To save the Valkyrie who broke his heart, the Fae Sea God makes a deal with the Demon Prince of the Aerial Kingdoms, but Pazuzu has a history of stealing the women Manannan loves.
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When Mist visits her parents' home in California, she assumes th...
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After leaving Mist and Anna in the courtyard near the tavern, I rose into the sky, stretching my wings. The air caressed the scales, leaving swirling wisps of black seidhr wafting off the edges and I circled the city, cloaking my presence with the second pass. It wasn't enough to root out the treachery Lamashtu had created in my demons—I needed to be vigilant against her next attempt.
Anna's words reached me, my name and power carrying her voice through the air, despite the distance. And she wasn't wrong. Manannan's presence was like a bone fragment between my talons, irritating and impossible to ignore. Even if I wanted to, I couldn't deny Mist had to return to Asgard. I couldn't force her to stay and she was too loyal to give up her vows of duty.
But I needed to know why Manannan was so determined that he'd give up five years of his life for a female who would barely talk to him. Mist was worth it, to be sure, and I huffed a laugh into the evening air as Anna's tease reached me. She would miss Mist as well.
Banking, I adjusted my flight to carry me back over the part of the city that held my females. Maybe I'd check on them once more, just to see if Anna was successfully seducing Mist, before I returned to the palace to question the sea god.
"Lord Pazuzu will not take kindly to you attempting to touch his mate." Mist's use of my name had my heart thundering and I shot forward. She knew the consequences. She'd never do so unless Anna was in danger. A growl built in my throat. If some idiot demon had harmed either of them, I'd pull them apart with agonizing slowness.
Prepared to attack with fangs bared and talons reaching as I approached, I pulled up at the last second seeing Anna and Mist enter the tavern. Instead, I landed on its flat roof and spoke to the other mind that had uttered my name here.
"What happened, Captain Dedrick?" Brick crunched under my talons as I shifted my feet, staring down at my wolf.
He turned, looking around, then up, and I released the cloak of air hiding me. Dedrick bowed, ignoring the startled squawks of demons who found themselves within feet of my spiked tail, flicking irritatedly down the wall and across the cobblestone paths as I waited for an answer.
"My lord, several scorpion demons, three manticores, and a minotaur unwisely attempted to touch Valkyrie Mist and Mate Anna. Mist held them off but when I arrived, I stepped in to guard their backs until they entered the tavern," he told me while sharing the memory with me.
Smoke billowed from my wings and nostrils. "You know which demons?"
"Yes, my lord. I've marked them."
"Guard my females and once they are done visiting with their friends, escort them back to the palace. I want those demons in my dungeon. I'm having idiot for breakfast."
Dedrick sent a signal on his wrist brand and bowed.
Gouging another groove from the roof, I launched myself into the sky before I forced Mist and Anna out of the tavern and back to the palace. Dedrick would defend them, I knew that, but by the Abyss, it pissed me off that any demon had attempted to touch them. I was done leaving Mist weaponless. She'd have armour and weapons whenever she wanted from now on. I wouldn't put her in that position again, nor would I revoke my agreement of freedom whenever she wanted to explore. She was fierce and I needed to trust her skills.
