Aereus crossed to the wall of weapons, lovingly stroking a long spear. I tried not to think of the phallic implications as he caressed it.
“The sarisa belonging to Alexander the Great, the weapon of his Diadochi army. Conquest has imbued this weapon with power.”
This was all fascinating, and at one point I’d have been thrilled to find myself standing before Alexander the Great’s spear. Now, I could think about only one thing—how to rid the earth of the angelic scourge.
Ignoring the fury that surged in my blood, I sauntered over to him. “Alexander the Great was amazing, I’m sure. But no one could rival an angel for skill in war.”
His body glowed with fiery light, and I fought the urge to turn and run from him, or to grab Alexander’s spear right off the wall and ram it through his body. “I was born to create war.”
I cocked my head. Time to test his reaction. “And nothing can stop you, right? There’s nothing on earth with the power to stop an angel from his quest.”
He crossed to me, and a sharp pang of dread pierced my chest. I didn’t want him too close to me. “Nothing,” he repeated—but his tone lacked conviction.
For just a moment, his eyes flicked to a darkened corner of the war room. He was thinking about something there.
And that was exactly where I needed to look when I returned later.
Aereus moved closer, boxing me in where I sat on the table, and planted his hands on either side of my hips. “Tell me how war thrills you.”
My gaze darted to the door. This would be a great time to get the hell out of here, if I didn’t have a giant angelic asshole breathing down my neck.
Put on a good show, Ruby. “I can feel the power in this room, all around us. Once, I fed off the worship of humans, and I remember that feeling. It’s coming back to me now.”
His wrathful power intensified, choking me like a fist at my throat. Even though I’d never be able to take him in a fight, my mind began to burn with images of his bloody demise.
“In the old days,” he began, “I took what I wanted. I’d have you bent over the table right now, that little dress up around your waist. I’d show you what you’re missing with Adonis.”
For just a moment, Aereus’s eyes began to darken—the first hint of a fall. Then, he gripped the oak table so hard it began to splinter.
Swiftly, I slipped off the table, ducking under his arm.
“From what I understand, you can’t get too close to me, can you?” I said. “Or you’ll be at risk, just like Kratos. And I know you have the power to resist that temptation.” I began traipsing over to the corner of the room—the place where I’d seen him looking.
There, a wooden bookshelf stood, crammed with faded texts.
Books? I’d been hoping for a box of some kind—something that might contain stones.
“I can’t get too close to you,” he roared. “But Adonis can, can’t he?”
I turned to face him, backing up against the wall.
This topic clearly pissed him off.
“Only temporarily,” I said. “I’m sure his curse will torment him soon enough.”
Aereus’s lip curled. “I’ve been cursed for five centuries.” Rage dripped from his voice. “What good is war without the spoils?”
It took me a moment to understand what he meant—women were “the spoils.”
Once again, I had to bite down on a searing flash of rage that threatened to overtake me.
Okay. How do I get out of this situation?
I touched my chest, feigning horror. “Five centuries of abstaining! How terrible. No reason to sabotage your success now, though, is there? Perhaps you should get back to ruling your palace.”
I started to make a move for the door, when Aereus lunged for me, pressing his hands to the wall on either side of my head. Veins bulged in his thickly corded arms.
“I want what Adonis has. I can’t touch you. But I can see you. I want you to take off your dress.”
I clenched my jaw. I could let my feral side come out, inflicting some serious damage with my poison-tipped knife. But that would disrupt the entire mission. I’d come here for the Stones of Zahar.
This seemed like a good time to use that mental link I had with Adonis.
“Adonis!” I screamed within my mind. “This would be a good time to interrupt!”
I needed to stall. I took a deep breath. “Oh my, your arms are very strong, aren’t they?” The words tasted like poison on my tongue, because I could think of nothing but ramming my knife into his stupid, fat neck, right into his throbbing jugular.
“Yes,” he growled. “Strong. Take off your dress. Let me see Adonis’s prized possession.”
Before I could get another word out, the sound of shearing metal pierced the air as the iron door twisted away from the frame.
I let out a slow, relieved breath as Adonis strode into the room, bathed in light, his midnight wings trailing behind him. As soon as he stepped inside the space, my muscles began to relax a little, and Aereus released me.
Adonis shoved his hands in his pockets, completely at ease, as if he’d just happened upon us at a picnic.
His eyes shone with amusement. “Ah. There you are. I thought I felt a current of primitive, mindless rage spilling through the door, and I knew it must be my old friend Aereus.”
“He was just showing me his war room,” I explained hastily, as if we’d been caught unawares. “It’s all completely innocent.”
Aereus’s entire body had tensed, and he unleashed a wild roar that trembled through my bones. “You broke my door.”
Adonis blinked. “That? It didn’t seem to have a doorknob, so I found my own way in. I suppose it’s not there to guard against other angels.”
I’d mentally telegraphed the spell to Adonis, and I was sure he could have used it. But that would have given away our mental link.
“Now I’d like my succubus back.” This time, Adonis injected venom into his voice.
I needed to satisfy Aereus’s primitive ego to smooth things over.
“Did you know that Aereus has caused thousands of wars?” I cooed.
Adonis’s eyes shone with icy rage, and shadows thickened around him. “Get back to our room, Ruby.”
I smoothed out my dress, crossing over the floor as if I’d been chastened.
The moment I stepped into the hallway, the roars of wrathful angels rumbled over the hallway, and the walls shook with the sounds of divine bodies slamming against marble.
Chapter 27
I stood in Tanit’s room, waiting for Adonis and his demon friends to arrive. The eerie cherubs had guided me here—just as Adonis had suggested—but I’d found it empty. I could only hope Aereus hadn’t broken Adonis on one of his iron-spiked garden features.