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 CONTENTS

Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35

Other books by Debbie Cassidy

About the Author
 Copyright © 2020, Debbie Cassidy
All Rights Reserved

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations,

places, events, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or
are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or
locales is entirely coincidental.
This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or
otherwise, be lent, re-sold, duplicated, hired out, or otherwise circulated without
the publisher’s prior written consent in any form of binding or cover other than
that in which it is published and without similar condition including this condition
being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.

Cover by Sanja Gombar

 CHAPTER ONE

“G et up,” Azazel ordered. “Get up and fight me.”

I pulled myself off the mat and shook off the pain
radiating through my body. “Seriously?” I rolled my shoulders. “You
need to get laid or something because there is a whole load of
tension running through your body, and you’re channeling it into—
Fuck!”
I dove out of the way to avoid a body slam.
He ground smoothly to a halt and turned to face me. “You talk
too much. It will get you killed.”
“Or.” I held up a finger. “It might buy me time. You know, most
villains love the sound of their own voices. Monologues are a key
factor in any evil scheme. If I can get the bad guy talking …”
He circled me, and my heart rate did that crazy pitter-patter-thud
that it always did when he was near lately. He was like a predator—a
powerful, silver-haired, growly predator—that, half the time, I wasn’t
so sure I wanted to run away from.
It was that darn mark. It had to be messing with my head. Or
maybe it was just the fact that I knew it was there.
That he didn’t know.
That he might see it.
That he might find out he was my… No. Fuck that. No way.
I fell into a defensive stance, then, shifting to attack mode, let
loose a battle cry and charged him.
 His eyes widened in shock. Yes! Didn’t see this coming, did you?
But then his lips curved in a smile.
What? No. Was he laughing at me? I was so going to—
Slam into his forearm, because he’d stepped to the side and put
his arm out.
I lay on the mat, winded, embarrassed, and pissed off. Fucking
hell, was I moving in slow motion or something?
“I hate you.” My words came out as a wheeze.
Why couldn’t we train at night when his vision was compromised.
He wasn’t completely blind at night, but he didn’t see like regular
people. Just auras and shapes, or so Mal had told me. Not that it
affected the way he moved, but still, I’m sure I’d be able to get the
drop on him then, right?
I studied his powerful shoulders in the workout vest. The way
they bunched as he crossed his arms and stood looking down his
nose at me. The man was a tank, a powerhouse, a fucking killing
machine. Hell, I could probably poke his eyes out, and he’d still find
me. Probably by the scent of my adrenaline. I bet he had super sniff
power, too.
“You did good,” he said.
“You’re insane. You call this good?”
“You didn’t bleed today.” And then he turned and walked out of
the room.
Fucker.

I a glass of water and refilled it.

