As he’d seen evidence of that aimed against him, Shade nodded and motioned for her to continue.
“And now it is silent and…tortured.”
That didn’t sound good. “Eddie sent me to check on him.”
“I thought as much.” Vexia nodded. “Or else I would have had you brought to ground the moment you crossed the border.”
The moment Shade entered his throne room, Wrath shot to his feet. His heart beat uncomfortably in his chest. “Is it Eddie? Is she safe?”
“Eddie is well.” Shade sauntered around the fire pit and approached him. He cocked his head and studied Wrath. “She is concerned about you.”
That ignited a warm spark in his chest, but also guilt. Eddie should not be worried about him. He was the sire, and he was the one who should be worried about her. His voice was brusque as he said, “There is no need for her to worry. I am fine.”
“But are you?” Shade stopped at the bottom of the three stairs leading up to the dais on which his throne sat. He put one foot on the bottom stair and stared up at him. “Because you look like shit.”
Even his familiar need to wipe the smirk off Shade’s face failed him. “Thanks.”
“Eddie is worried about you,” he said. “And we all know I’m a pushover for your daughter, so I’m here to check on you.”
He hated the idea that Eddie might fret. “Tell her I’m fine.”
Vexia cleared her throat as she came closer.
He sent her a glare to let her know exactly what he thought of her opinion on the matter. She’d been uncharacteristically verbal with him since his return, always checking on him, questioning his state of mind, daring to suggest that all was not well. She was right, but fuck that anyway.
“Let’s pretend for a minute that I believe you.” Shade looked around him. “And maybe we can sit and chat about what’s going on down here.”
Vexia compelled a large chair toward him, and Shade took a seat.
Talking about the situation in hell felt safer, and the knot in his chest unraveled enough for him to speak freely.
“Your palace remains deserted.” It felt wrong to perch above Shade in this manner, so he motioned Vexia for another chair for him.
She placed it beside Shade’s.
Wrath took a seat and ignored Shade’s raised eyebrow. “There are still members of your horde in the villages, but there has been some definite thinning. Those that remain are fearful.”
“Fuck.” Shade rubbed his jaw. “And Lucifer’s demesne?”
“Worse.” Wrath had flown for hours and seen not one demon. “It seems like most of his horde has followed Ashe.”
“Ava?”
Wrath grimaced. “Ava is not happy with me and did not allow me access.”
“Is she ever?”
Wrath had to smile. “But she did send a message that her seal is compromised, and her demesne grows more unstable. She is also bleeding demons.”
Shade frowned. “Belle?”
“Silent.” Wrath had been unable to reach Belphegor, but as she was determinedly reclusive, that hadn’t raised any immediate alarms. “Zeb and Levi report much the same as Ava.”
Vexia appeared with refreshments and placed them on a low table that had materialized between them. Wrath would be bereft without her and had an inkling about how Lucifer felt about Ashe’s defection. Seconds were vital to the running of a demesne, but they served a second, and as important, purpose. If a hell prince tired of their long existence, their power and their essence could be passed to their second, thus sidestepping the catastrophic results of a hell prince ending. The choice of a second was not made lightly. Which was probably part of the reason Ramiel had been so territorial over Haziel. He shoved that thought away. He had survived Rosabella’s rejection, and he would survive this. There were more vital matters that demanded his attention. But speaking of Ava reminded him of Haziel and how comfortable she had been in Ava’s palace. Unlike most seraphim, Haziel had exhibited no discomfort around demons.
Fuck! He would stop his every thought from straying in her direction. “Ava, Zeb, Levi, and I have reached an understanding in recent days. We are sharing information and all hostilities between us end until we have this under control. When I get hold of Belle, I’ll be sure to get her cooperation.”
Shade nodded and sipped the wine Vexia had brought them. “That’s good. I think we’re all going to have to get over our crap with each other and work together if we want to stay alive.”
Hell princes working together was enough of an imagination stretch that he almost laughed. He was not given much to laughter, but it felt as if nothing had felt worthy enough of laughter since—
He would control his thoughts!
“Belle would not allow me access to her demesne either,” he said.
Shade made a face. “Is that any surprise? She’s viciously private.”
She always had been, and Wrath nodded. “I shall send another emissary to her court. As you say, working together is vital if any of us are to survive.” Then he asked what he most wanted to know. “How is Eddie?”
“She’s well.” Shade smiled the smile of a truly besotted being. As much as he disliked the hell prince, if one had to trust one’s child with another male, to have one who adored your child like Shade did Eddie softened the blow. “She tried to come with me.”
“No.” His gut tightened.
“I have the hounds watching her,” Shade said. “They will protect her and let me know if she makes any move to head in this direction.”
Like he thought—besotted. “Good.”
