Page 24 of Tall, Dark & Horny

One second, I was at the reception desk, scanning the visitor ledger while Lyra updated me on a guest issue. The next, I was gone, the walls of The Abyss blurring as I raced through them. My power surged ahead of me, flaring in angry pulses as I followed the screaming pull of the black door.

“Adan!” Lyra called after me, her voice tight. “What happened?”

But I couldn’t stop to explain. Not when Calliope had gone into a room filled with dangerous objects…and held a secret only a few trusted demons knew.

The hallway twisted in on itself as I turned a corner, space warping to give me speed. I shoved through the last bend and came skidding to a halt outside the door that should never have been opened by her.

“Calliope,” I breathed.

She was just over the threshold, her back to me, framed in the flickering light of a chamber she was never meant to see. Dust rose around her ankles. Shelves of forbidden artifacts lined the walls, each item humming with dark power. But none of it mattered.

Because her hand hovered less than an inch above the one thing that could damn us both.

“Don’t!” I bellowed, launching forward.

But it was too late. Her fingertips brushed the hilt of the sword.

A pulse of darkness erupted from the blade, slamming into the room like a shock wave. The air thickened with magic so old and foul it turned my stomach. Runes along the chamber floor ignited in bloodred light, flaring in a circular pattern beneath her feet.

The curse had awakened.

“Calliope!” I grabbed my mate around the waist and pulled her back, shielding her with my body as the surge rebounded. She stumbled, wide-eyed and breathless, staring at the sword still humming on its pedestal.

“What…what is that?” she whispered.

I didn’t answer yet. First, I came to terms with the truth I had just discovered.

No human could trigger that curse. The blade only responded to one kind of blood. Demon.

I held Calliope tighter, feeling the slow tremor in her limbs, the sharp inhale that wasn’t quite fear. She believed she was fully human, but she had just awakened a curse forged in hell.

Which meant her father had to be…

Fucking hell.

I closed my eyes, gathering control. I had to stay calm. Needed to think.

This wasn’t just about Calliope anymore. The curse she triggered would have sent an invitation to a supernatural assassin bound by blood magic and payment centuries old. One who would now begin hunting me.

And if she’d gone any deeper into the room…

My gaze snapped to the far wall. The veil there shimmered, thin as breath. The portal hadn’t opened, thank the flames, but she’d been too close.

That door should have stayed hidden. There was only one explanation—The Abyss had let her in.

Her voice brought me back. “Adan? Are you okay?”

I turned to face her, heart thundering. Her cheeks were flushed, and her pupils were wide from the residual energy. But she had no idea what she’d done.

“We have to leave this room.”

She didn’t argue. She just nodded, still dazed as she let me guide her away.

But my mind was spinning.

If Calliope had demon blood and was lured to this room, my father might already know about her. My fists clenched. The last thing I needed was Abaddon’s attention turning toward my mate before we were fully bonded. But I also couldn’t rush her into it because she deserved better.

“Where are we going?”

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