“Azazel, I need you…”

His hands swept down and cupped my breasts and a groan tore from my throat. He ran his thumbs over my nipples, the pressure just enough to elicit a gasp. With his powerful hands on my breasts and my fingers playing my clit, the world settled into a haze of spiraling pleasure

I was going to come.

“No.” He grabbed my wrist. “Not like that.”

I let out a ragged moan. “Babe.”

He spun me to face him and claimed my mouth, swallowing my protest as he propelled me across the huge tub and pushed me up against the edge. His hands were on my waist and then I was hauled up onto ledge.

“Az?” I looked down at him, wet and dripping, and fucking gorgeous.

He licked his lips and gripped my thighs, fingers digging in just enough to let me know he meant business. “I’m hungry,” he said.

My clit did a happy dance before he dipped his head between my thighs, and I lost all coherent fucking thought. My fingers sank into his hair, holding him to me, my hips rising to meet his mouth as his clever tongue drove me to the precipice, and then I was falling. The edges of my vision turned dark as my body tightened and pulsed in the grip of orgasm, and my cry remained trapped in my throat. He held me fast, lapping up my climax like it was the ambrosia of the gods.

Tears stung my eyes, and I blinked them back as the words I love you hovered on the tip of my tongue, waiting to be released once my body was my own again.

With a final swipe of his tongue, he raised his head, eyes dazed and dark with desire, to look at me. I was undone. I was nothing and everything, and I was his.

He rose out of the water, hands sliding up my thighs to bracket my hips. My breath grew shallow as my gaze fell to his arousal. God yes.

He entered me slow, inch by inch, moaning softly as I sheathed him, rippling around him with the after-effects of my orgasm.

“Fee…” He said my name like a prayer and then he began to thrust, deep and slow at first then faster.

My head fell back against the tile as a new orgasm began to build, quick and ready to explode. I wanted him to come with me. I gripped his shoulders, meeting each thrust with my hips over and over until he swelled inside me. His mouth crashed against mine and we peaked together, grinding every last drop of pleasure from the climax. Our soul bond flared, and in that moment, I was exactly where I was meant to be.

Home.

It was time to leave all too soon. I dressed for the chill and came across the feather Esmael the Seraphim had given me amongst my things. Who knew what was on the horizon? And we might need his help, so I tucked that into the inside pocket of my coat just in case.

We made it back to Imperium the next evening, exhausted and happy, despite the cloud of war that hung over the land. I had a feeling Azazel took me via the scenic route though, shying away from the areas decimated by Mammon’s minions.

Part of me wanted to see, to know and understand, but there was a bigger part that needed to remain oblivious for just a little longer. My mind and body had been through so much, and I needed a little time to recharge before facing the full horror of what the Underealm was being subjected to.

Time with Azazel was what I needed. It was like taking a dip in a pool of rejuvenation. My body was charged and refreshed and maybe it was selfish, but I wanted to stay this way for a bit, because once this moment was over, the pit awaited. And from what Azazel had told me, I was the only person who could gain access to the fortress where Mammon was supposedly holding Lilith.

As my boots clipped on the marble floor that led to the library, it hit me that I was going to meet my father… Other father. Fuck. My heritage was a huge mash-up of essences and DNA. Did that make me some kind of mutant?

The doors were slightly open, and the rumble of voices drifted out. Conah’s and someone else’s.

Samael.

Azazel pushed open the doors for me, and I stepped into a room out of a fairy tale. Gold and white balustrades held up each balcony loaded with leather bound books. Spiral staircases led upward here and there and sliding ladders hugged the walls. The floor was a patchwork of dark and light wood slotted together in a diamond pattern, and the lighting was soft and easy on the eyes. A huge wooden table, polished to a sheen, sat in the center of the room, surrounded by red, velvet padded chairs.

Conah sat at the head of table, several books open in front of him. His golden hair was mussed as if he’d been running his hands through it. He looked up as we entered.

“You made it,” he said.

“How goes the search for the second scroll?” Azazel asked.

Conah made a disparaging face. “It goes.”

A gust of warm air blew my hair back from my face and the flap of wings had me looking up in time to see a dark shape hurtling toward us.

Samael landed lightly and dropped several scrolls onto the table. He rolled his shoulders and his four wings retracted and vanished.

His presence was like a magnetic force, stealing my breath just as it had done on the balcony the night we first met. Then his mercury eyes settled on me, and my lungs stalled. He smiled, and my heart contracted sharply in my chest.

