Eyes bright, Alethea laughed and pointed a finger at Harper. “And you thought he couldn’t be caged.” She laughed again, turning to face Knox. “See, no one is omnipotent.”

Knox simply looked at her, bored. Her smugness faded. She seemed … disappointed. As if she’d expected panic and anger.

Alethea jutted out her chin, defensive. “It was easy enough to capture you once we discovered what you are.”

They know what I am? Knox asked Harper.

They seem to think they do.

Jonas tilted his head. “I must admit, I was surprised when Drew told me that you’re a phoenix. They are so few of them left. No more than a handful. But it makes sense. They’re strong, powerful, and dangerous. They’re also practically impossible to destroy, since they are reborn from their ashes over and over. But there are ways to kill them for good. And we know just how to make sure you’re not reborn this time.”

It didn’t surprise Knox whatsoever that they were still clueless as to what breed of demon he was. Still, he said nothing.

How tough is that damn box? Harper asked Knox.

It can’t keep me contained. It’s designed to keep a phoenix contained. I’m not a phoenix. He could pyroport out of it, no problem. Let them relax in the illusion that they’re safe, baby. The shuck and the hellcat will relax too and hang back a little, giving Asher space. Then I can pyroport to him and take him to Davis and Noelle. Levi and Tanner will deal with the hellcat and the shuck, and you and I can then take out these other motherfuckers.

I absolutely adore my part in your plan, but don’t wait too long to act. Alethea and Jonas plan to get a video of Asher being torn apart by the two beasts while we’re caged and forced to watch.

Bastards. His demon roared its fury, but it kept a grip on its control. Is there a reason the shuck keeps whining and acting odd?

If there is, I haven’t the faintest clue what it could be. Where’s Levi and Tanner?

They’re close. And they’d follow what orders Knox had given them.

A smirk spread across Alethea’s face as she tapped her nail on the glass box. “I’ll bet you’re surprised to learn that Jonas and I are Horsemen. I’ll bet you didn’t think I was smart enough to carry out such a plan. Wrong. Jonas and I have worked together every step of the way.” She slung a put-out look at Jonas, adding, “Except for the part where you tried getting an alliance with Lucifer and the use of an archdemon, of course. You’d failed to tell me about that.”

“Which I apologized for,” Jonas said through gritted teeth. “Let it go.”

She sniffed. “Fine. Let’s get on with this. I’ve been looking forward to the moment when Knox would be forced to watch his mate and child die.”

Harper glared at them. “You could really stand there while two beasts tore an innocent child to pieces?”

Pursing his lips, Jonas was quiet for a moment. Then he smiled and glanced at Harper over his shoulder. “Yes, I believe I can.”

“I guess it’s not like you haven’t killed a kid before,” Harper clipped, referring to whatever demonic child was sacrificed to free the incorporeal.

“No, it’s not,” Jonas freely admitted. “I first killed a child when I was seven. Cordell ordered it done. As I said, he was insane. Being without an anchor was too much for him.”

Harper’s face fell. “He forced you to kill other children?” She sounded unable to wrap her head around it.

“I can’t count the number of times I whipped or caned another child for ‘rebuking’ his advances or some imaginary slight.” Fury blazed in Jonas’s eyes. “That sick fuck liked children, you see. He would take in stray demons and their children; then he would kill the adults and keep the children for himself.”

“He had a household full of them,” added Alethea, voice flat, gaze focused inward. “He liked to hurt them. Abuse them. Most of all, he relished their fear.”

“If they bored him—and by bore him, I mean if they didn’t show the appropriate amount of fear when he hurt them—he would make one of the other children kill them.” Jonas swallowed. “His sentinels were of the same ilk as him, and so he sometimes shared us with them. Some were particularly brutal.”

Despite what they’d been through, Knox couldn’t find it in him to feel any sympathy for two people who were planning to sic two beasts on his son and then kill his mate.

Harper frowned. “You were initially stray demons?”

“Little history lesson,” said Jonas. “There was once a Prime by the name of Houston Steward—Knox will remember him. He was my father; Alethea’s father. He wasn’t extremely powerful, but he was strong. Good. Honorable. A true leader. But his lair was small, and larger lairs kept coming along, plucking the strongest members out of our lair. It got smaller and smaller, until it was too weak to stand on its own. The remaining demons were forced to become strays or join other lairs. Only those who were utterly loyal to my father stayed.”

“The other lairs were well-aware that ours was so frequently targeted,” added Alethea. “Some did try to help when he appealed to them for aid. Nora—she was Prime of Dario’s lair at the time—tried. Isla’s old Prime, Rhea, also tried; Isla was actually one of her sentinels at the time, so she did what she could at Rhea’s command. But did the other Primes offer to help him? No.” Her upper lip curled. “They were happy to take in those who fled the sinking ship.”

Jonas placed a supportive hand on her shoulder. “It wasn’t until the death toll got too high that the other Primes acted. Our father was dead by then. The other Primes didn’t care about that. They didn’t care about the lives that were lost. They only stepped in because those deaths came close to attracting human attention,” he said bitterly.

“Our mother fled with us.” Alethea’s eyes dulled with pain. “Cordell took us in, killed her, and made our lives a living hell. We had another sibling. Isaac was only three.”

Jonas let out a shaky breath. “He was so small and frail. His body couldn’t take Cordell’s brutal ways. He died of internal injuries. And all that could have been avoided if the other Primes had just united to stand with our father. Instead, they turned a blind eye.” He glared at Knox. “You turned a blind eye. If you had stood with my father, the others would have left him alone out of blind terror.”

“You’re not being realistic,” said Knox, bluntly. “Either that or you aren’t fully aware of the truth.”

Alethea’s hands balled up into fists. “We know the truth.”

“Then you know that your father aimed to build an army and declare war.” He noticed the way both siblings stiffened, but Knox went on, “He approached demons from many lairs and tried persuading them to join his side and be an ‘inside man’ for him, much like you did with Roan.”

Houston had even tried it with Knox’s demons. Loyal to the bone, they’d come to Knox about it. He’d warned Houston that if he attempted such a thing again, Knox would put him through a world of pain. Houston hadn’t bothered him after that.

“The Primes that targeted your father didn’t do so merely because his lair was small,” said Knox. “They did it because he was trying to turn their own demons against them. He’d even succeeded with some and ordered them to kill certain members of the lairs—often the anchors of the Primes or sentinels. Such a thing would never go ignored. I’m not sure who led you to believe he was good and honorable, but that isn’t the truth.”

“Then why would Nora and Rhea have stood at his side?” Alethea challenged, red-faced, eyes blazing.

“He had strong alliances with them. The rest of the Primes, including me, suspected that Nora and Rhea had agreed to band with him to form an army, but we couldn’t be sure, so no action was taken against them. Your father brought that devastation upon himself. His family, however, didn’t deserve to suffer for it. It’s regretful that you did—”