Azazel rises slowly to his feet, and I skitter back a few steps.

“Right. I’m going to do that.” I hang up. There’s no point in keeping Pope on the phone, and I’d prefer both my hands free if it comes to a fight.

He raises his hands, palms out. “I’m not going to hurt you, Eve.”

“Stop saying that name.” I edge back a few more steps. I know the layout of this suite well enough. The bathroom is just down the hall and to the left. Azazel is obviously strong, but surely not even he can break down a door in three minutes? Or two minutes now.

“Please calm down.”

“No one in the history of the universe has ever calmed down when someone said to calm down.” I back up another few steps. “Please don’t come any closer. Pope’s man is liable to shoot you.”

“I didn’t want things to go like this. I wanted to find another way.” He drags a hand through his dark hair. “I’m sorry.”

Now it’s my turn to hold up my hands. I’m well into the hallway now, only about ten feet from the bathroom. “There’s nothing to apologize for. Just . . . stay there.”

“E—” He cuts himself off and sighs. “You’re in danger.”

“No shit.” The words come out too high and tight. Despite my best efforts, my fear leaks in through the cracks. “Please don’t come any closer.”

“I’m not going to hurt you. I would never hurt you.” He glances at the door, and his expression goes stony. “One day, you’ll understand and forgive me for this.”

Between one blink and the next, he’s before me. I can’t stop the scream that tears from my lungs as he wraps an arm around my back and hauls me against his chest. It doesn’t hurt, but no one moves that fast. It’s almost like he teleported. “I’m sorry.”

“Please . . .” The room fades out around me. For a moment, I’m sure he drugged me, but my head feels clear despite the fear shrieking at me that I’m in danger.

I shove against his chest, but there’s nowhere to go. I hear the hotel room burst open as everything goes black.

OceanofPDF.com

CHAPTER 3

“What have you done?”

I don’t look up as I carefully lay Eve on the bed. The room is nearly identical to those of the other human women I’ve made contracts with in the last few days. It’s not what I would have chosen for Eve if circumstances were different . . . but circumstances aren’t different.

She won’t wake up for some time yet. A blessing, I suppose, since there’s going to be hell to pay once she realizes all the ways I’ve lied to her.

“Azazel.”

I finally look at Ramanu. They’re one of the best bargainers I have, and unlike so many others in my court, they’re not afraid of me. They stand with their hands planted on their hips, and if they had eyes, no doubt they would be narrowed. Instead of the customary single set of horns most bargainers have, Ramanu has two. The second, smaller, set curves out from where their eye sockets would be.

That doesn’t stop them from seeing far too much.

They frown. “Tell me this isn’t the human you’ve been sneaking off to play with for years.”

As leader of the bargainers—king, if I’m being honest—I’ve learned to lie, cheat, steal, and even kill in the pursuit of bettering my people’s lives. But I don’t lie to Ramanu now. “This is Eve.”

She stirs a little when I say her name, and I can’t help turning back to her. Gods, she’s beautiful. Long blond hair, full lips, a soft body filled with curves that I’ve spent hours exploring.

“Azazel,” Ramanu hisses. “You’re endangering the plans that have been so long in the making. The territory leaders will be here tomorrow. You need to be focused.”

They’re right, but that doesn’t change the fact I had no choice. The alternative was too horrible to bear. “I have it under control.” It takes more effort than I will ever admit to turn away from the bed and walk past Ramanu to the door.

They follow, nearly stepping on my heels in the process. “You have one more bargain to make. You’re cutting it close. If any of the leaders think you’re hiding a human from them, they’re going to start asking questions—or thinking the others are subpar options.”

Which would put the four remaining women in danger.

“That won’t be a problem.” I shake my head sharply. “Belladonna is primed to say yes.”

“Again, that doesn’t change the presence of your blonde.”

I feel like I’m free-falling, but when has that stopped me from forward momentum? For peace in this realm, I’ve allowed myself to become a monster in so many ways. To hurt the one person I meant to keep separate. “Eve will participate in the auction.”

“Of course. Why didn’t I think of that?” Ramanu throws up their hands, their frustration coating the hallway. “You certainly won’t go on a fucking rampage when someone else chooses her, unraveling all the work you’ve put in for peace in this realm.”

They’re doing what a good second-in-command does and pointing out the flaws in my admittedly impulsive plan, but I still want to grab them by the throat and slam them into the wall. My predecessor would have; she ruled through terror as much as anything else. I’ve chosen a different path. Unfortunately, choosing a different path didn’t banish the violent impulses I was forced to develop to stay alive in Caesarea’s court.

My aunt was a monster. No one else was willing to step in to stop her, so the task fell to me.

“I will not do anything to endanger the auction, but I can’t risk her presence causing questions, or anyone realizing how . . . special . . . she is to me.”

Ramanu snorts. “And you give me grief for my fascination with that murderous little witch.”

I start walking down the hall, and they fall into easy step next to me. “Your murderous little witch is a murderous witch. If you can secure a bargain with her, then she’ll be an excellent addition to the court. But that’s a rather large if, Ramanu.”

They grin, quick and wicked. “I have my ways.” Their smile fades far too quickly. “Why now, Azazel? You could have waited a week and the rest of them would’ve been too busy with their new humans to wonder what you’re up to. You’re a bargainer; of course you’d continue making deals.”

I push open the massive wooden door at the end of the hallway and hold it for them. “The situation with my cousin has escalated. I got word today that he’s aware of her.”

Ramanu curses under their breath. “That’s unfortunate.”

“So you see, I didn’t have a choice.” In another week on her own, Eve would’ve been dead.

EVE

I wake up in an instant but keep my eyes closed as I listen to Azazel talk to someone with a light and melodious voice . . . Ramanu. It’s sheer habit to keep my body relaxed and my breathing even. My mind, though? It’s racing.

The bed I’m lying on is unfamiliar. I can’t hear Azazel’s footsteps, so the room must have carpet instead of the marble floors of the hotel suite. More than that, the very air feels different. It takes several slow inhales before I fully register the . . . I don’t know how to explain it. Hotel air has a definitive feel, sterile and a little off from a home. The air isn’t humid, but I can’t feel it actively leeching the moisture from my skin. And there’s a faint scent in the air, something layered in the way of old houses. This is a room that’s been lived in.

It adds up to one horrifying realization: That motherfucker kidnapped me.

I can barely register their words, can barely think past the screaming in my head. It’s everything I can do to lie there and pretend to still be unconscious as Azazel and the other person leave and close the door softly behind them. Even then, I make myself count to one hundred slowly to ensure they’re gone.