“Isn’t that true?” I laugh.
“I think we’re going to be good friends, you and I,” she replies. “See you tomorrow, and good luck if I don’t get time to tell you.”
“Good luck to you, too,” I call to her back and I watch her go down the corridor. I push the door shut and rest my head back against it.
Caspian comes out of the kitchen, a plate of steaming food in his hands, and frowns at me. I walk towards him, planning to go get some food and go to bed.
“Don’t go making friends, because trust me, when it comes down to it, every single wolf here would drop you in for the alpha’s favour,” he warns me.
“Then why haven’t you?”
“You should ask your brother that when we see him,” he counters, avoiding the question. “I have to go out. This is for you, you haven’t eaten since last night.”
He drops the plate in my hands.
“Thought you said you don’t share?”
Ignoring me, he opens the door and nods to the couch. “Keep a weapon on you. If anyone but me comes through this door, stab them, run for it, and ask questions later.”
Before I can say anything, he slams the door shut, and I sigh, leaning back against the wall. Caspian Hardling makes no sense to me, but I suspect Dove is right. I can trust him.
I think.
Chapter 8
Caspian
“It’s been a long time since you’ve come in here and graced us with your presence, dickhead,” the hooded stranger claims as he sits next to me on the stool.
I slide his favourite whisky across the bar and he lowers his hood. Zodiac, the only name I know him by, wears a red mask covering his face, and no one has ever seen it off that I’ve heard of. I know he is some kind of demon, but fuck knows what, only that he is powerful. I can sense it, just like everyone in this bar can. Demons like Zodiac aren’t around much anymore, thanks to the alpha of Stormfire and his distrust of them. All I know about Zodiac is that he has black hair, pointy demon ears, soulless blue eyes, and that he can be trusted.
“Demon bars weren’t ever interesting to me. Too many demons, too many desperate humans or wolves looking for long-lost magic,” I respond, wrapping my hand around my tumbler. “I prefer the nightclubs. They are about sex and death. Nothing desperate to be found considering you can get what you want there.”
“You haven’t changed much, it seems, Caspian,” he replies with a click of his tongue. “Still blaming Daddy for all your shit?”
“I didn’t come here for a therapist,” I growl back. He takes a long drink before letting out a hum of appreciation.
He laughs when he sees my glare, and I down my drink, needing about twenty more of these to deal with Zodiac.
“What do you want, Caspian?”
“Maybe I just called you here for a drink,” I reply around a smirk.
“You call me when you’re in trouble because of who your father is and we both know it. We aren’t friends. Demons like us, we don’t make friends and long-lasting connections. It’s pointless when they all die.”
“You’ve told me this many times.”
“And yet you still have wolf and demon friends,” he replies, obvious distaste in his tone. “Which I’m presuming is something you want help with? What do you want?”
I stare down at my little remaining whiskey, swirling it around at the bottom of the tumbler, realising I probably shouldn’t have chosen this one. The amber, almost-red, demon-blood whiskey reminds me of a certain person’s hair.
I’ve not once in my entire life fucked up this bad, and all Lilith fucking Thornblood had to do was turn up at my front door to make it happen. I should have slammed that door in her face and walked away but I didn’t, and now look at me.
I’m no hero, and acting like I am going to get us both killed. She already has a target on her back, and now she will take me down with her. I don’t know what she was expecting when she came to me for help. Truth be told, her brother and I have been even for a long time on that life debt. But for some stupid and fucked-up reason, I’m still here and I’m still helping her. I’m risking my life, my freedom, and my last chance at the Demon Trials for her.
“I need you to pass a message on to Leo Valerio for me,” I finally tell him.
Lilith is Leo’s problem, not mine, and the quicker he can come and get his sister, the better.
“Why don’t you tell your friend?” he asks, crossing his enormous arms.
“Because I can’t go anywhere near him, and you can without being seen. I don’t want him to know who sent the message or why, and no one else can know. You’re the best at sneaking around,” I say.
“I’m not a spy for you,” he replies. “Your father will not like this.”
“I don’t give one single flying fuck what my father thinks,” I growl, banging my fist on the counter, pure fury breathing to life within me. My marks glow, and my inner demon bangs against the mental barriers I hide him behind. The bar goes silent for a second, and I see in the corner of my eye that the fifty or so demons, humans, and wolves are looking at us. Fear becomes almost physical as it swamps this room. I wait until they start up their chatter again before speaking. “I’m asking for a favour from you and I will pay as usual.”
“You’ll owe me for this,” he answers. “And you’ll owe me a great deal if you don’t want me to tell your father about this.”
“We have a deal then.”
The greedy asshole smiles. We both know my father would kill him for making deals with me, but this isn’t the first time or the last. Everyone can be bought if you know what makes them tick. Zodiac is easy to buy with a deal for the one thing he always wants more of. My father’s respect, and he can get that by telling him I’m behaving and not being a total fuck-up when it’s his job to watch me. Guide me.
“What do you need me to tell him?”
“This,” I say, sliding a piece of paper across the table.
Zodiac opens the note and instantly making it turn into flames until the embers fall around his hands on the countertop.
“The llama is wicked?”
“It’s a code word. Something he’ll know,” I respond.
We came up with dozens of code words when we worked together as partners in the DHT last year.
“All right. Fine,” he says with a sigh before clicking his fingers for the demon bartender to come over.
The demon, something from the pixie demon line by the looks of the pink shade to her skin and bright glowing eyes that appear like she is underwater, comes over. Zodiac orders us three more drinks, and we both stay silent until she drops them in front of us.
“I hope whoever you’re protecting won’t fuck up your chances with the DHT,” he tells me, pushing a whiskey tumbler towards me.
I drink it in one. “Always good seeing you, Zodiac. Tell my father to fuck off when you see him, won’t you?”
“Caspian—” he calls after me, but I’m already walking out of the bar.
I suck in a deep breath of smoky air when I get outside and glance up. What in the name of the Crescent Goddess am I doing?