The three females stay silent. They nibble and offer me food, which I decline. I can't eat without knowing about my parents. I'll puke it up.

Ezekiel narrows his eyes before two males zap into the room. They are wearing fitted black clothing, hoods covering their faces. In a flash, they drop to a knee, bowing their heads.

"These are my most prized trackers, my queen. They will not stop until your parents have been located. Whatever it takes, they will do it to retrieve and bring them here, where they will be safe under our king's powers." Ezekiel looks to the males, regarding them. "Sou li cata," he growls.

The men remove their hoods and lock eyes with me. "It is our honor to protect our queen's parents. This is what we have been trained for. We will not fail you, my queen," the male on the right states. His piercing azure eyes stare into my soul, demanding I listen to him.

I gasp when the tattoos covering his naked chest begin to slither around his flesh.

Ezekiel stands next to the males, watching them. "Do not fear what is to happen, my queen. This is how warriors pledge their loyalty. As you are their queen, it is your right to accept this pledge. Your king consents but knows the choice is yours," he states.

"What exactly will happen?" I don't miss how Ezekiel doesn't use the name Damon.

The warrior dips his shaved head to the right out of curiosity. I assume I'm not what he expects for a queen.

"These tattoos all serve a purpose. If you accept our pledge, one will slither from our body to yours. Our king will manipulate it where he desires it to be placed on your skin. Once we have located your parents, the tattoo will vibrate until it vanishes, returning to our skin." He presses his finger to a tattoo, pinching and tugging it until he's holding wiggly black lines in the air.

It's a marvel to witness.

"Your king agrees with this, Ezekiel?" I won't have another male's tattoo on my body if it will taunt Damon.

"Have you forgotten your way of communication with your king already, my queen? Ask your catuca what he thinks." Ezekiel's tone is teasing. It's the first I've heard since meeting the man.

Closing my eyes, I'm embarrassed to say I did forget. "Is it safe to speak with my catuca with these males?" I don't know the rules.

A tap to the underside of my breast has my breath hitching.

"They wouldn't be within striking distance of their queen if I didn't trust them with your life, Leah. No warrior will ever be near you unless your catuca and I know they are faithful in keeping silent. What you say here stays here. They know the risks they take if they betray their king and queen." Ezekiel's teasing vanishes, replaced with a hardness I feel deep in my bones.

He isn't playing around when it comes to Damon and me.

"Thank you."

Tapping Damon's chest must look weird to Irel, Elea, and the warriors. They see no one. I'm simply being held up by air.

"Am I allowed to call you by the name I've given you?"

Tap.

"Will you be jealous of these warrior's tattoos on my skin when I have no mark of yours?"

Teeth scrap across my throat, causing me to shudder.

"Do you have a tattoo I can wear?"

Tap.

"Do I need to do something to earn it?"

He nips my bottom lip, tugging it before sucking it to soothe the pain.

"Will it vanish like the warriors?"

Nip to the top of my breast.

I smile at his branding. He wants these males to know I'm his. I bet if I look in the mirror, there will be hickies all over my exposed skin.

Pride settles in my gut. He isn't ashamed of me.

Damon wants me for who I am, not for what I can bring him and his people.

Looking at the surrounding people makes me sink deeper into Damon's chest.

"Ezekiel, I want the truth. You know Damon better than anyone here. Is—"

"You have nothing to fear from Damon, Leah." He says with such conviction, I believe him. "You are it for my brother. His soul is yours and has been since he was born. That one minuscule feeling of your souls connecting was all it took for him to fall irreversibly in love with you. He saw you for who you were, Leah. Damon saw and felt everything. And if you give him this chance, he will give you the world. You will lack for nothing. Your happiness is his goal in life."

I don't understand how I can feel the truth from Ezekiel, but I know he isn't lying to me. I scratch at my skin, debating my decision.

"I won't lie and say there won't be hard times in the future. You are a sex demon queen, and that title comes with dangers. I've hand-picked and trained your personal bodyguards, Leah. You won't see half of them while out in public, as it's their job to blend in with the crowd. Like Bael and Cacus, your guards have the ability to go invisible. It's the best way to protect when no one knows you're there. Not even other sex demons can sense them besides myself and Damon, as we know how to hunt the invisible. This doesn't mean you won't live a fulfilling life by Damon's side because you will. If you give Damon a chance, I promise you will fall in love with him."

Damon hasn't stopped scent-marking me. His hand lifts my arm, trailing kisses. When he sucks a finger into his mouth, I damn near moan.

I sink my nails into his chest. "Do it. Transfer a tattoo, Damon."

The rumbling growl I've become accustomed to makes me relax, erasing all the tension between my shoulder blades.

A warmth spreads into my fingers and up my arms and circles my chest.

"Leah," Irel gasps. "Your chest. Look at your chest."

Listening, I tip my chin down. It's a cheesy tattoo I'll cherish for the rest of my life. Black ink swirls around my left breast in the shape of a heart. Two letters blaze orange in the center, with a blue lightning bolt slicing through them, melting them together as one.