Fallen (Dark in You 7)

Raini’s lips curled. “A devious mind helps you see this shit coming.”

“And you have a devious mind for sure,” Carmen said to her. “It’s just not always apparent straight off.”

Raini shrugged. “Some wear it on their sleeve. Others hide it in their panties.”

Maddox almost choked on his coffee. He glared at her. You did that on purpose.

She flashed him a bright smile that would have weakened his knees if he’d been standing. Well of course I did.

He looked up as three women stopped in front of their table, one of whom was Marcella. It wasn’t she who spoke, though. It was her aunt, Deborah.

Smiling a little shyly at Raini, Deborah said, “I just wanted to say that the rest of us don’t think like Euan. Don’t let him plant any seeds of doubt in your head.”

“Thank you,” said Raini. “I won’t, I promise.”

Marcella looked about to speak, but she instead followed the other two female descendants out of the hall. It was clear she’d had something to say, though. So he wasn’t surprised that she later turned up at his office inside the Damned.

Not bothering with a hello, she instantly declared, “I’d like to transfer to another lair. Not right now while there’s all kinds of crap going on, but afterward.”

Maddox leaned back against his desk. “All right.”

She swallowed. “You really don’t care that I’ll be gone, do you?”

“It won’t be nice to lose a member of my lair. But I’m not going to ask you to stay for a number of reasons. One, you want to be someone’s co-Prime; that isn’t going to happen here. Two, I fully intend to have Raini join the lair at some point; you won’t like it, so you’ll be unhappy here. Three—”

“She won’t want me here, and her feelings matter most,” Marcella sniped, bitterness coating every word.

“What were you hoping I’d say, Marcella? Did you think I’d beg you to stay? That I’d offer you the things you want?”

She balled up her hands. “No. But I thought that, as my Prime, you’d care just a little bit that one of your demons intends to leave. But this suits you just fine, doesn’t it?”

“No, it doesn’t suit me. It doesn’t please me. It doesn’t anything. You clearly have an overestimated sense of your value to me, but I’m unsure why that is. Each and every one of my demons matter. I wouldn’t like to see any of them leave, but nor would I attempt to hold them here if it wasn’t what they wanted. You no longer wish to be one of us. You believe you’re meant for bigger and better things than to be simply part of a lair; you want to co-run one. Why would I try to hold you back from pursuing the things you want?”

A sour expression twisted her face. “Will you make the succubus your co-Prime? Don’t try to tell me you’re not serious about her. Don’t deny it, there’s no point. I can see it clear as day.”

“I would imagine you could, since I’m making no attempt to hide it.”

Her nostrils flaring, she jutted out her chin. “You’re making a mistake. A mistake as old as time. So many demons have gotten swept away by the feelings that come with having an anchor, and they’ve mistaken them for something else. For more. For love, even.” She rolled her eyes. “Once you adjust to the bond, Maddox, the emotional chaos inside you will settle, your feelings will dim, and you’ll realize you don’t really want her the way you think you do now.”

Done with her bullshit, his demon surged to the surface, determined to deal with her. The bravado left her in a rush, and she held herself very still.

“This right here is why you will not make a good Prime,” said the demon. “Too dramatic. Too emotional. Too wrapped up in yourself to care about the well-being of others. You have no interest in leading, only in being followed—that is your biggest downfall. No demon can stay in power for long if they do not lead.”

She swallowed. “I-I’ll bear that in mind.”

“See that you do. There is another thing you would also do well to remember.” The entity walked toward her. “If Maddox or I want your opinion on our relationship with Raini, we will ask for it. Unless that happens, you will say nothing more on the matter. You will keep your beliefs to yourself. You will not seek us out and waste our time with your petty jealousies.

“No amount of stamping your feet will earn you the attention from Maddox that you are looking for. You insist on viewing Raini as someone who is trying to take what should be yours. You would never have been made co-Prime of this lair. You are searching for what you want in all the wrong places. He could not have been clearer on that, but you have not listened to him. Perhaps you will listen to me. There are ways I can enforce that message; every one of them will hurt you. Will it come to that?”