Chapter 37

The sense of relief grew powerful within Jace’s heart. It was relief when he saw Zebedaios it was never certain when he would see the demon next. It had been far too long in his opinion.

This time seeing Zebedaios Jace was the one to step forward, closing the gap of icy air between them and kiss Zebedaios. He kissed back his arms snaking around Jace’s body and pulling him close. Jace struggled to take his gloves off while kissing the demon. The glow of the northern light above just made their kisses even more magical. Yet just the feeling of Zebedaios’ lips was all that Jace needed. He freed one of his hands from his gloves and grasped the side of Zebedaios’ face, deepening the kiss and the electrical feeling between them. In Phoenix society it was so rare to have skin on skin contact that it felt so intimate to be even holding hands, yet touching someone’s face was almost unheard of. Zebedaios was afraid, he didn’t shrink under Jace’s touch, though he had every reason to be scared. Zebedaios leaned into Jace’s touch, greedily wanting more of it.

Jace smiled, breaking away from the kiss. Stepping back just so he could take in the demon completely.

Zebedaios was wearing a simple black button up shirt and black trousers. The first button was not done up leaving his collar bone exposed. Jace wanted nothing more than to plant a kiss there. Instead he looked back up into the demon’s shattered eyes.

“I’m glad that you’re visiting but why?”

“You seemed a little bothered by something my Prince is the first reason and the second is a little more embarrassing, after we left the palace I was unable to enter again because of the wards,” Zebedaios explained with a playful smile.

“Oh,” Jace’s lips were rounded with the sound.

Zebedaios laughed a proper laugh and this time Jace could see the light and the humour in his shattered eyes, it was completely against all he had been told about demons. Jace soon had his own playful smile.

“It seems your magic is only becoming stronger lately,” Zebedaios said.

“Yes we have a little Myth Hunter issue, have you been outside in the snow for all this time?” Jace asked.

“Perhaps.”

“I’m so sorry, please come in,” Jace said, walking around the demon and opening the door to his bedroom.

Zebedaios looked inside a little uncertain. It was the first time Jace had ever seen anything other than smug confidence on the demon’s face. It made him all the more human, Jace’s heart raced just a little.

Zebedaios slowly walked up to the door frame, he put one arm out testing the wards but as he found the arm passing through the doorway with no ill effect his confidence grew and he stepped into Jace’s room, successfully passing through the wards and returning to the inside of the palace. Where Jace thought he belonged.

Jace followed him inside and closed the door.

Zebedaios’ smile had returned as he took in Jace’s room. He strutted right over to the Fae books where they rested on Jace’s small dining table by the window. The green light of outside filled Jace’s room as only a few candles were lit inside and the fireplace was burning low. Zebedaios placed a single finger on top of the stack of books before looking at Jace.

Jace exhaled dramatically. “Yes I thought you were a member of the Fae.”

Zebedaios’ shattered eyes examined the spines of the books. “A goblin it looks like. You were quite far off my Darling Prince.”

Jace approached the demon, his own confidence not dulled in his embarrassment. “Well I hardly expected you to be a demon.”

Zebedaios placed his mask atop the stack of books. “There are not many myths that need to hide their eyes as much as demons do.”

“Red is a dead give away for vampires,” said Jace.

“There was no way I could be a vampire and we both know it. You would have sniffed out a vampire very easily. Blood and roses is a difficult scent to hide.”

Jace was now very close to the demon again. “You’re just as alluring as one.”

Zebedaios leaned forward and kissed Jace on the forehead.

It was Jace’s turn to laugh. The demon smiled down at him and prowled past him. Jace watched him move as he looked at the fireplace burning low. With a wave of his hand, long fingers flexing, a sprinkle of darkness took logs of wood and placed them into the fireplace and the flames grew grasping at them. It bathed Zebedaios in orange light on one side and the low green on the other, his skin took both of the colours beautifully. He looked like a being of pure magic. Even his glossy black horns had flickering light dispersed throughout them.

Zebedaios continued to Jace’s bed, sitting and tapping the spot beside him. Jace could do nothing else but follow the demon. There was always the tinge of fear that Zebedaios would just disappear and Jace didn’t want to waste the time he had with Zebedaios being too far away from him.

“Now my Darling Prince, what was bothering you so much on the balcony?” Zebedaios said, tilting his head to the side to take in all of Jace’s face.

Jace was suddenly choked up. He hadn’t expected the demon to care so much about what he was feeling. He was ok with his relationship with the demon being purely physical yet Zebedaios’ eyes had true empathy in them, he was expecting an answer from Jace.

“Just my girlfriend, she has been caught by the curse and I’m just regretting a lot,” Jace explained.

“The romance curse? Nasty business yet it has fed me quite a lot,” Zebedaios said honestly.

Jace smiled sadly, “At least someone is benefiting from it.”

“Sorry, that was insensitive. I wish I had some kind of answer for you on how to break it. I believe it lies solely on the person who decides to court a royal Phoenix, if they can accept the situation for what it is then everything would play out a little better, it seems to be as a long of them believe that their love can change everything,” Zebedaios said, speaking more than Jace had ever heard before.

His words were wise too. Like he had seen many of these relationships play out before him.

Jace sighed. “I have to keep up appearances and pretend to be her boyfriend for the rest of her visit it seems. Meanwhile she is saying increasingly horrible things about not only Nikita but Lynn as well. It all seems like such a waste of time, yet I have no one to blame but myself. And then the Myth Hunters are scheming something as well.”

Zebedaios placed his hand over Jace’s. “You are far stronger than the Myth Hunters give you credit for. Any attack they might have planned I’m sure you’ll be ready for. As for the rest of this month, my Prince, allow me to help you relax.”

Jace’s heart was aglow as Zebedaios leaned forward and kissed him.