Contractually Yours, Alpha by Giftemmy

Chapter Two Hundred and One

My thoughts drifted to Ash. Could he have been stupid enough to come back here with Daemon present?

Something told me Daemon wouldn’t be pleased about me seeing him behind his back.

A small sense of relief washed over me when I realized the footsteps approaching weren’t from a man. There was something feminine, something familiar about them.

It was Empress Julia.

Of course, I would recognize the sound of her footsteps; I had spent over a decade of my life listening to them.

Daemon seemed genuinely surprised. “How did you find this place?” he asked.

“I can’t say. You see, it’s a small secret, Trian–I guess that’s the name you stole.”

Daemon’s eyes drifted from her face to the object she held in her hand: the Nexus Amulet. She had somehow gotten it out of the transparent glass container–perhaps that explained the noise that had alerted us we weren’t alone.

Daemon all but

tsk. Not

he was about to lunge for her.

get to me fast enough, Trian. I’ll be gone before you even move an inch,

muttered to himself, as if in denial. That only made Julia’s

smile widen.

I am,” she said

could feel the tension

we were searching for was living under our roof. I have to say, I’m more than impressed. More than that, you even got me to trust you. I can’t believe we

her trust.

He

feel so stupid,” she muttered. I was about to

Wow, was I stupid. But you didn’t just fool me–you fooled us all. Here I thought a good–looking man was wasting away in the pit, only you weren’t there. You saw an opening and you took

as if expecting a response from Daemon. When none

to the chase. The amulet,