The urgency in Silth’s voice said the news wasn’t good, but Hades seemed relieved. Was he happy for an excuse to get out of the bedroom? “I’ll be out in a second.” He didn’t bother drying off, simply jammed his feet into his pants. He didn’t look at her as he said, “In this part of the Inner Sanctum, and only this part, you can clothe yourself in whatever you want, with just a thought. But the second you leave, the clothes will disappear.”
Cool, but clothes were the least of her concerns right now. “Can you slow down for a second?” She reached for one of the folded cloths on the shelf next to the shower. “We need to talk.”
“Talk,” he said sharply, “doesn’t seem to be what you want from me.” He held up the hand that had, just moments ago, given her so much pleasure. “I gave you what you wanted, didn’t I?”
Stung by his sudden, inexplicable anger, she lashed out. “No, you didn’t. Not even close. You think I sit around fantasizing about your hand?”
Said hand formed a fist at his side. “Sorry to disappoint, babe.” He yanked open the door with so much force that the iron handle broke. “But I’m sure Zhubaal will be happy to give you whatever it is you fantasize about.”
“Wow,” she said quietly. “I can see where your reputation as a master torturer comes from. You know exactly where to plunge your dagger, don’t you?”
He jerked as if she’d struck him, and then he stormed out, leaving her to her fantasies. Which, right at this minute, included smacking Hades in his stubborn, infuriating head.
Chapter Twelve
What the fuck have I done?
Snarling, Hades slammed the bedroom door and strode into the hut’s living room, his hard cock pinching in his pants and his regrets piling up with every step.
He never got this moody, but right now he was strung tighter than a vampire stretched on the Rack in the Rot’s dungeon. Sexual frustration combined with the anger from the situation with Cat and the bullshit going on in the Inner Sanctum had damned near reached critical levels. He considered himself to be a pretty laid-back, easygoing guy, especially for a fallen angel, but damn, when he was with Cat it was as if he was mining desires and emotions he’d kept buried, and now he’d hit a vein that ran thick with fury and hopelessness.
It had been centuries since he’d last succumbed to the kinds of feelings that usually signaled an impending catastrophic bout of self-destructiveness.
He either wanted to kill something, or he wanted to fuck something...and the latter something was Cat.
Stupid, Hades. It would be so fucking stupid to start a relationship that can’t go anywhere, not to mention the fact that Azagoth will break you in half like a wishbone.
Oh, but didn’t he already board that stupid train when he made her the brunt of his anger at not being able to make love to her? She hadn’t deserved any of that. Then he’d made it worse by bringing up Zhubaal, which had only served to throw jealousy and shame into the toxic mix brewing inside him right now.
He’d hurt her when he’d sworn to protect her. He’d done what he did best; find a soft spot, slip a blade in it, and give it a good twist.
Fucking idiot.
Water dripped down his back, reminding him of how Cat’s gentle fingers had caressed him in the shower. He’d felt like a map and she was the explorer looking for interesting places to go. He’d wanted so badly to let her. Her touch was a gift, a connection he hadn’t had with anyone since before he fell. Even then, his relationships hadn’t been serious. He’d been young and impulsive, and females had been a fun distraction from his crappy job and his priggish, cold parents.
Since his fall, the few females he’d been with had been sexual partners and nothing more. How could they be anything more when the total of his time outside of Sheoul-gra could be measured in hours instead of days?
Gnashing his teeth, he stopped in front of Silth and tried to keep his tone civil. “What is it?”
“We captured the Orphmage who was holding the Unfallen female you rescued,” he said, and Hades’s heart leaped. Finally. Maybe he would get to kill someone after all.
“He’s alive, I take it.”
“Yes, sir.” Silth fingered the hilt of the sword at his hip, his chain mail armor tinkling softly as he moved. “We have him at the Rot. But I had a chance to interrogate him at the site where we captured him.”
“He talked?”
“After I reached into his chest cavity and started breaking off ribs.”
“Nice.” Hades nodded in approval. “So what did he say? Did you get the human?”
“No, sir. But he did say that when he jammed his staff into the Unfallen, he released an enchantment inside her.”
Hades’s heart stopped leaping. “Her name is Cat. And what kind of enchantment?”
“The kind that drains her life force.”
Oh, fuck. His heart started beating again, but in an erratic, schizy rhythm. “For what purpose?”
“To open holes in the barriers between the Inner Sanctum and Sheoul, as well as the barrier between the Sanctum and Sheoul-gra.”
Not unexpected, since demons were always trying to get out of the Inner Sanctum to wreak havoc as ghosts in both Sheoul and on Earth. But they’d been trying to do that for eons, so what made this attempt different?