Unfortunately, my responsibilities to the greater good means when Azazel dangles the possibility of a human bride in front of me, I have to leap at the offer. There’s nothing wrong with humans, but attending this auction, allowing myself to pick a bride provided by a bargainer demon, puts me in a precarious position.
I know how bargainers work. Each of these five human women will have entered into their contracts willingly. Azazel might be a right bastard, but he can’t shake the intrinsic truths of his flavor of demon. The contract reigns supreme.
No, Azazel is too invested in the long game to be an immediate threat tonight.
Not like Rusalka lounging only a few feet away, fire flickering beneath her smoky skin and her long tail twitching rhythmically. She looks at the women with a hunger that has me fighting not to hiss. Nothing good comes when the succubi go hunting. What is this auction if not a hunt?
On the other side of her, Bram has his wings tucked tight against his body as if he expects an attack at any moment. His claws keep flexing at his side, and from the way he glares at Rusalka, he hasn’t forgotten that a few short years ago, only a last-minute intervention kept their territories from going to war. I doubt he’s been this close to her in decades. An opportunity, though the cost is too high for any of us to risk it.
Hopefully.
Azazel and his people are the only ones who can cross to the human realm. Generations ago, the veils between realms were thinner, more easily breached at certain moments. It was never easy, though, not with time moving differently in each realm. Only the bargainer demons can manipulate that factor, and even then only to a limited degree. Still, it was possible for others to cross at will.
No longer.
The faint sound of water has me half turning to keep Thane in my line of sight. He’s hardly at his best here in a tub that barely contains his tentacles, but I’ve grappled with him enough to be wary all the same. He might not be able to drag me to the dark depths, but he can restrain and strangle someone without drowning them.
I haven’t had cause to frequent the bargainer demons’ castle recently, and I’m not surprised to find it still unsettling in the extreme to have hallways shift around me and doors appear on walls that were previously blank. It’s an excellent defensive spell, sure to have any enemy trapped within the walls until the bargainers can deal with them, but I get the feeling it changes at a whim simply to fuck with the people who move through the space.
Stone doesn’t move. Stone is steady and reliable and completely and utterly unspooky.
It’s an effort to keep my crest from flaring in response to the threat all around me. I’m no youngling. I’ve ruled long enough that being in a room with the four other most dangerous leaders in our realm isn’t enough to get to me.
The risk is high, but it’s worth it. The bargainers guard their contracted humans closely, and though those humans are occasionally allowed to entertain themselves with guests of Azazel, those encounters are always restricted. In hindsight, it’s a brilliant move. He curated a taste, a temptation, a possibility that only he can fulfill. Now, he’ll do so…for a price.
If it were only sexual, I could have ignored the invitation to this auction. Sex with humans is enjoyable, but hardly worth risking my entire territory to acquire in a permanent way. Azazel’s too canny to offer that. He’s baiting the trap with so much more. Our bloodlines once mixed generously with humans. It wasn’t until the ability to pass between the realms became impossible for the rest of us that we realized what we’d lost. At least those of us not among the bargainers.
Rusalka shifts forward, her eyes flaring red. “I want the one in red.”
Azazel doesn’t move. “And agree to the treaty and payment in return.”
“Yes, yes.” She waves that away. “I’ll sign the contract. Don’t get your horns in a twist.”
“I’ll take yellow.”
Azazel gives a sharp shake of his head. “Pick another.”
Bram rumbles a little, his wings flaring as if he’ll challenge the bargainer demon, but he finally shrugs. “They’re all the same to me. Purple.”
“Very well.” Azazel’s grin goes knife-sharp for a moment before he turns in my direction.
I exchange a look with Thane. These women might be all the same to Bram, but I’m partial to the one with bright red hair. It’s an eye-catching color, and with the way she stares out at the room despite the fact the lights must hide most of our details from view, she doesn’t seem afraid.
Truth or lie?
There’s only one way to find out.