you—to gain control.'
'Oh, Saer doesn't have the ring with him,' Belinda said as she set down on a small round table a pot of coffee, two mugs, and a plate of toast. She fussed over setting the breakfast things out, evidently not in the least aware of the stunned silence that stretched between Adrian and me. Eventually we managed to gather our tired wits.
'He doesn't?' I asked at the same time as Adrian demanded to be told the ring's whereabouts.
Belinda looked up from the table, blinking in surprise at both of us. 'No, he doesn't have it. He said it was too risky to use the ring to summon minions, so he left it with me.'
I stared at her for five seconds, a sudden giddy happiness threatening to burst out of me as Adrian grabbed Belinda by both arms, shaking her in his impatience to get the answer. 'Where is it? Where exactly is it?'
'I have it,' she said, her teeth chattering a little as she reached up to her neck, pulling on a gold chain that was looped beneath her bathrobe. She tugged it up until a familiar horn-and-gold ring emerged.
'My ring!' I yelled, tears of relief pricking my eyes.
'
Adrian's eyes glowed hot as he watched it, his fingers twitching as if he wanted to take it. 'Saer said it was his.'
'Yes, well, I'm the one who originally borrowed it,' I said. 'I gave it to Saer thinking he was Adrian. If you don't mind, I'd like it back.'
Her fingers closed around the ring as I reached for it, a mulish, hard expression on her face. 'As it is, I do mind. Saer said this ring will free Damian. I can't give it to you until my son is safe.'
'Nell is a Charmer,' Adrian said, his voice rough and harsh as if he were fighting for control of himself. 'She stole the ring to save Damian.'
'I did not steal it!' I glared at Adrian, mouthing that I was going to get him when we were alone. 'I simply borrowed it. I have every intention of returning it to Christian just as soon as I'm done with it.'
'Nell has sworn to help Damian,' Adrian said. I nodded. 'She is the only hope of freeing him without releasing a power greater than any of us can imagine. You know Saer. You know what he is capable of. You must trust us.'
'Please, Belinda.' I touched her arm. 'Adrian is right. I've sworn to do everything within my abilities to release your son from his bondage, but I must have the ring to do so.'
'Saer is a little… confused, I freely admit that. He's changed the last few years, become a stranger, but even so, I know he would never harm Damian—' she started to protest.
'It is not for Damian's sake he desires the ring,' Adrian said softly.
I sent a puzzled frown his way, then remembered that Saer was evidently willing to sacrifice Belinda in order to gain power. Such a monster as I was coming to realize he was wouldn't even blink about leaving his son in the hands of a demon lord.
Belinda looked from me to Adrian, indecision clearly visible behind the tears that filled her eyes. 'I don't know what to think. Saer said he would free Damian, and now you say Nell is the only hope. But I don't know her. I don't know that she will do what she says she will do, that she will save Damian. He is only a child!'
'She will save him. She is my Beloved—she cannot do otherwise,' Adrian said, his voice smooth with persuasion.
Belinda looked back at me. I tried to look like someone who went up against demon lords every day of the week without batting an eyelash. Finally she nodded, and pulled the chain over her head, dropping it and the ring into my waiting hand. 'If you truly are Adrian's Beloved, then I will trust you.'
'You won't regret it,' I promised, clutching the ring tightly in my hand. It was warm from being next to her skin, but it seemed to glow hot for a moment as I held it. I flashed Adrian a triumphant smile, slipping the chain over my head before I shoved my arms into my coat. 'Come on, sweetcakes, we have a demon lord to crush!'
Adrian grabbed me by the back of my coat as I rushed past him. He nodded toward the window. 'Loath as I am to waste any time, I cannot go out in that.'
'Damn,' I swore, glaring at the fading gray. Blue sky was showing before rapidly dispersing clouds. 'Why is it that just when you want a nice overcast day, the sun insists on coming out?'
'I wouldn't allow you to go now even if it was midnight,' Adrian said as he took my hand in his. 'You are too tired. It would be the sheerest folly to charm when you are so tired you can hardly stand. We will rest until the sun goes down.'
'But—' I started to protest.
'Damian—' Belinda said at the same time.
Adrian raised his free hand, silencing both of us. 'Asmodeus will not harm Damian until he has the ring. Damian will be safe until tonight when Nell will free him. But she needs rest to do that. We had little sleep yesterday and none last night. I hate to impose on your goodwill—'
'You're welcome to stay here,' Belinda interrupted quickly. I could tell she didn't like to wait any more than I did, but she saw the sense in what Adrian said. As did I, although I hated to admit that he was right about me being exhausted, and I noticed he didn't include himself in that statement despite the fact that I could feel him weakened by both hunger and lack of sleep.
He shook his head. 'If Saer was to come back unexpectedly, he could harm Nell. Do you still have a cot in your office behind the pub?'
'Yes,' she answered, eyeing him in a familiar way that sent my hackles up, hostess or no hostess. 'But it is meant for one person, and you're rather large—'
I stepped closer to him and gave her a firm look. 'A cot will be lovely, thank you. Adrian can sleep on the cot, and I'll sleep on him.'
She had the grace to look away, her cheeks slightly rosy as she hurried off to the next room. 'I will get the key to the pub.'
'Nell,' Adrian said. I watched in amazement as his eyes changed from deep sapphire to a light steel-blue. 'I know what you're thinking.'
I raised my eyebrows in faux horror. 'You know I am planning on jumping your bones the second I get you alone?'
'I know you are planning to slip out once I'm asleep. I know you intend to free Damian without me.'
My eyebrows dropped back to their normal position as I slipped into the most innocent look I could muster. 'I never once thought that.'
'No?'
I couldn't meet those knowing eyes. I glanced down, picking at a piece of invisible lint on my sleeve. 'No. Not seriously. The idea might have flitted through my brain, but I didn't consider it. Not for long.'
'Good. It is an idea that goes beyond foolish. To attempt to best Asmodeus without me to help you would be suicide, and that'—his fingers caressed my chin as they tilted my face upward—'I could never allow. You are too important to me.'
'Face it,' I said, rubbing the tip of my nose on his. 'You're madly in love with me. You'd be lost without me. I'm your earth and sun and everything in between.'
I held my breath as I waited for his response to my half-joking statement. I knew he desired me, knew he needed my blood, knew we were bound together in ways I couldn't begin to understand, but I had no idea whether or not his feelings for me were more than physiological.
His lips parted to speak.
'I found the key for you. It would probably be best if you two entered the pub via the back way, so no one will see you.'
Adrian turned away as Belinda entered the room. I swore to myself, cursing her bad timing. What had he been about to say to me? His eyes were shuttered, giving me no clue, and now I wouldn't know.
I would just have to find out once we were alone. Adrian gave Belinda instructions to wake us a few hours before sunset, so we would have time to prepare for the ritual I'd be conducting—or trying to—that evening. I accepted the package of food she'd made up for me, and waited by the door attempting to hide my impatience, praying Adrian would finish talking so we could make our escape to the office below. Tired as I was, I had plans for him… plans which included not only a little therapeutic lovemaking, but the consumption of breakfast as well.
'You know, I have a very good feeling about this,' I said over my shoulder to Adrian as I marched down the
