Page 66 of Claiming the Dhampir

Just as I’d done when I asked for help from the High Commander.

“How does this new assignment affect my exiled status?” I asked.

Lucifer shook his head. “You were never exiled. I offered you a place in my court, and you chose to leave.”

I ground my teeth together to stop the retort on my lips. Yes, he’d offered me a place in his court as an errand boy. Me! A demon of the Second Order! Of course I’d refused. Even now, I did not regret my choice. Going to Earth gave me freedoms I’d never known existed.

“So I am free to come and go without worrying about being attacked by your First Order Patrols?”

Both of Lucifer’s eyebrows rose. “They never had my permission to stop you from returning. I’ll make sure there are no misunderstandings about your presence in the Underworld.”

It was hard to believe that his surprise was genuine. I’d been sneaking into my home world for centuries, barely avoiding the First Order demons. The handful of times they’d seen me, they always attacked without warning.

But they hadn’t been aggressive when we arrived at the castle today.

I nodded. “I’ll bring Lorna back with me. Her curiosity is insatiable, and I can almost hear the hundreds of questions tumbling through her brilliant mind.”

She spun around and glared at me. I smiled back and rose to my feet, trailing my finger along her jaw. Her frown vanished. She leaned into my touch, her eyes flickering from blue to black. Between her and Mir, I couldn’t imagine the questions they had.

“Then she is no different than the others.” Lucifer stood as well. “I’ve learned to curb my impatience with their nonstop questions. Having an engaged audience has actually been refreshing. The demons in my realm just nod and agree with everything I say.”

“I’m sorry if this sounds offensive,” Lorna said. “But they’re all here of their own free will? Their demon partners aren’t forced on them, are they? No … they wouldn’t be. The demons don’t benefit from swapping blood.” She murmured to herself—or Mir—for several seconds. “Why would the demons agree to feed them?”

Lucifer smiled at her. “No one is forced to do anything. We didn’t realize it until later, but my demons do benefit from offering their blood to the dhampir.” He glanced at me for a moment before turning back to Lorna. “If the partners are swapping blood and not just feeding the dhampir, a bond is created between the two. It’s not as strong as a soulmate bond, but it’s personal and intimate.”

Lucifer’s eyes took on a faraway look. Had he shared that bond with the female who’d sat beside him during our meal?

“Oh.” Lorna laced her fingers through mine and squeezed my hand but didn’t look away from Lucifer. “Thank you for explaining.”

“Of course,” he said. “Return whenever you like. Be sure you’re wearing the amulet, though. We wouldn’t want the Underworld’s magic to reveal that you have a tail.”

Lorna’s eyes widened, and Lucifer smirked. I growled, but it had no true heat. What if she did have a tail? Twelfth Order demons had tails.

“Would I truly have a tail?” she asked. “If I take off the amulet, I won’t immediately die, right? We could find out, right?”

Lucifer laughed and strolled into his office, leaving Lorna and I alone on the balcony.

“Do you really want to know?” I asked.

“Is it possible?”

“Anything is possible.” I released her hand and slid my fingers around the amulet at her neck. “The demons who served our meal are Twelfth Order. They’re the only ones who could’ve contributed DNA to the fae.”

“Their tails were really cool,” she whispered. “Not that yours isn’t.”

I laughed and tugged at the amulet. “Yes or no?”

I was a little nervous about removing her protection, but I knew the Underworld’s magic wouldn’t just strike her down. I’d have time to take her back to Earth before it hurt her. And I did want to know if she’d develop any demon traits.

She frowned. “It would be good to know how the magic here affects me. Not just the tail, but I should know how it makes me feel.”

“I agree.” I reached around her neck and unclasped the necklace, then tucked it into my palm.

She sucked in a sharp breath, and her eyes turned black. She slowly exhaled, then inhaled, then shivered and squeezed her eyes shut. I forced myself to remain still and not immediately take her back to Earth.

“Are you okay?” I asked.

“Yep,” she replied, slowly opening her eyes. “Nothing hurts. It just feels weird. Dark and heavy, almost like I’m breathing magic rather than oxygen.” She twisted around to look at her backside. I chuckled at the disappointment on her face. “No tail.”

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