He hasn’t called me that in centuries.
My throat tightens, but my voice holds. “Zepharion took her.”
His expression doesn’t flicker—but I know him too well. I see it in his eyes, the sharp focus of a blade being honed. The stillness around him hardening into ice.
“Who?”
“My mate.”
Silence.
“Ourmate,” I correct, forcing the words out. “All three of us. He stole her. Bound her. And plans to finish the bond under false rites by nightfall.”
Raz exhales through his nose, the sound not quite a sigh. More like a curse held behind his teeth. “I promised myself I’d stay out of Hell’s politics,” he says flatly. “You know that.”
“I do.”
His gaze narrows, metallic and cold. “Then why are you here, D?”
“Because we wouldn’t be unless we needed you.” I drop my voice lower, let him hear the truth in it. “UnlessIneeded you.”
He stares at me, measuring, dissecting. Then he sets the glass down and folds his arms.
“Tell me.”
“Her name is Lillien,” I say, stepping closer. The words taste like iron. “But that’s not the name she was born with.”
Raz tilts his head, sharp as a hawk. “Go on.”
“She was raised in the mortal world. Hidden there. Her parents smuggled her out before Zepharion could claim her. There was a contract. Blood-written. Ancient. They knew what he would do. So they hid her in plain sight—left her with mortals. She didn’t even know she was a demon until recently.”
“And that’s when you found her,” Raz says.
Bastion rumbles from behind me. “Or she found us.”
Raz’s eyes return to mine. “So what’s her real name?”
I hesitate. Names are power. Names are truth. But this is Raz. He won’t misuse it.
“Isarienne,” I whisper. “Her true demon name is Isarienne.”
The sound of it thickens the air. Ancient, electric. Heavy with stormcloud weight.
“She was meant for him,” I say, my voice sharp as flint, “but she bonded with me. With us. A real bond. Unforced. Alive.”
“And she bonded with us too,” Bastion adds, steady. “Cassiel and I. And we bonded to Deimos.”
Raz’s gaze flicks over them. “I know. I can see it.”
Cassiel inclines his head. “We did it to strengthen our claim. To keep her grounded. So she wouldn’t unravel.”
Raz snorts, sharp and cutting. “Bullshit.”
Bastion bristles. “Excuse me?”
“You didn’t bond just to protect her,” Raz says, calm but razor-edged. “You bonded because the three of you already had threads binding you. Deny it all you want, but those ties aren’t new.”
Cassiel answers first, quiet but steady. “You’re not wrong.”
