Tempted Angel by Jewel Killian

Author:Jewel Killian [Killian, Jewel]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2024-02-10T00:00:00+00:00

Again, I’m alone in the lair but for one demon for the rest of Friday.

I’ve been here alone long enough that I’ve convinced myself the lair isn’t an oppressive hole in the ground.

Sure, there aren’t any windows except for the one room, but the mid-wall lighting gives the earthen walls a glow that’s grown on me.

It’s almost like living inside one of Sera’s amber-tinted lamps. And since I haven’t gone crazy yet, I think they are attuned to the same spectrum as the sun. Plus, the light mimics the movement of the sun throughout the day. They dim at night and brighten gradually around sunrise. It’s a lovely way to wake up in the morning.

And when I investigate how the lighting works, I find it’s not mundane tube lighting.

Small, golden crystals, thousands of them, line the lip of the shelf. Their glow lights the rooms.

My gaze travels up the wall, and for the first time, I truly see it.

It’s not jagged and unfinished. The lumps and bumps in the walls aren’t shoddy workmanship. The protrusions are uncut crystal formations, carefully sculpted and displayed like art.

How have I not noticed this before?

It’s not until Saturday afternoon, mere hours before the Auction is supposed to start, that all four demons are in the lair at the same time.

“I was wondering if you forgot about me entirely,” I snap, lounging on the sofa when they blink in.

“Aw, were you waiting for us?” Enzo asks.

“More like trying not to off myself with boredom. Would it kill you to at least get a TV or something? A streaming service? Ever heard of it?”

“Those are mortal realm inventions. They don’t work here,” Bastian says.

And he’s right. Technically. They don’t work on Celestus either unless you get an interplanar bridge connector…

Another way Malachi could track me.

And suddenly, I’m grateful for the boredom. Malachi would have already found me by now if I’d had my way.

“Besides, you’re about to have your hands full getting ready for the Auction,” Enzo says with a manic stare.

“Are they here yet?” Bastian asks, coming out of his room.

“Not yet,” Enzo says, bouncing on his toes.

“Who exactly?”

Axe’s grin is positively evil. “You’ll see.”

Before I can tell him not to be a dickhead, another shiver of magic slides over me as a trio of demons blinks into the lair.

“Ah, yes. Lovely. What a canvas to work with.” The taller demon, lean and eggplant-colored with a spiraling pair of horns atop a mop of purple black hair appraises me, taking my hand and turning me around before I can snatch it away.

His build and the horns remind me of Lumière from Beauty and the Beast. One of my favorites to watch when I’m out of rich housewife and crime docu-drama.

He conjures a raised platform under me, making me eye-level with him.

The other two demons, twins I think, both a rusty-orange shade with smaller, curling horns, bustle around me, measuring and pinching at my sides and the back of my arms.

“Hey, what in the flaming seven

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