that knocked the air right out of my lungs.
They were the color of two amber jewels...identical to Roth’s.
“You know,” she said, speaking in a voice that was thick like smoke, “he’s always been my favorite Crown Prince.”
My jaw unhinged, and I gaped at her like a fish out of water. My favorite Crown Prince? My? Was she...? Oh my God.
Oh my God! The Boss was a woman!
The woman tilted her head to the side and her black hair slipped over her shoulder. “Ah, I can see the wheels turning in your little head. It warms my bitter heart to know that my Prince is with someone who is at least marginally intelligent.”
There was a good chance my eyes were going to pop out, so that insult pretty much went right over my head. “You’re...”
“I bet you can guess my name. Like that one song says, I do go by many.” The sunglasses dangled from her fingers as she studied me. “Have you wondered why you’re here, Layla?” When I started to glance around, she laughed darkly. “Not here, in this park, you little fool, but standing there with blood coursing through your body and your heart beating in your chest?”
Morris raised his brows again—whether at her latest insult or at the reminder of my near-demise, I wasn’t sure—but he remained silent, as always.
“It was you?” I said after a moment. “You brought me back?”
She didn’t answer immediately. “As I said, Astaroth is my favorite Crown Prince, but I will not raise the dead even for him. At least not without gaining something from it.”
I shook my head. “I don’t understand. If it wasn’t you...?”
“Oh, it was me. And you’re welcome.” She slipped the sunglasses back on, but it still felt like she could see right into me. “But it was because of your mother.”
If the wind had blown that second, I would’ve fallen right over. “Lilith saved me?”
“Lilith promised to never attempt an escape again if I saved you, and that was an offer that even I could not pass up. So I made her a deal, and here you are.”
A thousand emotions swamped me, and my knees felt weak. Lilith saved me? Disbelief swirled, mingling with hope, elation and just more shock. Had she finally recognized me as her daughter and had done something redeeming? The bag started to slip from my fingers and I tightened my grasp.
And then it struck me.
If I had died, then Lilith would’ve died, too. There was no point for the Boss to make this deal unless...unless she had partly done it for Roth.
Holy cracker jacks, was the Boss capable of compassion? Oh man, the world had just turned upside down.
“Now, don’t get all ooey and gooey inside, my dear. If you died, then she would’ve died. So did she feel a motherly bond for you or was she in the end, just saving herself? Perhaps she hopes that one day you will change your mind and free her. After all, then she wouldn’t be escaping, now would she? Who knows? I really don’t care,” she said, raising one shoulder in a delicate shrug. “Neither should you, because you know what you should care about? The fact that besides the Alphas, I’m the only being that can undo Astaroth’s existence with just a snap...of my two little, bitty fingers.”
Both Lilith as my possible savior and the Boss being awesome forgotten, I felt my back stiffen and my eyes narrow as her threat smacked into me. Fury took hold and I had to use every ounce of restraint not to shift right there and freak some people out.
I didn’t even recognize the voice that came out of me in a low growl that caused those walking nearby to give me a wide berth. “I may not be able to defeat you, but I know I can go toe-to-toe with you. So if you harm one hair on Roth’s head, I will bathe in your blood and make a necklace out of your entrails.”
Then I braced myself for some major whoop ass that was probably going to bring the Alphas screaming down on us, and maybe I should’ve had Roth come with me today after all, because my little trip had suddenly taken a really bad turn.
But then Morris smiled and his shoulders shook silently while she tossed her head back and laughed loudly. Nothing about what I said was funny. Or at least I didn’t think so. I glanced around, unsure of what was happening.
“I like you,” she said once she stopped laughing. “I really do. You are deserving of the Crown Prince.”
“Um...”
“And I can see that you and I... Well, I think we’ll get along famously.” She turned back to the game. “Visit whenever you like, but one last thing.”
“Uh...”
She picked up a knight as she licked her lips. “Threaten me again, and I don’t care what your mother has promised, what friends you have in high places, or what it will do to Astaroth—you will be wearing entrails as a necklace, but they won’t be mine.”
Alrighty then.
I wasn’t stupid, so I knew when it was time to make an exit. I walked away from the table in a daze and it wasn’t until a good five minutes later that I stopped in the middle of the crowded sidewalk to wonder out loud, “If that lady is the Boss, then what or who in the Hell is Morris?”
* * *
Instead of texting Roth, I ended up heading back to the house. I walked in through the front door, placing the bag that contained Mr. Snotty on the chair in the sitting room. As soon as I crossed into the living room, Roth was there. Moving as quick as a shadow, within a second, his arms were around me and his lips were skating up the side of my neck.
Immediately, a soft sound escaped me as my blood heated. One of his hands found its way under my sweater and smoothed over my bare skin, sending a hot shiver through me.
“You didn’t text me,” he said to the space just below my ear.
My eyes drifted shut. “Huh?”
His deep chuckle warmed me. “You were supposed to text me and I was supposed to come to you.”
