.
Teleius reached past Acelina, and Caera tensed. But the huge demon ignored her, she ignored him, and he retrieved his axe from Vicus’s body. Part of David felt sorry for him. A larger part of him had a sneaking suspicion the vratorin had planned to betray them.