glugged
“You look like something I’d scrape off my shoe,” Cora said,
sauntering in and plopping herself onto the nearest seat.
“Just say it. I look like shit. I know it. I do have eyes.” I
smoothed back tendrils of hair that were stuck to my forehead. “I
need a shower and a massage. I ache so bad I’m tempted to take
Iza up on her butt rub offer.”
 Cora snorted. “I’m sure she’d love to get her hairy little hands on
your gluttonous maximus.”
“It’s gluteus not gluttonous, and for the hundredth time, she is
not in love with me.”
This was the latest from Cora and Cyril. They both believed that
Iza had a crush on me. Ridiculous, of course. The imp was merely
doing her job, and very well, too. I had baths run for me, clothes
washed and ironed, and she even put a heating pad in my bed every
night to help soothe my aches from training. Over the past month,
I’d learned to accept that the more I asked her to chill, the more she
felt she had to do. So, I’d backed off and let her do her thing.
Azazel only worked me out during the day. Parkour, floating,
scythe work, dagger play, and his favorite, the beat-down. He called
it hand-to-hand, but it was usually Fee-to-mat. He tended to go
AWOL in the evenings, though, and then Mal would take over.
Either one or the other was my shadow recently.
“There’s pasta in the fridge,” Kiara said from the kitchen doorway.
“Well, similar to what they call pasta in the human realm.” She
smiled warmly. “I put a little extra garlic in there for you.”
The appearance of Conah’s soulmate brought conflicting
emotions. Kiara was … nice. Like really nice, but Conah … I still
couldn’t be in the same room as him without feeling awkward, and
there was no logical reason for that. Nothing had happened between
us, and to be honest, I was beginning to think the problem was in
my head, that I’d imagined a thing between us. Still, the thought of
being alone with him made me feel sick, because what the fuck
would I say to him? What would we talk about? Luckily, I’d
succeeded in avoiding alone time with the golden-haired, blue-eyed
Dominus for the past month.
“Thanks.” I grabbed a bowl out of the cupboard. “Want to join
me for a late lunch?”
Kiara looked torn. “I’d love to, but we’re running low on supplies,
and I need to fly to the market before it closes.”
The last food delivery had been over a week ago by Drake and
Carriage—huge, black, flying lizard creatures that pulled a carriage
loaded up with supplies. It was usually an imp’s job to order the
food, but Kiara had taken over while here. Wait … She was leaving
the quarters … Did that mean she was leaving Conah behind?
Cora caught the panic on my face and, leaning back in her seat,
tipped her head back to look at Kiara. “You and Conah have fun
now.”
Kiara rolled her eyes. “Conah does not do shopping.”
Shit. Conah was staying back. My pulse kicked up. “Then wait, I’ll
come with you.”
She bit her bottom lip, eyes smiling. “Fee, have you seen
yourself?”
I looked down at my sweat-soaked T-shirt.
“Let me rephrase that. Have you smelled yourself?”
I winced. “That bad?”
“No, just … Demons have sensitive noses.”
There was no option but to bow out gracefully. “I guess a shower
it is.” And then I’d lock my doors until it was time to head to
Deadside.
Kiara blew me a kiss and retreated.
I sagged against the counter. Nowhere but my room was safe
now. I quickly piled pasta onto my plate.
“You can’t hide forever,” Cora said with a sly smile. “Now’s the
time to confront Conah about his lies.”
Tension gripped the back of my neck. “There were no lies.”
“Just omissions.”
“Nothing happened.”
“But he gave the impression he wanted it to.”
We’d been over this. “Cora, what’s gotten into you?”
She crossed her arms under her breasts. “I’m sick of you
evading. Conah had no right to get your hopes up. He should have
been upfront about his betrothal.”
“It never came up.”
“Because he hid it.” Cora’s eyes flashed. “You have a right to be
pissed off.”
“Being angry at Conah takes energy away from being angry at
the bad guys. In the grand scheme of things, an almost-romance
hardly matters.”
 “Fine. What about the mark on your chest? When are you going
to deal with that? Don’t you think Azazel has a right to know?” She
narrowed her eyes. “Just like you had a right to know Conah was
engaged?”
Ooh, well-played. But I was sticking to my guns on this one. “No.
No, I don’t.” I yanked the collar of my top down to expose the mark.
“It’s fading. It’ll be gone soon, so shut up about it.”
She stared at the mark and pressed her lips together. “Fucksake,
woman, that doesn’t change the fact that it was there. It doesn’t
change the fact that Az is your soulmate.”
A shiver skated up my spine. “I don’t need a soulmate.”
The concept scared the shit out of me. Especially since Cora had
done some sleuthing, and by sleuthing, I meant chatting up the
locals to get the full deets on what a soul mark actually was. It turns
out that a soul mark needed to be confirmed. You were literally
binding your soul to another.
Both parties had to accept the bond in a special ceremony. I
didn’t know what happened if you ignored the mark or failed to do
the binding, but I figured it would just go away. I needed it to go
away because the thought of being soul connected to anyone,
especially someone as closed off and detached as Azazel, scared the
shit out of me. I was a demon raised as a human, and I doubted I’d
ever see things the way they did, and to be tethered to one …
They were either cold or full-on. They loved with no holds barred
and hated with every fiber of their being. Compassion wasn’t a
warrior trait. It was reserved for the hearth. But they did prize their
brood mothers—nannies who took care of the demon spawn for the
nobility.
It seemed all or nothing with very little gray, and for someone
who was used to compromise, to finding the middle ground, it was
all a little too much. Besides, wasn’t it enough that I was bound to a
celestial scythe?
“I just want to find the bad guys and kill them, hopefully
managing to stay alive in the process so as not to fuck up Lilith, you
know, the queen of the underworld.”
 Cora dropped her arms to her sides, and the tightness in my
chest eased a little. She was no longer in combat mode.
“I just want you to be safe,” she said. “And that mark … Being
bound to Azazel could keep you safe.”
“He’s cursed to protect me. Trust me, he’ll keep me safe.”
“I know, but that’s a curse. He has no choice but to protect you,
but what if he wanted to protect you?”
I snorted. “Because I’m his soulmate? Honestly, I doubt that
would make a difference. He hasn’t acted any nicer toward me since
I got the mark. Heck, this mark’s probably a glitch.”
“Or it needs to be activated with the ceremony for him to feel the
connection,” Cora pointed out.
How had we got back to this? Annoyance flared in my chest. I
drew a calming breath. She was thinking about my life. About what
was best for me like she always did. Hell, she’d asked Mal to arrange
three months of leave for her with Soul Savers so she could stay
with me until I got used to the gig, and there was no doubt that
she’d made being here easier. But the topic of the soul mark was
closed.
“I’m done talking about this.” There was steel in my voice. “I
have more important shit to focus on. A child died.”
“And it wasn’t your fault.”
“No. But if I’d pulled my finger out and trained harder from the
start, then maybe I’d have been faster, stronger, something … Maybe
I could have saved him.”
“Fee—”
“No, Cora. It’s my job to make sure that never happens again.
Not on my fucking watch.”
I brushed past her into the corridor beyond and strode toward
the steps. I loved Cora, God knows I loved her, but I needed space
to grow into this new role on my terms.
I took the stairs two at a time and walked smack bang into a
solid chest. My gaze shot up to meet sapphire.
“Conah …” Oh, fuck.
 CHAPTER TWO

