The Demon King and I (17 page)

I blew out a breath. “Aunt Juliet better show at the fund-raiser tonight. I don’t think I can stand the suspense much longer.”

Smiling, Claire led me out the door. “If anyone can find out what’s going on, it’s the Caruthers sisters.”

CHAPTER 19

Alex never failed to get A-listers to a party she
gave. So it was no surprise that everywhere I turned I bumped into a celebrity at the Arts in Schools Ball.

She’d turned the venue into an ethereal fairyland. Using a secret garden theme, the place was filled with every flower imaginable. Their scent, mixed with hundreds of vanilla votives, made it intoxicating. The lighting had been situated so that there were brighter places for people to visit and dine, and then the dance floor and bar areas were cozy and intimate.

The entire building had been tented with filmy pale fabrics, hiding any indication that it was an airplane hangar. It was November so she had a few heating posts strewn throughout the building to keep away the chill. Everything was absolutely perfect, and the place was packed.

After spending nearly an hour on the red carpet, and saying a few hellos to friends, I went in search of my sister so I could tell her what a wonderful job she’d done. I also wanted to know if she’d seen Aunt Juliet.

At the bar I picked up a glass of champagne. A quick sip and my shoulders relaxed. I moved toward the tables to the left of the bandstand, which held a seventeen-piece orchestra.

“Please forgive me,
bella
,” Emilio’s silken voice said from behind me.

The sound of his voice made my spine stiffen involuntarily. I thought about walking off, but I knew he’d follow. I had to face him. Dressed in a tuxedo, he exuberated Italian heat. It was no wonder I’d wanted him, but not anymore.

“What are you doing here?” I sounded cold, even to me, but he didn’t deserve more.

“I came to see you. I can’t stand being without you, my love. You’re so beautiful.” He reached out to touch my cheek with his fingers and I stepped back.

“Emilio, you shouldn’t have wasted your time. I said everything I had to say at the gallery. I’ll represent your work, but I no longer want anything to do with you on a personal level.”

“You are still angry, but I know you still feel the passion for me, as I do you.” As if to prove his point, he touched my arm. “We were good together, and we can be again. I only want your forgiveness.”

The absurdity of the situation hadn’t escaped me. “You cheated with one of my employees in my home. Maybe that is acceptable behavior where you come from, but it isn’t for me.” We were beginning to draw interested looks from the people at the bar. “And you had to have seen the gossip rags linking you to Markie. If I find out it’s true, you’ll have a lot more than my anger to deal with, and if you don’t let go of my arm right now you’ll find out just how strong I am.”

“Gillian, you cannot believe I would have had anything to do with your friend.” He waved his hand as he let go of me. “It is horrible what happened to her, but it has nothing to do with me.”

“For your sake, you better be telling the truth.” I stared him down. “If I discover any hint that you had something to do with what happened to Markie, your life will be in serious jeopardy. I promise you that.”

He had the good grace to look appalled. “You are obviously upset and aren’t thinking clearly. Why don’t I get us something to drink and we can chat somewhere privately?”

I almost growled. “It’s time for you to leave, Emilio. This night is important to me, and I won’t let you destroy it.”

As I tried to make my graceful exit, I slammed into a hard chest.

Arath was dressed in a tuxedo looking like something that just stepped out of
Men’s Vogue.
His eyes were on me.

Emilio had his hand on my shoulder, and Arath lifted it off. “I believe
my date
asked you to leave her alone.” He said the words with a smile, the menace implied.

“Your date?” Emilio squeaked. His normally suave voice sounded pained. I pulled my eyes away from Arath to see what had happened.

Emilio was holding one hand in the other, which meant Arath had definitely applied some pressure.

I crooked my arm into Arath’s. I felt shocked that he was here in the middle of my charity ball, and incredibly grateful at the same time. “I wondered where you were.” I stood on my tiptoes to kiss his cheek and suddenly my lips were on his. He’d turned his face so that he could capture a kiss, and I gave it to him.

Warmth spilled through my body as his hands slid to my lower back and pressed me into him. More than warmth, fire. It took me a few seconds to remember where we were.