It was like being kissed by the warm rays of dawn. It bathed me in its ethereal warmth and called me forth. I walked toward him even before he held out his hand to me.

“Seraphina, my daughter.” His voice was a melody that made my heart sing.

How could any creature be this wondrous? And he was my father. I’d come from this. I had a part of this in me. It was too incredible to imagine.

I slipped my palm into his and gazed up at him in wonder. Now that I knew who he was to me, I could see myself in the slight dips in the corners of his mouth and the flicks at the edges of his eyebrows. Traits I’d missed when we’d met on the balcony.

“Hi.” My voice sounded strange to my ears. Hesitant and small.

Samael reached up to stroke my cheek. “You may have your mother’s face, but you have my heart. Conah has been telling me about you.”

Conah cleared his throat. “Just the basics.”

“I’m proud of you,” Samael said. “Proud of your courage and determination. You will need them now in spades.”

“I know.”

“The pit is a wasteland of horror and devastation; it isn’t just the air that is toxic. Toxic creatures reside in the nooks and crevices of the dust land. We will need to be vigilant if we are to survive.”

“We?”

His brows pinched slightly. “Of course. You did not think I would sit idly by while my daughter went into danger, did you?”

His daughter. The way he said it, with pride, made my heart swell. I’d grown to care about Eldrick, my Loup father, but the connection between Samael and me was a cosmic force. It called to me, telling me I belonged. Here, with this man. My creator. My father.

I shook my head to clear it. Whoa.

Samael tucked a strand of my hair behind my ear. “I understand this might be strange for you, daughter. But you will acclimatize to it. Our bond is unbreakable, and had I been lucid, I would have found you sooner. I would have kept you safe.”

I believed him implicitly.

He tore his gaze from my face, and it was as if the sun had dipped beneath the horizon.

“Well?” Samael asked Conah.

“None of these are blank,” Conah said. “None have Lilith’s signature.”

Samael made a sound of displeasure and the urge to fix whatever was bothering him surged hot in my veins.

I quelled it. I wouldn’t be controlled by cosmic connections. I had a mind of my own and intended to use it.

“We won’t be going anywhere without the second scroll,” Conah said tightly. “We need the rest of that map.”

Samael indicated the scrolls on the table. “Let’s continue to search. It will be here somewhere.”

I squeezed his fingers. “We’ll find it.”

Fuck, I’d totally caved, but then Samael smiled, and it was worth it.

“We have time,” Azazel said. “We can’t go anywhere until Keon is back with the Limarax herb. It’ll take a week to steep and make the tincture. Hopefully Asmodeus and Mal will return with the forces we need to fortify the Imperium by then.”

“Then we search every inch of this library until we find the second part of the map,” Samael said.

Conah picked up one of the scrolls Samael had retrieved and unrolled it. “Let’s get to work.”

I headed for the nearest spiral staircase, ready to hunt for scrolls, but my mind was suddenly on Keon—my unwilling, blue-haired bodyguard and Lilith’s secret lovechild. He no longer needed to protect me. The curse was done with me. What did that mean for us? And Lilith…She hated Eve, so once she realized I was Eve and Samael’s actual offspring, what would that mean for me?

No time to think on it. Keon couldn’t be my problem. He just couldn’t.

I just hoped he was okay.

Chapter Twenty

Keon

This part of the Underealm is a veritable jungle. Huge, leafy bushes, big, overly-bright flowers that make my eyes hurt, and sticky, wet air that clings to the inside of my mouth. I usually prefer to go barefoot, to feel connected to the earth, but there are too many hidden dangers on the ground here—sharp stones, thorns and biting things—so boots work best, even though they restrict me.

A huge green and blue insect flies at my face. Is it blind? Can it not see me? I swipe it out of the way before it can make contact.

I fucking hate insects. They bite and they buzz, and if I could assassinate them I would. Teeny tiny daggers are what I need, but in the absence of miniature blades, I settle for slapping at my skin like a lunatic.

“They like your blood.” A male voice startles me.

I freeze. How is this possible? No one sneaks up on me.

Ever.

Fuck. This is Delphine’s fault. A mystical gift from a daemon shaman years ago, Delphine has been my companion for decades. But ever since she left to be with the male snake, my senses have been off. She was the eyes in the back of my head. She wouldn’t have allowed this man to sneak up on me.

My fingers twitch, eager for the hilt of my blade, but I know I won’t make it in time, and so I prepare to lash out with my tail.