Page 16 of Legacy of Chaos

Dawn gestured to the gift bag. “You gonna open it?”

Cyan looked down at the sparkly tissue and ornate bag that so perfectly fit Shanea’s personality.

How could she be gone? And so soon after Cyan had lost her parents to a different StryTech device. Granted, her father’s death had been an accident caused by a faulty circuit in a StryTech-designed security panel, and her mother had died of grief, but still.

“I can’t,” she said. “Not yet. It probably sounds weird, but once I see it, I’ll never get anything from her again.”

Dawn nodded like she understood and started for the door. “I have to go, but I’m sure I’ll see you at Runa’s birthday get-together. Dad’s always looking for excuses to throw office parties.”

That was true. Kynan Morgan loved a good celebration at work. He said it helped boost morale and gave everyone a chance to catch up on things happening in other departments. He even invited everyone from all the DART branches. Most couldn’t make it because of time zone differences around the world, but it was always cool to catch up with those who could attend.

Dawn gave her a quick hug. “If you need anything, let me know. I’m serious, okay? I’m not just saying that to be nice. Call me.”

She promised she would. After Dawn left, Cyan looked over at the pictures of Shan again. She’d deserved so much better than how she’d died. Maybe Dawn was right. Perhaps working on the weapon project would be an opportunity to do something positive for DART and give Shan’s death some meaning.

The gift bag felt as heavy as her heart as she placed it on her dining room table. Later. She’d open it later. After DART had taken possession of the weapon, perhaps.

Which meant she needed to make that happen.

She used her mind to turn on her computer because the first step was always research. She wanted to know everything she could about Stryke and his company—beyond what she already knew.

A basic query of Stryke’s name turned up an overwhelming number of photos, articles, and magazine cover shots, including the time he’d beenTIMEmagazine’s Person of the Year.

Boy, that had caused a meltdown among the humans. Calling a demon aperson? And giving him that kind of notoriety? People had lost their shit, andTIMEalmost didn’t recover.

She used her mind to scroll through more of the media frenzy, and there he was as Most Eligible Bachelor from multiple organizations for multiple years.Underworld News Todaycalled him, “The perfect combination of human good looks and demon ingenuity.”

Admittedly, the guywasdrop-dead gorgeous. But then, all Seminus demons were. As incubi, they were designed with females in mind, from their effortless athletic builds and model good looks to their skill in bed and sexual pheromones that heightened female arousal.

And Stryke…he was even more striking than most. His angular, tan features could have been carved with a razor blade, and his dark eyes reminded her of black diamonds: hard, cold, and brilliant. She’d always wondered what, if anything, made them soften.

She had a feeling nothing could soften that male.

And things that didn’t soften and bend…broke.

Chapter 4

He’d fallen asleep. On the floor of his lab.

Stryke had never just…fallen asleep.

Groggily, he sat up, unable to remember anyth—

Suddenly, stabbing pains pierced every organ, and his cock felt so hard he thought it might crack right down the middle.

Gasping in agony, he rolled onto his hands and knees. Shit. It felt like he was dying. He could practically hear Eidolon saying, “I told you so.”

Panting, he reached up and fumbled on the counter for his injector pen. There.Yes.

He jabbed himself in the thigh, and as the pain melted away, he collapsed onto the floor again to catch his breath.

His comms vibrated, and he groaned. He was probably super late to a meeting.

Yep, it was Kalis, wondering where he was because she had a million messages, and someone was waiting to see him. Instead, he was lying on his back on the cold concrete floor, recovering from a marathon of calculations, research, and painful sex pangs he’d chased away with a drug that was killing him.

Coffee. He needed coffee. And a shower.

And sex.

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