I cleared my throat. “Later, darling,” I whispered.

Emilio didn’t say anything. The anger burned in his eyes as he stomped past us, still cradling his hand.

I couldn’t help but laugh. “I don’t know what the hell you’re doing here, but thank you.”

“He was right about one thing, you are beautiful.” Before it slipped from my hands, he took my glass of champagne away and set it up on the bar. “I suppose he is one of your many spurned lovers?” It wasn’t an accusation, more an observation.

“He was the one who did the spurning, if there is such a thing. Not that I’m not grateful for the save, but what are you doing here?”

“I have something to discuss with you.” He put his hand around my waist and led me away from the crowd at the bar. “We should dance.” He pulled me into a slow waltz before I could respond. We made it to the corner of the dance floor before my brain kicked into gear.

“How do you know the waltz?”

His left eyebrow arched and his head tilted to the right. “You are not the only beings who enjoy dancing.”

Well, okay then.
“I hate to spoil your fun but I’ve been to many celebrations in your world and not once have I seen anyone dance.”

“I’ve been studying Earth for a very long time. And—”

“What?”

“I watch the DVDs of
Dancing with the Stars.
It is a most interesting show.”

I chuckled. “I wasn’t aware that you watched television on Maunra.”

“There are many things you do not know about my world.” The music changed and he slowed the pace. The parts of my body pressed into his began to hum.

Focus, Gillian.

We glided across the floor as if we’d been doing it for ages. “Are you going to tell me why you’re here?”

His hand caressed my cheek and I resisted the urge to lay my head on his chest.

“Enjoy the dance, Gillian.” He said my name as if it were velvet, and it bothered me that I was excited. Being so close to him sent my body into overdrive.

I had so many questions and things I felt I should tell him. Like that his mother was still alive. There had never been a good time. And maybe, just maybe, I didn’t want to open a can of worms until I understood what was going on a little better. Aunt Juliet had been away on council business since I found out. And I felt that I should talk to her before even thinking about telling Arath what I knew.

I couldn’t quite bring myself to say, “Arath, you’re not a demon. Did you know that? And, um, your mother is alive.”

I was so enamored with my dance partner that it took me a moment to realize the music had stopped. He guided me off the dance floor.

“Your phone is about to ring. Tell them the problem has been taken care of, and there is no need to worry.”

My cell buzzed inside my diamond-encrusted, star-shaped Judith Leiber purse. Jake was on the other line with news that two demons had jumped in. “One of them has gone off the grid. The other one is near your location.”

“The situation has been handled, Jake. Thanks.” I hung up the phone and addressed Arath. “How did you know that? What’s going on?” The strap had slipped on my heel and I lifted my leg to put it back on. Arath watched as the dress slid up to my knee. His eyes briefly flashed orange and then back. Knowing I was attractive to him gave me a secret thrill.

“There’s someone on this side helping the Krod clan plan a coup.”

“Um, excuse me?”

“The reason you’ve had so much trouble lately is because someone on this side is working against us both.”

“Okay, you told me that earlier. Did you find out who? And how would someone here be able to help your world? It doesn’t make any sense.”

He shook his head. “It has something to do with weapons and trade, but I did not discover the source. Mond of the Krod clan discovered me following him, and I killed him in battle before getting the answers I desired. I do know that it involves your family. There is an assassination plot. I was able to decipher that much. Someone, perhaps you, or your sisters, are in danger.”

I shrugged. “Oh. Honestly, that’s nothing new. There’s always someone trying to kill one of us. It’s a part of being a Guardian.”

“Perhaps, but I thought it best to make sure you were aware of the situation.” He looked over my shoulder. His eyes went from a very human brown to a bright yellow, and then flashed back. I turned to see what had caused the change.

Aunt Juliet. Oh, crap.

CHAPTER 20

“I, um. That’s a very close friend of my family. Are
you hungry?” I tried to steer him away from her to the piles of shrimp and lobster. “Or, you know, I could use a little air. We can go outside and you can tell me more about this assassination plot.” I tugged on his arm, but he dug in his heels.

I turned to see Aunt Juliet approaching.
This is really, really bad.

