LITMIR.BIZ

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      With a smirk, Lazarus snaked an arm around her waist and led her to the table. He pulled out her chair, ever the gentleman. “Please, have a seat on the quitter bench.”

      Muscles contracted at both corners of her mouth as if...as if... Nope. The sensation eased, and disappointment flared. Sighing, she sat down.

      He eased into the chair across from hers, light and shadows flickering over his rugged features. Taking turns caressing him? Lucky lights. Lucky shadows.

      He smiled as he filled her plate with flaky crab meat in a butter cream sauce, mixed vegetables steamed to perfection, and a casserole that smelled suspiciously like...

      “Doritos?” she asked.

      “At the Harpy Games, you ate a bag of the cheese-flavored chips while cheering for your friend, so I had a special dish prepared.” He hiked a shoulder in a casual shrug. “One of the newly deceased members of my staff had a recipe.” His dark eyes twinkled at her. “Are you impressed?”

      She sooo did not want to admit the truth, but unlike Gideon, the keeper of Lies, deceit wasn’t her thing and it would only fuel Misery’s power over her. “Yes,” she grumbled, and toasted him with her glass of wine. “I am.”

      He’d noticed her before she’d even met him. How sweet was that?

      She toasted him with a glass of red wine and added, “Here’s hoping you disappoint me the rest of the evening.”

      “Alas. Your hopes are for naught. Disappointment is a feat I’ve never managed.”

      “I’m sure,” she grumbled.

      “You sound jealous. Are you jealous?”

      “You sound hopeful. Are you hopeful?”

      His husky chuckle proved headier than the cabernet. “For dessert, we’re having chocolate cake. I’m told mortals think this one is better than sex.”

      Hmm, chocolate. Despite her lack of appetite, she sometimes craved chocolate as if it were the only path to happiness. “Well. Meet your competition. I’m tempted to spend the night with the cake.”

      “In that case...” He lifted a round lid, revealing the chocolate cake in question. With his free hand, he stabbed his knife into the center. “Unfortunately, this cake has been murdered.”

      She snickered—no, Misery swallowed the sound before it had a chance to escape, leaving her deflated.

      “When first I arrived in your realm,” she said, jumping from pleasure to business for the sake of her sanity, “a man noticed I’m living rather than dead. How?”

      He rolled with the punches, not missing a beat. “When a living being passes through the Paring Rod, their body becomes a type of suit. It’s there, the dead can see it, but the spirit shimmers through it.”

      Interesting. “How many living—”

      “Nope. My turn to ask a question.” He leaned back in his seat and regarded her intently. “You’ve mentioned your desire to find Pandora’s box. What are your plans for it?”

      “I’m...undecided,” she admitted. No option struck her as “the one.”

      She could destroy the box and sentence herself to an eternity with Misery and without hope. She could open the box and remove Misery, but she would kill herself and all of her friends.

      Rumors stated anyone demon possessed would die when the box was opened, the demons sucked out of their bodies. Because evil had become an organ over the centuries. A cancerous but necessary organ. Without it, a gaping wound remained. She and the others would hemorrhage.

      Kane, the former keeper of Disaster, had proved the demon possessed could survive the wound...if love replaced the evil. A transplant, of sorts.

      Love conquered all.

      But who could love a woman like Cameo?

      “I’m surprised you haven’t worked up a disposal plan.” Lazarus glared at her. “The box can be used as a weapon against you and everyone you love.”

      How to explain her selfish desire to be rid of Misery without coming across as, well, selfish? “Keeley, the girlfriend of Torin—”

      “The keeper of Disease, whom you used to date. Yes.” He gave a clipped nod. “I know of them both.”

      Was he jealous? No, no. He couldn’t be. No man had ever envied another’s affiliation with her. Especially a man who only wanted one night in her bed, planning to bail in the morning.

      Only because he can’t tolerate another minute in your presence...

      Only. Stupid demon!

      “Continue,” Lazarus said through gritted teeth.

      “Yes,” she said. “I dated him. We didn’t last long, and he’s now with the love of his life. Anyway. She’s the most powerful immortal I’ve ever known. More powerful than you, I’d bet.”

      “I wouldn’t put money on that. You haven’t seen me in action.”

      Shivers as delicious as his touch, heat burning through her veins. In battle, he would be a magnificent sight, his sword in hand, the blood of his enemies splattered over his skin.

      “Anyway,” she said with a sigh, “Keeley told me there’s another being inside the box.”

      Lazarus drained his wine and nodded. “Yes. The Morning Star.”

      Eyes widening, she dropped her fork. “What do you know?” Keeley claimed the Morning Star could provide a lifeline for every Lord. A type of Hail Mary.

      Lazarus buffed his nails, doing a poor job of hiding his smug grin. “Would you like to buy the information from me?”

      With her body? “You think I’ll be okay with whoring for you?”

      “Of course,” he said, unrepentant. “Role-playing is fun.”

      Dirty-minded bastard. Why was he sexier right now? “No? I mean, no.” If he knew about the Morning Star, others knew. Cameo could ask around. “Now it’s my turn. Why do you plan to marry a woman you may not love?”

      He pretended to stab himself in the heart. “Way to kill the mood.”

      Exactly!

      “I plan to marry a woman I do not love because her army will merge with mine, and together we will mete out vengeance when my enemies enter the realm of the dead.”

      “Vengeance matters more than pleasure?”

      He could have insisted on taking his turn but, over the candlelight, he reflected her somberness back at her. “For me, vengeance is the ultimate pleasure.” The hardness of his tone transformed the words into a vow.

      One she had best heed.

      Her shoulders rolled in, pushed by the heaviness of disappointment. Perhaps she’d begun to hope. Perhaps she’d thought he would be the one to help her, maybe even save her. He could tolerate her voice, after all, and he found her attractive. Lazarus for the win!

      But he would never choose her, would he? She would always be a conquest, unimportant, easily forgotten. As if she had any right to judge. But. He wouldn’t fight for her if—when—she forgot him.

      Who would? Misery asked.

      “You’re not going to score tonight,” she told him softly. “In fact, you need to leave.” Before she started to cry.

      * * *

      Viola, goddess of the Afterlife, secret love child of parents she refused to name, and an all-round badass, crossed her arms over her chest and stared down at Urban and Ever. The pair had seriously interfered with her plans to hide from the monster on her tail, steal powerful artifacts lost throughout the ages, and unite the different spirit realms. Her birthright!

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