Page 95 of Prince of Demons
Kirigan didn’t respond. The silence sank between them. Then his phone buzzed. The screen lit up.
Kain.
He extended a hand. “Leave me.”
Maell didn’t argue. He studied him for half a second too long, then slipped from the room.
Kirigan answered, pressing the phone to his ear. “Kain. You have heard—the Pure Breeder has been?—”
“Kesh is gone.”
Kirigan’s breath stilled.
Kain’s voice was taut, clipped. “He’s already in the air. Headed for Rome. He took a jet, shot me a text from over the Atlantic. The Europeans have her. They’re gonna auction her tonight. I called, told him to wait, to let us plan… He said ‘no’, then hung up. Hasn’t picked up since.”
A silence settled. The kind that didn’t hum, didn’t echo—just expanded.
Something unfamiliar tightened in Kirigan's chest.
He hadn’t planned for this.
He’d expected Kesh to be furious, for his instincts to send him into a frenzy. But once the trail turned cold and his hormones had burned out, He would return to his duties.
The carefully aligned dominoes hadn’t been laid out with this outcome as a possibility. For his son to act as if the Breeder was…
No. It couldn’t be love. That would make the risk incalculable. That would mean… he’d gambled his youngest son’s life in exchange for his eldest’s.
“He’s going to get himself killed,” Kain continued, voice rougher now. “I’m going to get him, before it’s too late. I need you to take over all official duties until I’m back. Tomren will help with all administrative tasks. I’ve already briefed him?—”
“No.” His voice cut through with enough snap to make Kain stop talking. No. No, no, no. The tightness in his chest clenched at his lungs, and something cold crept up from his tailbone. Not one son’s life gambled. Both. “You can’t?—”
“I’m coming with you." It was Selma's voice now, coming from close to Kain. "If you go alone, you’ll die, too, and I’m not about to let that happen. Besides, I owe Kesh for helping me save you last year. So yes, I’m going. You need me, you need my magic, and you need my Stone of Power.” Her voice was bright and razor-sharp, and had a tone of ruthless commitment Kirigan had heard before.
“Selma—” Kain began.
“Enough.” Kirigan barked. “You will both stay where you are. I will retrieve Kesh. Alive. You have my word. Do not follow. Do not abandon your responsibilities here—or your child. I will fix this.”
“Kiri—”
He hung up before Selma could finish her protest.
He would. Fix it. The mistake of not accounting for the true strength of Kesh’s attachment to the Breeder was his.
The dominoes were already falling. But he’d lay down another path—bend the line back, if he had to. He wasn’t about to let either of his sons die for his miscalculation.
47
Georgia
The door shut behind the prince with a soft click. He’d brought her to an opulent suite, with gold and marble on every surface, and a view of the ancient city through the large windows that would have stolen her breath during any other circumstance.
“Come, Breeder. Eat. You will need your strength tonight.” The demon led her by his grip on her arm to an overstuffed sofa, where a platter of food was laid out on the glass-and-marble coffee table in front of it. Piles of sliced meat, bowls of olives, loaves of honey-smeared bread. None of it did anything but turn her stomach.
“I’m not hungry.”
“Unfortunate that you will still need to eat,” he said, with no inflection of regret. “Sit.”
She considered refusing. Her eyes slid from the platter of food to the prince, who was simply watching her—waiting for the rebellion.