“Gillian, darling,” she said as she kissed both of my cheeks. “Who is this handsome devil?”

Her comment made me cough.

I had no idea how to respond. He looked at Aunt Juliet as if he knew who she was. It couldn’t be possible. She hadn’t seen her children since they were babies.

He reached out a hand. “I am Arath, Gillian’s date for the evening.”

In an automatic movement she reached out her hand, and when their skin touched her eyes flashed to his face. “Oh,” was all she said as she fainted.

Arath caught her and carried her out one of the side doors and we found a small office in the hangar with a couch. Carefully placing her on the sofa, he turned to me. “Did you know?”

My mouth and brain couldn’t get it together.

“Did you know she was my mother?” Anger tinged his voice, but he didn’t bellow like he usually did.

“How—I mean, yes and no. I had an idea,” I stammered.

“I do not understand.” His frown deepened.

“I don’t either,” I confessed. “You told me that your mother was dead. I came back and checked. You can imagine my surprise when her name”—I pointed to Juliet—“was attached to yours. I thought it some clerical error. And I haven’t had a chance to talk to her about it. She’s been gone for weeks, and my father is dead, so there just wasn’t anyone else.”

That wasn’t exactly true. My mother could have helped, but she chose not to. I didn’t want to get into that with Arath. “I’m not sure, but from the paperwork I saw, I think she thought you were dead. That’s probably why she fainted.”

He crossed his arms across his chest as he stared at her. “She did think I was dead.”

“How do you know that?”

“I read her mind. She knew by the touch of my skin who I was. She loved me.”

“Of course she did. Wait—you read her mind?”

His eyebrow rose.

Before I could even think
Oh, crap
, Aunt Juliet stirred. “Um, maybe you should stand by the door. We don’t want to give her another shock just yet.”

He nodded and moved away.

I sat on the couch and took the older woman’s hands in mine. Her eyes fluttered open.

“Are you okay?” I squeezed her fingers and smiled at her reassuringly.

“I—where is my son?” She sat up.

I looked over at Arath, and she turned so she could see him. Tears streamed down her cheeks and she sobbed.

“They told me you died.” She shook her hands free of mine and reached to him. “All this time I thought you were dead.”

For more than a minute an array of emotions crossed his face. He was no more certain of the situation than Juliet. His feet were planted, his arms behind his back. He watched her hands as she continued to reach for him, and then finally took them in his own.

I let out the breath I’d been holding.

She touched his cheek. “Your father said you and Throe had been killed during a raid. They had taken you from me, and insisted you be raised on Maunra. It was the best place for you to learn the magic that would protect you. We knew the day you were born that you had incredible power. Back then, the evil was as prevalent as it is now, and Earth was not safe for you.” The words tumbled out of her mouth in a rush, her cheeks slowly growing pink in color.

“I was promised visitation rights every two weeks. For the first month everything went as planned. I didn’t like it, but I cherished those four days with you. I knew from the day you were born that you were both going to be very special.”

Kissing his hands, she continued. “When they told me what had happened, I couldn’t bear it. You were meant for something beyond what any of the rest of us were capable, my son, and I could not believe the universe had lost someone so special. And my babies—it was just too much. I didn’t even question it. No one would do that to a mother.”

Arath’s jaw tightened. “My father always spoke of you with reverence, but he saw our human side as a weakness.”

I remembered the vision of Arath and his brother being shaken by their father. It must have been the truth. That kind of life could not have been easy for someone like Arath, who had a compassionate side, as well as the warrior within him.

“He was a stubborn fool, and while I don’t like to speak ill of the dead, I hope he’s burning in the fires of hell for what he did to us. Your talent for magic came from me, and it makes you a formidable foe. Am I right?”

He nodded. “My father was an honorable man; I cannot understand his deception.”

Juliet sighed. “I wish I didn’t but I do. In his own way he protected you. He knew that you wouldn’t be safe in my world. As you know, demons aren’t welcome on Earth, and it was a turbulent time here. We were in the middle of a war between good and evil.” She stopped and looked up at the ceiling as if that would help stem the tears. “Do you know how I met him?”