Page 113 of White Hot Kiss
“I’m also a Warden!”
Anger snapped from Abbot’s eyes. “A Warden would never have worked with a demon!”
“Father,” Zayne growled.
I was too caught up in my anger to recognize that Zayne was now talking. “Obviously a Warden has done more than just worked with a demon before! Hello? How else am I here?”
“Did you sleep with the demon?” Abbot demanded.
I was so caught off guard by that question that most of the anger was zapped out of me. “What?”
“Are you still a virgin?”
Whoa. The level of awkwardness in the room mirrored the tension and rage. “What does that have to do with anything?”
“Answer me!” Abbot roared.
I blanched and then flushed. “I didn’t sleep with him or anyone. Jesus.” Abbot’s shoulders slumped with relief, so much so that my suspicion went through the roof. “Why? What’s the big deal?”
Zayne’s body was taut. “Yeah, I’d like to know what the big deal is myself.”
His father scoffed. “Why else would a demon her age be hovering around her? Her innocence or the loss of such is a part of the incantation.”
“What?” My voice hit an all-new high. “I have to remain a freaking virgin?” And then the bigger picture formed. “You know what’s in the incantation?”
The three males in the room were now definitely not looking at me as Abbot spoke. “Yes. We had to know so that we could prevent it from being carried out.”
I wondered how in the world they expected to do that when they never felt the need to tell me anything. “What is it?”
Abbot arched a brow. “Did your demon not tell you?”
Irritation pricked me. “My demon didn’t know what was in the incantation. That’s why we were getting the book, so we’d know how to stop it.” And I was pretty sure if Roth had known that part, he so would’ve said something.
There was a pause. “The incantation requires the blood of Lilith dead, and the loss of your innocence. Not just the status of your...well, we’ve established that, but your innocence is also tied to your demonic ability. Its loss is total if you’ve taken a soul.”
My mouth dried. “A soul?”
Abbot nodded. “Besides the moral implications of you taking a soul, that’s why it is so important that you never debase yourself.”
I wasn’t sure if he was talking about the sex thing or the taking-a-soul part. I threw myself into the chair, numb. Oh, my God, I had taken a soul, which meant that three of the four things required for the incantation to work were already set in motion.
“I think we need to take a few seconds,” Zayne said, focusing on his father. “Layla would never have done any of this if it wasn’t for that demon. She’s a Warden, but she’s young and—”
“Naive?” Abbot shot back, hands curling into fists. “She knows better than to allow a demon to use her. She is not blameless.”
“She is not completely at fault, either,” Zayne argued, and while I wanted to point out I wasn’t naive, I kept my mouth shut. “She has never...” He didn’t look at me, but I saw him swallow. “She’s never had...”
It struck me then what he was trying to say. “Never had anyone pay attention to me before?”
Zayne didn’t respond, but I knew that was what he was trying to say, and my chest squeezed painfully. Damn, that was insulting, and unintentionally hurtful.
“Regardless, she knows better.” Abbot let out a disgusted breath. “You should’ve come to us in the beginning.”
I looked up. “You should’ve told me the truth.”
We were at a stalemate. Both of us had lied. Both of us should’ve come to each other. A whole bunch of shoulda, coulda, woulda. Silence stretched out, and I didn’t know what else to say. I’d told Abbot everything—well, almost everything—and he didn’t believe me. My earlier conviction that I could convince him was dust in the wind.
“How did you know?” I asked quietly.