Page 161 of The Demon's Pet

“I said you’d owe me a favor,” Sam said, lifting his head imperiously. “I never mentioned what it would be.”

This was the Sam I met in my village. Immovable. Haughty. Above all of us and not needing to involve us in the plan.

Yet he’d saved me over and over.

“You should have told her,” Griffin said. “She’s—”

“I know what she is and isn’t far better than you do,” Sam said, practically twitching as he walked forward to get farther in Griffin’s face. “And what are you going to do about it?”

“Turn into my winged form and get her out of here,” Griffin spat back at him, hands in tight fists.

“Where would you go?” Sam asked. “You don’t understand the mid-realm, and you’ll be killed, and she’ll be taken from you faster than you can snap your fingers. The safest place for you both is here.”

“Yeah right,” Griffin said. “Where you can keep manipulating her for your own purposes.”

“If she is the Morningstar, then every creature will be drawn to her. Are you ready to protect her?”

Griffin swallowed. “With my life.”

Sam barked out a laugh, stepping back from him. “See? As expected, all creatures want to follow the Morningstar.”

“So itisCleo?” Griffin asked.

Sam shook his head. “I told you. I don’t know. I don’t owe you any answers. I brought you here. I spared your life.”

“Why?” Griffin asked. “Why, when you kill so easily?”

“Because you’re rare, and I kind of liked the idea of having a ninth-realm pet to myself. Kind of amusing.” He smirked, looking Griffin up and down. “You can also detect high-level demons, which is useful. The fact that you could scent Cleo confirmed my suspicion.”

“I couldn’t scent you,” Griffin asked. “Why is that?”

“Because I’m not a high-level demon,” Sam said. “As an incubus, you could say I’m something of an omega. I’m just very good at what I do, and my ninth-realm blood makes me unstoppable as a slayer.” He folded his arms again. “So consider what you do next very carefully because I’ll kill anyone who takes her out of my sight. Including you, Griffin.”

I stopped between them. “Stop it. This is crazy. We’re on the same side. Griffin, Sam saved us.”

“What’s the good of saving us if he’s going to use us?” Griffin asked. “Cleo, he’s manipulating us. We should leave.”

“Sam has been honest with me,” I said. “As he could. And where else do we have to go?”

Clicking footsteps echoed onto the courtyard steps, and I looked out to see Simon walking down them, adjusting the cuffs of his white dress shirt to roll them upward.

He wore no jacket today, and his straight black hair lifted slightly in the cool afternoon breeze. He wore black dress slacks and dress shoes that made a clicking noise as he made his way over to us, hands in pockets.

“Pleasant party we’re having,” he said, red eyes darting between us. “Why wasn’t I invited?”

I looked up at the sky, then at Simon in shock. “You can be in the sun?”

“Oh yes, vampires got that ability after we first bred with humans,” Simon said pleasantly. “Those who didn’t burned up pretty fast. Unnatural selection, you might say.”

“Stay out of this, Simon,” Sam snapped at him, pointing a finger aggressively.

“Cleo, trust me. Sam’s manipulating you,” Griffin said. “I know you’ve been getting closer. I know you spend time with him late at night. I don’t blame you. He’s seductive, but I don’t want you to get hurt.”

Irritation moved through me at Griffin’s unwanted interference. “Griffin, Sam has been honest with me from start to finish about what we do in private. It’s none of your concern.”

“He can’t help it,” Sam said. “It’s in his nature to be protective. In the ninth realm, they’re bred that way. As pets.”

“Bred?” Griffin asked, eyes bulging.

---