Read Ties That Bind: A Muse Urban Fantasy (The Veil Series Book 5) for Free Online Page A

hurt too much to recall.
    “What is that, Father?” I turned my head and lifted my gaze. My father’s eyes glowed a brilliant yellow. He tilted his brutish face, ruby lips parted. I might have thought his expression was amusement, but I couldn’t decipher it, not really. The cheekbones were too harsh, cheeks too hollow. I would have to watch him closely, learn what his expressions meant, if I had any hope of besting him.
    He bowed his head. “I am the Prince of Lust. Your brother wielded lust like a sharpened blade. It is time you were taught to do the same.”
    Oh, god. Just when I thought it couldn’t get any worse. I pinned a shallow smile to my lips and hoped to hell he didn’t see the fear in my eyes. “Then let us begin.”

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    I’d wondered since discovering who my father was if I had a weakness for lust. I’d tried to avoid encouraging that part of me. Call it denial, but it kept me sane. Mostly. Now, as I stood in front of a whimpering half-blood male, with my father looming hot and huge behind me, I regretted not having explored the matter before that moment.
    Asmodeus had shooed the syrupy netherworld air from the chamber, allowing the human half-blood to breathe without choking. He was a sorry thing. Skin hung off his bones. Eyes frightened. Mind gone. I looked down at him and saw what I had once been. He looked back at me, pitiful, whimpering—as I’d once looked up at Damien—and I nearly threw up.
    “Show me lust.” Asmodeus’s words pushed at my mind.
    Lust. Right. I had no idea what I was supposed to do, and behind my demon smile, I scrambled around in my memories for any clue as to how to convince my father I could do this without actually doing it. My brother had been the epitome of lust. He’d had me salivating at his feet, eager to do his bidding. He’d destroyed Jenna’s human mind and made her his minion. As far as I could remember, he’d done it all with touch, but there had to be more to it. I’d touched plenty of people and didn’t turn them into salivating lunatics. Sure, I was only half a thing, nothing like my brother, but I must have had something in me for Asmodeus to pursue it. Or did he want to watch me fail?
    “Begin.” Asmodeus grumbled.
    My fingers twitched. If my father thought me weak, this charade of mine would end. If we threw down here, I might walk away. Or I might not. Either way, I’d have blown my chances of getting answers right out of the water. He’d definitely live, and he’d rally the princes against me. I wasn’t ready for that. I needed Jerry by my side before we came to blows. I needed a way to stop the princes for good.
    Stretching out my wing, I crouched down in front of the man and draped my arms over my knees. He pulled back, trying to disappear into the wall behind him. Nobody had saved this one the way Akil had saved me. He didn’t have a name. He was a toy, passed around the demons until they tired of him. I knew what that nightmare was like.
    Saliva pooled in my mouth. My smile twisted and died. It didn’t matter. My father couldn’t see, but the half-blood did. He’d see the humanity in my eyes, the sympathy there. What hope did he have? Perhaps a dose of lust might clear the degradation from his mind. For a while, he wouldn’t care about anything else, and maybe that would be a blessing. If I could do this…
    I drew in a breath through my teeth. The half blood flinched. Snivels and hitches babbled from his lips. I reached out my hand, but he cringed away. Ah, my heat . My demon skin would burn his.
    “Why do you delay?”
    “I like to tease them.” The words cut as I forced them through my teeth. “I’m sorry,” I mouthed. The half blood’s eyes widened. He sprang at me, sensing weakness in my apology. I jerked back, more startled than hurt. His cool hands locked around my throat. We tumbled, and almost immediately, the alarmingly succulent smell of cooking flesh filled my nostrils. If I reverted to human, my father