Page 46 of Widow

"Val." Ric seemed to growl his name as he backed away from Samara. The two men stared each other down.

"I thought I smelled something rank." He definitely had fangs. Kai grasped my hand under the table. At least I wasn't alone in my shock, and he had seen a vampire before.

Samara smacked Val on the chest. "Behave."

"It's all right, Sammy. We know that vampires have no tact," Ric snarled.

"At least we don't leave our kings to die."

Ric tried to lunge at Val, but the gargoyle stepped in between them and pushed Ric back.

Acting as if nothing was going on behind her and a scuffle was an everyday occurrence, Samara stepped forward and put out her hand towards me. "I'm Sammy."

"Lia."

I took her hand and shook it, and then she introduced herself to Kai and Lucifer. "My brother has told me a lot about you, Lucifer."

"I hope only good things." We all took our seats at the table, and Ric took his place next to me. I patted his leg, and the tension that was in his body lessened a little. I had so many questions I wanted to ask him about what had just transpired between him and the vampire, but now wasn't the time.

"I was hoping we could ask you some questions about the shaman." Lucifer got right to the point as servants brought out plates with what appeared to be chicken and vegetables.

"The shaman has disappeared. As soon as Lilith died, he ran for the hills." Val had a goblet of what looked like real blood in front of him. I could see the difference between the blood-colored water and actual blood now. He picked it up and sipped it.

Lucifer didn't touch his food as we all began to eat. He seemed tense, and his eyes darted around the room as if he were waiting for a sneak attack.

Sammy put her fork down and looked at Lucifer. "Are you sure you want to go after the shaman?"

He gave a brief nod. Sammy looked to me. "He must really love you."

I nearly choked on my bite of chicken, or whatever creature it was.

* * *

Because the InfernalCouncil now stayed in the castle, there was only one room for us all to share. Not that it was a big deal since we had already shared Kai's bed.

I stared at the ceiling for quite a while as the others drifted off to sleep. Ric was the first to go, along with Picard. Ric's soft snores created a comforting effect that made my body relax into the mattress.

Kai fell asleep next. He tossed and turned a bit before his body went still, and the rise and the fall beneath the covers evened out.

I rolled over and faced Lucifer, who was on his back, staring at the ceiling just as I had been.

"I don't sleep well. I probably won't sleep at all tonight." His voice was low, mindful of the two men sleeping on the other side of me. "Especially here."

I grabbed his hand, and he looked at me. "Why can't you sleep here?"

He let out a shaky sigh and then looked back at the ceiling. "She kept me here as a prisoner for months. Drained me of blood several times a day." He shook his head and cleared his throat. "I loved her, and she..."

His voice cracked, and he blinked several times. I bit my lip and squeezed his hand in reassurance. There was a lot he wasn't saying, but he didn't need to. I could use my imagination.

"She's not here now. You have us to protect you."

He snorted and looked over at Kai and Ric. "We are a band of rejects."

"What do you mean?" I scooted closer to him, and he moved his arm so I could lie in the crook. His hand went to my hip, and his fingers began fiddling with the hem of my shirt.

"You have me: rejected by the creator and sent to Hell to run an experiment to see if souls could be rehabilitated. Then you have Kai, who was equally rejected to a life of mental health issues caused by getting his memories back. I don't even know where to start with Ric."

His fingers slipped under the edge of my shirt to touch the sensitive skin right above the line of my pajama bottoms. It took me a second to comprehend he hadn't finished saying why Ric was a reject.

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