Page 108 of Infernal Secrets

“First, the book. It shouldn’t be on Earth, yet it is. It bears the princes’ royal mark, but I’ve never seen it before. Where did it come from? Then there’s a human’s ability to summon us. How did she get that power? How did her blood bring us here?”

Ezra’s gaze drifted to the wall where Cyn had nearly lost control when I motioned to it.

“And now, she can weaken us enough for us to lose our sense and possibly attack her. Her blood tempts us. Our blood stimulates her. If we attack a human without justification…”

Ezra caught my meaning without me finishing.

If we harmed a human without council sanction, we faced banishment, seen as no better than the lesser infernals and beasts in Feranzis or Moicae.

Ezra looked at the book at the end of the counter. “Don’t get closer to her. We need to stay focused on getting home. Don’t lose sight of that.”

Easier said than done.

We’d spent the first two weeks scouring the book for answers, coming up empty-handed. With the attacks and the funeral, we’d deviated from our goal. Not that I minded.

Maybe getting closer to Rae wasn’t safe, but I couldn’t resist the intense pull toward the raven-haired beauty with sun-kissed skin.

In any other situation, ignoring my duty to Elyrdin would be unacceptable. What would it say about me if I abandoned the council for a human after they took me in when my father died serving Elyrdin?

My fist tightened at the thought.

It also hadn’t escaped my notice how my brothers wanted her.

I didn’t know if the attraction came from whatever influenced our meeting, or something deeper. Their past relationships—or lack thereof—offered little insight.

Zeke lacked experience with women. His trauma and unique approach to the world led him to remain isolated from others. He’d found no one outside our circle interesting until Rae.

Cyn didn’t share the same problem. He entertained bedmates, but never committed beyond a night. He never allowed them into our home, always opting to use a bedroom at the palace. I knew he only gave them the use of his body to get his blood fix. He felt nothing for them. And while I knew he wanted Zeke, I saw the turmoil in his eyes when he looked at Rae. She captivated him. The more she challenged him, the more he came alive. He liked her, even if he resented it.

I looked at Ezra as he studied the pages of the summoning book, like he’d done a dozen times over. He didn’t do relationships. Like me, he didn’t have the time.

The council demanded too much from us.

But he also refrained from physical intimacy. He wasn’t celibate—that much I knew. From what I understood, his particular tastes made it difficult to find partners who matched him—or were genuine. I never asked what he meant; his sex life wasn’t of interest to me. Like Cyn and Zeke, his lack of interest in relationships made it hard to gauge his type at all.

Rae’s scream from upstairs made us look up.

27

SACRIFICE

ASH

Before Ezra could say anything, I’d cleared the living room and bolted up the stairs two at a time. I rounded the corner, pushed open her bedroom door, and stepped inside.

Empty.

Cyn and Zeke closed in behind me, forced awake by her scream.

“Where is she?” Zeke asked, rubbing his eyes.

“Rae? Where are you?” I stepped farther into the bedroom, and that’s when I saw her.

Sitting naked and dripping water all over the floor in the open doorway of her bathroom, she stared at me with wide eyes.

“Shit.” I looked away and herded Zeke and Cyn into the hall. “She’s fine.”

Cyn scowled. “Why’d she scream?”