The Demon King of Lust

Chapter 41

You have 3 days.

I can't get Victor's deadline out of my head.

The note was delivered mid-day yesterday, but Kieran didn't get it until late last night. Almost 24 hours have passed since then, so...

38 hours left. Maybe less.

Kieran is out with his friends trying to figure out where Victor is keeping Rose, while I'm just here at home chewing my nails down to the nubs, doing my best to push the guilt to the back of my mind.

This is all my fault.

I only got about four hours of sleep last night, even after taking my medication that's supposed to help. I don't know if I'm developing a tolerance or if my anxiety is just stronger than the most heavy-duty sleeping pill.

Probably both.

The last I heard from Kieran, he was working with Finn and Zane on part one of the plan: find Rose. The remaining parts being to rescue her and kill Victor—as if that's the easy part.

When Vic and I were together, I loved that he was so smart. He always had a plan; his plans had plans. But now that he's my enemy, his intelligence is the worst thing about him. You can't outthink Victor, but that's exactly what we're trying to do.

Kieran and his friends act like it's going to be easy: just send in someone to save Rose. It just can't be Kieran or an Incubus or Succubus or any of Kieran's known friends, because he'll be expecting them. Of course, we'll have to sneak up on him somehow, even though they think he'll have demons around who can hear us coming from miles away and can sense if we lie.

Basically fucking impossible.

And I can't stop thinking about Rose and that ticking clock.

And how this is totally, entirely my fault.

I hear the sound of keys in the front door and I turn to see Zahra making her way inside.

"Hey!" she calls, closing the door behind her. "What are you doing home? You aren't working tonight?"

She walks over to Pumpkin, who is stretched out in front of the fireplace like a fuzzy orange Twinkie, and gives him a pat on the head.

"I called in sick. I'm not actually sick but... It's a long story."

That's a hell of an understatement.

"Jesus, girl, are you okay?" She sets her purse down on the table and sits beside me on the couch. "You look miserable. What's going on?"

I take a deep breath in and sigh.

How do I even begin with this? It's not like I can tell her that my ex is a demon and has kidnapped Kieran's sister in order to convince him to trade me for her.

"It's Victor... he's... he's harassing Kieran now. It's bad."

"Shit." Zahra doesn't curse much, so when she does it feels so strange. Clearly it's a sign of just how bad this situation is—and she doesn't even know the half of it. "How did he find out about Kieran? Does he know where you are?"

"I... It's a really long story. I don't... honestly I don't know. He called me and I didn't realize who it was, so I answered. I think he figured out that Kieran and I were together. Fuck, Zahr... this is all my fault."

I cringe and drop my head into my hands. Guilt has been gnawing at my gut all day, but now that I've said it out loud, it feels more real.

"No no no," she says, scooting closer and wrapping an arm around my shoulders. "This is Victor's fault. You didn't do anything, he did."