Blood and Sin (The Infernari Book 1) by Laura Thalassa, Dan Rix Page B

about him sounded big . Predatory. It made me want my daggers all over again just to feel a little less intimidated.
    He came over, his footfalls sounding heavy against the cement floor. The closer he got, the angrier I became. Because on one level he scared the shit out of me, but on another, I enjoyed looking at him. He was all coiled muscle. And the harsh set of his features, they were worn on a handsome face. His nose was a little crooked—no doubt a result of violence—and tiny white scars speckled his face and neck. All of it attractive in a very rugged way.
    He stopped right at the bars, leaning his forearms against them as he stared inside.
    The movement was supposed to seem casual, but those eyes of his had a vendetta in them. And this close . . . We believe the soul sits in the eyes. And his dark ones were burning.
    “Why’d you come topside?” Brad asked.
    “She had blood bags on her when I found her,” Asher said. “She was trafficking them back to Abyssos.”
    I fixated on Asher’s forearms as he spoke. They were thick, corded things, and he pressed them right against the bars. Close enough to cull from.
    I lunged.
    He moved away before I even came close.
    I slammed my palms into the metal bars, jarring them ever so slightly. “You filthy carcass! Let me out!”
    “Do that again, and I’ll snap your wrist.”
    “I’d like to see you try,” I said.
    Brad sighed in exasperation and faced his friend. “You want to let me work, or you want to fuck it all up? Now, you mentioned earlier there was a gatekeeper . . . Fidel, right? How’d you end up with her?”
    “She stumbled across us and healed the bastard while I was trying to kill it . . . from half a mile away.”
    Brad stared at him. “She healed him?”
    Asher grunted in affirmation.
    Brad gave a low whistle. “That ain’t good. I thought you were in balls deep before, but shit. This time you might be beyond saving.”
    That didn’t seem to scare Asher. Or if it did, he didn’t wear his fear. Not like most natives.
    “Why?” The notorious hunter readjusted his stance to grip the cell’s iron crossbeam high above my head. My gaze drifted down his corded arms to where his abs peeked out from beneath the edge of his shirt.
    I forced my gaze away from him, but not before I caught a glimpse of his narrowed eyes.
    Brad ran a hand over his face. “Last I heard, there were two healers left. One is the primus dominus—he was one of the warring demon lords during their civil war. He now rules over all demonkind.”
    My pacing got more agitated.
    Asher’s eyes flicked to me before returning to Brad. “The other?” he asks lazily.
    “His beloved daughter, the princess of Abyssos. My guess is, we’re looking at her.”
    Asher studied me with more interest.
    “He doesn’t have any daughters,” Asher said.
    “Infernari—”
    “ Demons ,” Asher corrected.
    “—think of family in more ways than we do,” Brad said. “Those that share affinities consider themselves connected through their powers.”
    “Is this true?” Asher asked me.
    My upper lip curled. “Like I would tell you.”
    He and Brad shared a look, one I couldn’t begin to understand.
    “Yo, take five,” said Brad, nodding toward the hallway. “Let me talk to her alone.”
    Asher hesitated, and for just an instant, I saw more than just a burning soul in those eyes of his. And in that instant he looked at me like Brad had, like I was something beautiful and captivating. Then the look was gone, swallowed up by his hate.
    He scowled at me, but gave his friend a jerky nod. “I’ll be in my room.” He backed away from the cage.
    “Bye Asher,” I said, lifting my hand and flashing him that finger these humans found so offensive.
    “You haven’t seen the last of me, demon,” he said. And then he was gone.
    Now it was just me and Brad.
    “The bad interrogator left. The good one remains. And I’m still not going to talk.”
    “Listen, I get it, you want to