I’ve always been a sinking ship and I never should have let Lilith on board with the promise of protection. A sinking ship can’t save anyone from a tidal wave.
I head down the busy streets away from the bar, knocking into dozens of people, as I always do in this city of far too many. Eventually, I get to the ley line and jump through it back to the DHT. I pass a few overachievers practice fighting in the courtyard on my way to the building and roll my eyes at their poor form. Heading inside, I go up the stairs and open the door to our apartment without using my key, pissed to find it isn’t locked.
This woman just wants to be fucking killed.
I storm in to find Lilith sitting on the sofa, sorting through a load of random things from a box on the coffee table.
“Hey, Caspian,” she cheerily states, her smile disappearing when she looks at my face.
I walk around and lean over her, placing my hands either side of her head on the sofa when she rests back on it. I don’t sense fear from her, just a tiny bit of nerves. Sucking in a deep breath of her scent, a feminine mixture of fire and fresh snow. Two things that should never exist together but explains Lilith perfectly. Her bright grey eyes stare up at me as her peachy-pink lips part. My body, my demon, and wolf both react to her like she is the first female we have ever seen.
Lilith Caeli is drop-dead gorgeous, and she doesn’t even try. Her red hair reminds me of silk, falling in locks I want to thread my fingers through as I fuck her until she can only beg me for more. Her body is curvy, smooth, and way too sexy for a wolf.
Fuck.
“I thought I told you not to answer the door to anybody, and why wasn’t it locked?”
Her eyes, like daggers, cut through me. “This box got delivered for us from the demon-hunting trials.”
“It could have been a bomb from other hunters or the alpha coming for you.”
“It wasn’t,” she cockily replies with a breathtaking smile.
Her sassy reply makes me want to kiss her and smack her ass all at the same time.
“Are you ever going to listen?” I slowly say, trying not to stare at her for too long, which seems physically impossible. Lilith was not this hot when she was younger; in fact, I barely even noticed her. She was funny but still just the kid sister of my best mate who would fucking kill me for the thoughts going through my head right now.
Damn, I never even liked redheads. They are batshit crazy, especially the short ones.
And this one won’t get out of my head.
I lean back and run my hands through my hair, shaking my head. I’m losing my mind. Lilith doesn’t care about my internal freak-out. She goes back to the box and pulls out an enormous diamond. My stomach drops as she throws it into the air, and I snatch it before she can catch it.
“You don’t get to touch this yet, songbird,” I warn her.
She pouts. “Why not?”
I’m not about to tell her it’s a demon bomb and would blow up this entire building. Why the fuck do they give new hunters this?
“Because you’re a newbie,” I reply, but she is already back in the box, dragging out four daggers with the DHT logo on the hilt. Next she finds eight guns, with two hundred iron bullets in a smaller box.
“Can bullets kill demons then?”
“Did you listen in any of your classes at the Caeli academy?” I demand.
“There is a specialist class on demons, and you can’t sign up for it if you’re female,” she frowns. “I tried dressing up as a boy and using a fake name, but it didn’t work.”
“That’s fucked up,” I respond, rubbing my chin. The Caeli definitely hid a lot of their sexist shit from me when I was there, or I just wasn’t looking for it. “The iron in the bullets and daggers will kill lower-level demons, but nothing over a level two.”
“Levels?”
“It will be explained tomorrow before our first mission,” I tell her, needing to get away from her scent, from her, period. I pick the box up, placing the diamond demon bomb gently back in it, and ignore her protests as I take the box to my room. Carefully, I leave it on my chest of drawers and grab the book next to it before going back to Lilith. I hand her the book I had as a kid. “You need books more than you do weapons. Welcome to demonology for beginners.”
“Thanks,” she calls to me but I head for the bathroom.
I need a cold shower and a smack in the fucking balls. Lilith Caeli is off limits for so many goddamn reasons, and my dick doesn’t seem to care about either of them. I always knew he would be the death of me.
Chapter 9
Lilith Thornblood
It’s early morning when we’re summoned to the courtyard. As I hide a yawn behind my hand, I scan the area slowly, a little disappointed when I find the throne empty. I don’t know why I hoped the prince would be sitting there. Maybe I wanted him to see me off on my first day. Instead, it’s the male in the green robe who greets us.
And by greets, he snaps his fingers and orders everyone to gather in front of the throne.
Does the dude ever crack a smile?
I ignore the eyes of my fellow hunters cutting into me and follow in Caspian’s wake. He weaves a path to the crowd and folds his arms, glaring at the sour-faced male scanning the crowd. I think Caspian said his name was Aamon or something and that he’s the prince’s advisor.
While he counts everyone’s heads, I look up to see a huge board hovering above the throne. Numbers, names, and locations shimmer on the screen in bold, bright-orange font. I scan the names in search of my own. Autumn French. Points: Zero. Won’t stay like that for long, I think to myself with a wry grin. Beside the points, on the other side of the screen, is a long list of wanted demons.
“Now that everyone’s here, let’s begin.” Aamon clasps his hands behind his back and begins pacing. He nods briefly at the screen. “This is where your progress during the Demon Hunter Trials will be recorded. The leader board contains everything you need to know. It will be synced to your tracker at all times and within all realms. Lose it and you will be disqualified, effective immediately.”
“There are five kinds of demons in total, each ranked from the lowest level to the highest,” Aamon resumes, still pacing with his hands behind his back. “The first level are known as fledglings. These demons are not very powerful and can be disposed of with the use of weapons. The second level, however, are resistant to weapons, even silver bullets and blades, and therefore must be eradicated using magical items. Third and fourth levels are more difficult because they can look like humans and have their own magic. Anything from a three upwards should be handled with more than one team unless you want to die. The fifth level, while rare, can almost guarantee you a place amongst the top ten depending on your progress. Most level-five demons are handled by qualified demon hunters, and if you happen to come across one of them, stay out of the way.
“Points will be earned for each demon you bring back, with extra ones given based on the demon’s rank. Similarly, points will be deducted if you fail to capture your target.” He stops and turns to us. “I will now answer questions.” Then he resumes pacing, his attention fixed on the ground as he walks. “In the Demon Hunting Trials, yes, you can die. Yes, it will be extremely painful. No, you cannot be brought back. Is this fair? Perhaps not. But dying is the risk one takes if one wishes to be amongst the winners.”