“Oh. Yeah. That’s right.” I bit down on my lip when he kissed the space his lips had brushed against. Why hadn’t I texted him? My eyes popped open. “Dammit. You’re so distracting. I need to tell you something.”
“Mmm. Tell me something.” His other slipped down my back. “I’m listening.”
I was having trouble breathing. “I can’t talk when you’re doing that.”
“Doing what?” he said innocently.
“You know what.” Reaching behind me, I caught his hand and pulled it away from my behind.
“It’s not my fault you can’t multitask,” he said as he started walking me backward. He twisted us around and then sat, pulling me down in his lap so that I was facing him and my legs were shoved against the arms of the chair. “Now. I’m sitting. You’re here in my lap, where I like you to be, and I’m listening.”
“Okay.” I blinked slowly while he grinned up at me.
He looped his arms around my hips loosely. “You met with Zayne?”
“Yes, but that’s not what I wanted to tell you.” As his brows drew down, I poked him in the chest with one finger. “I’ll tell you all about that later. It was good chatting with him and all.”
“But?” His gaze dropped to my mouth, and I had a feeling he was going to kiss me.
I needed to get this out before he ended up succeeding in obliterating my senses and it was hard enough when his fingers started moving along the band of my jeans. “But I think I met your mother, Roth.”
His finger stilled as his lips parted. A dark look crept into his face, tightening the skin around his eyes. “My mother?”
“Yeah. You know, the Boss. She was at the Mall, and I heard her humming ‘Paradise City.’” Everything came out in a rush at that point. “I turned around and there she was. And wow, she’s really pretty. I mean, she looks a lot like you. Not that you’re pretty. You’re handsome and hot, really kind of beautiful and—”
“I get what you’re saying,” he interrupted. “And thanks. But just this once we should talk about something other than my hotness. Did the Boss say anything to you? Do anything?”
“Well, she told me that Lilith made a deal to never
escape Hell and that was why I was saved, but that didn’t make a lot of sense, because Lilith dead solves the problem of Lilith. I think she...she took the deal for you—the Boss. And she also said that you were her favorite Crown Prince.” Crossing my arms, I frowned. “She also said that she could undo your existence.”
His eyes narrowed. “Why would the Boss say that?”
“I...um, I kind of threatened her.”
“You did?”
Biting down on my lower lip, I nodded. “I sort of told her that I’d bathe in her blood and wear her entrails as a necklace if she harmed you.”
One corner of his lips twitched. “You did what?”
I lifted my chin. “I wanted her to know that I did not take kindly to thinly veiled threats against you.”
Roth’s face softened. “Oh, Shortie...you do me proud.”
Blushing, I looked away as I rolled my eyes. “Whatever.”
“I’m serious. You sought to protect me.” His fingers curved around my chin and guided my eyes back to his. “I’m honored that you would do that. I’m sure the Boss wasn’t too happy about that.”
“Well, she kind of laughed...and then said she liked me. And then she basically told me I’d wear my own entrails if I ever threatened her again. It was weird. You never told me that the Boss was a female, and your mother. And I thought you called the Boss a he before. Or am I making that up? It doesn’t matter.”
Talk about crazy in-laws, dear Lord.
“A female?” He laughed deeply. “The Boss is whatever and whoever it chooses to be.”
Now I was the one gaping at him. “What?”
He trailed his hand along my jaw, cupping the nape of my neck. “The Boss isn’t my mother or my father. More like my creator, and for some reason recently, the Boss has favored looking like a woman who sort of resembles me, but the Boss is neither male or female.”
I opened my mouth, closed it, and then opened it again. “Um...”
“Weird, right?”
“Yeah.” My head hurt.
After a few moments, Roth frowned thoughtfully. “What was the Boss doing at the Mall?”
“She was playing chess—oh my goodness, I almost forgot! She was playing chess with Morris! You know, Morris as in the chauffeur and jack-of-all-trades at the Warden compound. He was there with her.” I rocked with excitement, causing Roth to get an interestingly strained look on his face. “Why was he with her? Why were they playing chess? Holy canola oil, they were playing chess! How cliché! Oh my goodness, what if he’s—”
“I don’t know what he is,” he cut in.
My eyes were wide. “He never speaks and he’s awesome with a gun and can break out some kung fu moves, but wait... I can’t picture—” I lowered my voice “—you know who shooting a gun or using kung fu.”
His lips were twitching again. “Yeah, tough to imagine the big guy upstairs needing a weapon or martial arts.”
True. I deflated like a balloon with a pinprick in it. For a second, I’d thought I was onto something amazing. “But he has to be something.”
“Anything is possible.” His fingers eased the muscles in my neck as his gaze locked onto mine. “So about your mom...”
