Daemon's POV
Of all the angels Heaven could have sent, it had to be her.
I kept my grip on her throat loose enough that she could breathe, tight enough that she couldn't escape. Her pulse fluttered against my tail like a trapped bird. Frantic. Terrified.
Good. She should be terrified.
But even as I thought it, something in my chest twisted. Wrong. This was wrong. I shouldn't care about her fear. I'd stopped caring about angels the day they cast me down here.
"Let me go." Her voice came out strangled but defiant.
I almost laughed. Almost. She had no idea who she was talking to. No idea what I could do to her with a single thought. The souls floating around us were proof enough of that.
"You break into my domain, attempt to steal what's mine, and you think you can make demands?" I leaned closer, letting my breath wash over her neck. She smelled like rain and something sweeter. Something that made my teeth ache. "You've got nerve, little angel. I'll give you that."
She tried to pull away, but I held firm. Her wings beat uselessly against the air, white feathers catching the dim light from the souls above. So pure. So painfully, disgustingly pure.
It made me want to ruin her.
"The soul you're after," I said, my voice dropping lower. "Richard, wasn't it? He's mine now. Signed the contract himself. Begged for what I offered."
"You tricked him." The words came out as an accusation.
"I gave him exactly what he asked for." I spun her around to face me properly, keeping my tail wrapped around her throat. "Not my fault humans never read the fine print."
Her eyes met mine, and I felt that same jolt I'd felt the moment I'd seen her. Recognition. Not the kind that came from seeing someone once or twice. The kind that lived in bone and blood and memory.
She didn't remember. Of course she didn't. They'd made sure of that.
"I know you," I said, studying her face. The curve of her jaw. The way her eyebrows drew together when she was angry. "Or I did. Before."
Confusion flickered across her features. "Before what?"
"Before they wiped you clean and remade you into their perfect little soldier."
Her wings flared. "I don't know what you're talking about."
"No. You wouldn't." I released her suddenly, stepping back. She stumbled, catching herself with an awkward beat of her wings. "Tell me something, angel. Why this human? Why risk everything for one soul?"
She hesitated. I could see her weighing how much to tell me, trying to figure out if honesty would help or hurt her cause.
"He's important to someone I care about," she said finally.
"So you're playing hero. How noble." I turned away from her, walking toward the nearest cluster of souls. They pulsed brighter as I passed, responding to my presence. "And you thought what? That you could just waltz in here, grab what you wanted, and leave?"
"I thought I could save him."
"Save him." I picked one of the souls at random, holding it up to examine. The light within swirled, desperate and afraid. "This one thought he could be saved too. Made all sorts of promises about changing, about being better. Do you know what happened?"
She didn't answer.
"He broke every single one." I tossed the soul back into the air, where it floated back to its place. "They always do. Humans are predictable like that."
"Richard is different."
"They're never different."
She moved closer, and I felt her presence like a brand against my skin. Heat where there should have been cold. Light where there should have been shadow. Everything about her was wrong for this place, and yet something about having her here felt almost right.
I hated it.
"Please." The word came out soft, almost broken. "I'll do anything."
Now that got my attention. I turned to face her again, letting a slow smile spread across my face. "Anything? Be careful what you offer, angel. I'm very good at collecting debts."
She straightened, trying to look brave despite the trembling in her hands. "Name your price."
For a moment, I considered it. Considered what I could ask for. Her grace, maybe. Or her wings. I could bind her here, make her watch as I corrupted everything she stood for. The possibilities were endless and delicious.
But then I looked at her face again. Really looked. Saw the determination burning in her eyes, the set of her jaw, the way she held herself despite being terrified.
Just like before.
"No deal," I said.
The hope in her expression guttered like a candle. "What?"
"I said no deal. Take your righteous indignation and get out of my realm before I decide to keep you along with your precious Richard."
"But you said—"
"I said a lot of things. I'm the devil, angel. Lying is kind of my specialty." I gestured toward where the portal should reform. "Now leave. While I'm still feeling generous."
She didn't move. Just stood there, staring at me like I'd grown a second head.
"Why?" she asked.
Because you used to mean something to me. Because seeing you hurts worse than the fall did. Because if you stay here any longer, I might do something we'll both regret.
"Because I'm bored," I said instead. "And this stopped being entertaining about five minutes ago."