Page 45 of Widow

"Alaric. You've returned?" The biggest man in the front didn't look impressed with Ric. "You ran with your tail between your legs. You're not welcome here anymore."

"I would like to see Samara. Is she in the castle?" I appreciated that Ric could ignore the hatred pouring off the other wolves instead of reacting to it.

Samara was the former princess to the throne. But there was no more throne from my understanding. Now there was a council, the Infernal Council, that made all the decisions for the realm.

Lucifer had briefly filled me in on the political side of Inferna before we left. His daughter was married to the demon who should have been king. Of course, the daughter of the devil would marry the king of Hell.

Lucifer stepped forward, and the men's eyes went to him. Several of them averted their gazes as he approached. The man at the front crossed his arms over his chest.

"Lucifer. What are you doing back?"

"We would like to see Samara. Is that going to be an issue?"

The hairs on my arms stood on end. His voice was so commanding and promised violence if there was noncompliance. Lucifer was one scary-ass man when he wanted to be. I moved next to Kai, and he took my hand.

"It's a little unnerving, isn't it? Watching them both take control like that…" I nodded my head in reply and watched as all the men shook hands, coming to an agreement about going to the castle.

A handshake wasn't going to stop them from slaughtering us if they really had the desire to.

Lucifer waved us forward, and we started trailing behind the men, not speaking. A few of the men looked in my direction and sniffed the air. They could probably smell my fear.

We walked through a village leading to a large hillside castle. It looked like something straight out of a gothic fairytale. We walked through the iron gates into a courtyard and then up to a big metal door which opened immediately.

A man with the richest, smoothest brown skin I'd ever seen greeted us. He was more muscular than Ric and looked like he could easily pick me up and snap me in two. I wondered what kind of creature he was.

"You're here to see Samara?" His voice was deep, and he crossed his arms over his chest with a frown.

"It's nice to see you again, Amari," Lucifer said, sticking out his hand for a handshake. Did Lucifer know all the demons here? "We have some questions we need to ask her."

The man looked at Lucifer's outstretched hand and then took it and shook it firmly. "I'll have you wait in the dining room. It's about time for lunch. I'm sure she'll want you to join us."

Amari took off up the grand staircase, two steps at a time. His movements were smooth and unnatural.

He bellowed down the hall once he was at the top. "Samara! Get your ass out here!"

"What the hell is he?" I whispered as we waited in the foyer.

"A panther gargoyle. One of the most protective and loyal of all the gargoyles," Ric answered. "He is guard of the vampire leader's son."

Another man, who looked like he was a GQ model, walked out of a hall behind the stairs. He kept his eyes downcast. "Please, follow me." I was surprised by how light his voice was. It was like he didn't want to be seen or heard.

We were led into the dining room, and he gestured to the dining room table. We took our seats, and a few servants brought out drinks for us. I held up the clear glass placed in front of me.

"Is this wine?" It was red, like blood, and I brought it to my nose and sniffed it. It smelled like nothing.

"That's water. It has harmless algae in it." Lucifer picked up his own glass and drank the water that was inside.

I raised my eyebrows and cleared my throat. I wasn't about to drink something that looked like it was freshly squeezed human.

"It's better than the water on Earth. The water there tastes like crap." Ric picked up his own glass and drank it all in one gulp.

I tentatively took a small sip of it. It tasted better than any water I'd ever had. It was kind of unnerving drinking something that looked like blood, though.

Voices came from outside the dining room, and I turned in my seat as a woman with purple hair, the gargoyle, and another man walked into the room.

Ric stood up and met them halfway between the table and the doorway. The woman, who I assumed was Samara, smiled at him before pulling him into a hug. The two men on either side of her glared at them.

"That's enough," the man with dark hair and blue eyes said. Was I seeing things, or did he have fangs?

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