Chapter 28

LUCIFER

The only thing I couldn’t stand more than having unwanted guests at my house was the Fae. They were nothing but a bunch of stuck-up egomaniacs with power. I hated having to deal with them for anything.

“Do you think they’ll recognize us somehow?” Mateo questioned, following behind me as I navigated us through the Fae Forest.

Another reason to dislike them. They chose to build their community deep in the damn woods.

“They’ll recognize me, but they’re smart enough not to retaliate.” I hoped they were. If not, we’d have a fight on our hands.

“They won’t know you, but they’ll hate you by association.”

“Should we enter at different times then? Or different locations? So they don’t put us together?”

He had a point. But I couldn’t risk losing one of Catalina’s mates on my watch. As long as he was in my sight, he’d be safe.

“No.”

He didn’t question my answer. One of the reasons why I chose him to come with me and not any of the others was that he was smart and knew when not to question things.

“We’re almost there. Remember, they can practically smell fear—show none.”

They say demons are the most vicious of the supernaturals. I always thought it was the Fae.

Moving a branch aside, I sucked in a breath at the view. Even though they were shitty people, they knew a thing or two about style.

Faetopia was one of the richest communities around. It was like Las Vegas, full of lights and high-end places. In fact, I believed a Fae man built Las Vegas a long time ago.

“Wow.” Mateo mumbled from behind me.

This must have been his first time seeing Faetopia, considering no pictures of it existed. You had to be a Fae to know about it.

I wondered how often Nick visited this place. It wasn’t too far from his kingdom.

“Pretend you’ve been here before—try not to seem like an outsider.”

He nodded, and we made our way into town.

“The Light of Betrayal is in the tallest building on display.” I pointed to the skyscraper in the middle of town. “That’s where our item is.”

I looked over at what he was wearing. He followed my direction.

“What?”

“We’ll have to blend in.”

MATEO

“This is blending in?” I stared at the bright monstrosity now decorating my body.

A bright yellow tie sat on my chest on top of a bright neon pink shirt. Neon green and blue pants decorated my legs. The only thing not neon was my purple shoes.

Lucifer was dressed similarly, only his colors were a lot darker. “You couldn’t find me the same colors?”

He smirked, trying hard to hide his amusement. “As I said, they know me. I don’t need to blend in.”

After paying the cashier, he made his way to the door. “Now let’s move this along.”

With a sigh, I followed, trying not to be blinded by my outfit.

“There’s a guy in the tower that keeps it locked away. We’ll ask for it nicely at first, but if he refuses, we’ll kill him and take it.”

Casually hanging around him all the time, I sometimes forgot that he was the actual devil. Of course, he wouldn’t think twice about killing someone because they told him no.

Normally, I wouldn’t agree with such methods. But because this was to help the safety of my mate, I was on board with whatever needed to be done.

“Got it.”

It took us less than ten minutes to reach the tower. This was where the real fun began.

I followed behind Lucifer as he walked in, as if he owned the place. Why was it that both of her demon mates had all the confidence in the world? Was it a demon thing?

Even I hesitated a bit as I followed him in.

I didn’t know what I was expecting to see in this building, but this wasn’t it. A full-blown party was going on.

People dressed in all different types of colors, random patterns, and unique designs. Was this how the Fae partied? I’d have to ask Nick the next time I saw him.

Lucifer had warned us to keep all mind communication off once we made it to our destinations.

“There’s the elevator.”

He made a beeline for it, not wasting any time. People actually parted for him when he walked their way. Not so much for me.

I sent a few elbows into people’s backs and stepped on a few toes to make it to the elevator where Lucifer was waiting.

“You’re a dragon, Mateo—act like it,” he said when I reached him.

I sighed. How often had I heard that?

The elevator ride to the penthouse, where the item was located, was quiet. My thoughts drifted to Catalina.

Was she okay? Did she find her item? The absence of communication gnawed at me—an itch in my heart that only her presence could soothe.

My parents used to tell me stories about a dragon’s love. We cherished our gold above all else, and our mate was our most precious treasure.

The one we would never part with, never allow to be taken from us, even in death. Once our mate died, we followed mere hours later.

I dreaded the day I’d have to tell Catalina this, as I was sure she didn’t know.

Not only was she the love of my life, but she was also carrying my child. This gave me even more reason to never want to leave her side.

“Get a move on, Mateo.”

I snapped out of my thoughts, not realizing we’d reached our floor. A blush crept onto my cheeks, and he raised an eyebrow.

Why did I blush so easily?

The room was filled with artifacts encased in glass.

“How will we know which one?” I asked.

Lucifer studied the one closest to him. “Find anything that fits the name. ~The Light of Betrayal~ has to be something bright, for one.”

I nodded and walked off in the opposite direction. It was strange that he had all these priceless items up here with no security to guard them.

We got in here too easily. Suddenly, I was on high alert. Where was the protection for these items?

I took another step toward a display to my left, and something whizzed past my face.

Looking behind me, I noticed a needle embedded in the wall. I glanced at my left foot, noticing the tile on the floor slightly pressed in.

Shit! The room was rigged.

“The floor is rigged!” I called out.

When I got no response, I looked over, only to see Lucifer on the ground, several needles sticking out of him.

Shit! What were these things filled with? I needed to find the item, grab Lucifer, and get out of here before—

The sound of the elevator opening made me cringe.

It was too late; security was here.