I tilted my head, giving him better access. “Your— I mean, the Boss told me that she made a deal to never escape if I was saved, and at first, I thought, wow, Lilith finally did something for me—her daughter—but then the Boss reminded me that if I had died, then Lilith would die, that Lilith knew that. She was basically saving herself.” I shrugged. “So, I guess we know now, huh? How I came back. I’m still grateful. It doesn’t matter how I got back, only that I’m here.”
His expression lost its hard edges again. “You’re right. You’re here and that’s all that matters, but here’s the thing, Layla. The Boss... Well, the Boss has moments of great compassion and sometimes the Boss does everything possible to avoid taking credit for that.” He leaned in, pressing his forehead against mine. “And Lilith could be the same way. Does something good and then hides it. Or maybe she was just saving her own ass, but you know what?”
“What?” I whispered.
He tilted his head, kissing the tip of my nose. “You’ll never know the real reason, but you can choose to believe whatever you want about it. You don’t have to make your choice now, but no matter what you decide to believe, it doesn’t change who or what you are or how much you mean to me or to Zayne or to the other Wardens and Stacey. Even Cayman,” he added.
“Even Cayman?” I laughed hoarsely.
He kissed the corner of my mouth. “Even him. None of that changes. That female—Lilith—if she did what she did to save you, that’s great. If she did it to save her own life, then forget her. Either way, it doesn’t change you.”
I closed my eyes as I leaned into him, and he took my weight, wrapping his other arm around me. “You’re right.”
“I’m always right, Shortie.”
“No, you’re not.” I grinned when he snorted. “But you are right now. It would be nice to know that Lilith cared for me and made a choice to save me, because I’m her daughter, but it doesn’t really matter in the end.”
“Nope.” He kissed the other side of my lips. “Not at all.”
“I matter,” I whispered, and he rewarded my response with a direct smacker on the lips. “You matter. We matter.” I got another kiss for that. “Zayne matters and Nicolai and Dez and all the other Wardens matter. Stacey matters. Even Cayman matters.”
His lips curled into a smile against mine. “I wouldn’t go that far.”
“Shush it.” This time, I kissed him.
Roth clasped my cheeks as he pulled back. “Are you okay?”
I knew he was asking not just because of what happened with Lilith, but also with Zayne, and I loved him so much for that—so, so much. “I’m okay.”
“Ah, then you better hold on, Shortie.”
“Hold on—” I squealed as he stood suddenly, and I did hold on, wrapping my legs around his lean hips and my arms around his neck.
“You got it.” Then he kissed me again as he made a low sound deep in his throat that sent shivers all across me. His lips glided over mine again, nibbling and clinging to them until he deepened the kiss with a plunge of his tongue, and I felt the metal ball. Every sense fired in all directions, and it was explosive, and my heart fluttered, along with many, many other parts of my body. A familiar yearning surged inside me, and instead of sending fear skittering through my system, it shot darts of sublime pleasure through my veins.
“Don’t stop holding on,” Roth ordered, and dark sensuality deepened his voice. “I’m going to make you more than okay.”
And he lived up to that promise.
Six months later...
A warm wind lifted my hair, tossing the pale strands across my face and stirring the tiny, sensitive feathers layering my wings. The moon was high and clouds were thick, a perfect night for flight.
I was perched on the roof of One World Trade, one foot on the ledge, the other dangling off. My wings were arced high, keeping me from toppling right off. Down below, dazzling lights lit up the streets. I couldn’t make out people, but I could see their shapes, a bunch of tiny blurs moving. Around me were other buildings stretching tall into sky, windows lit up while others darkened. None of them were as high as me.
Reaching behind me, I placed my hand flat against the building and closed my eyes. The sad and yet powerful history of rebirth and renewal that had taken place on this patch of land was hard not to feel, not to take a moment to recognize.
I had learned a long time ago that sometimes humans could be more evil than any demon rising up from the pits of Hell.
A sharp whistle drew my attention and my eyes opened as I let my hand fall back to the ledge. The whistle had come from somewhere on Wall Street, and a grin tugged at my lips. I stood slowly.
And then I took flight.
Wind rushed up, immediately catching my wings as they spread. Arcing up with closed eyes, I f
lew higher, and cold air swirled over my heated skin, down the center of my back and over my wings. It was just like Jasmine had described it when I opened my eyes. I stretched out my arm and I really thought I could possibly grasp the stars in my hand and tug them close to my chest.
Maybe I could even fly straight to the heavens, but I seriously doubted the Alphas would be too thrilled about that. The mere thought of knocking on their pearly gates brought a smile to my face as I allowed myself to spin like a little missile before I hit the part of the atmosphere where I could easily be clipped by a plane and would start to have trouble taking in oxygen. I knew if I went any farther, I wouldn’t be able to breathe, but I also knew instinct would take over and my body would force me back down. I’d learned that the hard way last night.
One glance below and it was like the whole world was right beneath me. Buildings jutted out at me, like dozens and dozens of fists reaching up. Millions of people lived and breathed in an area that now appeared so incredibly small.
What an awesome view of New York City.