I t was a miracle I’d outmaneuvered Conah for so long. A miracle

I’d managed to avoid this conversation, the one that was
hovering on his parted lips.
“Hey, you …” I sidestepped him with a bright smile on my face,
but he mirrored me. “I need to get pas—"
He gripped my biceps. “Not today, Fee. Today, we talk.” He
grabbed my arm and tugged me down the corridor. I should have
pulled free, but the rational part of me, the part that knew this
needed to happen, put the brakes on evasive action. He led me up
another flight of stairs and through a set of ornate double doors. A
huge bed dominated the room, and the scent of jasmine—Kiara’s
scent—hung heavy in the air.
She’d been in this room with him.
They’d been in this room. Together.
What was I doing? I didn’t belong in here. I yanked my arm from
his grasp. “I doubt Kiara would like me being in here with you.”
His jaw tightened. “Fee, I’m sorry. I should have told you about
her.”
And there it was, the admission that proved that it hadn’t all
been in my head. It was a weight lifted off my shoulders to know
that whatever I’d felt between us hadn’t been one-sided.
“Yeah, you should have. But it’s okay. I’m fine, and I’m happy for
you. Kiara is a wonderful person, demon, whatever.” I took a breath.
Calm it down, Fee. “She’s really nice.”
 He smiled tentatively. “I noticed you two have been spending a
lot of time together.”
I shrugged. “We click. Like I said, she’s nice, and she bakes, so
…”
He looked relieved. “I’m glad you two are friends. I care about
you, Fee, more than I …” He pursed his lips and was silent for a long
beat. “Cards on the table,” he continued. “I’m attracted to you, but
attraction fades, and what I have with Kiara is a soul bond. Our
betrothal ensures peace between the kingdoms.”
God, this was awkward and embarrassing, and shit, I wanted it
over. “You don’t have to explain yourself. I get the picture. I
understood as soon as Kiara got here. Nothing happened between
us, Conah. It’s fine. We’re good.”
The words had a cathartic effect, and in that moment, I truly felt
good. This had been an attraction, nothing more. Shit happened.
People got over it. Simple.
I turned toward the door, but he grabbed my arm again.
“So, why were you avoiding me?” he demanded.
Why did he look pissed off? Why was he in my personal space?
Shit, he was too close to ignore. My body, which so far had been
dormant, flared to life with awareness. My breath came faster, my
skin flushed with heat, and my eyes focused on his mouth.
“Fee …” His voice was a rasp of hunger and longing.
I closed my eyes and exhaled through my nose, blocking out my
traitorous body’s response. “I’ve been avoiding you because I was
embarrassed, okay. I needed some space and time.” I looked
straight ahead at his chest. “You’re too close. I stink. I need a
shower.” I tried to pull free, but he held on.
“I like the way you smell,” he said.
My heart flipped, and my stomach did a forward roll. “No. Nope.
You can’t say shit like that to me.”
He released me. His mouth parted as if he was shocked at his
own words. He shook his head. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to say
that.”
And therein lay the problem. I backed away. “Yeah, so am I.”
 “Fee.” He looked at me imploringly. “Mal and Azazel aren’t the
only ones who want to keep you safe.”
My smile was forced, a mere action that didn’t reach my heart.
“I’m not safe with you, Conah, and you know it.”
There was no being friends with Conah. Not right now, and
maybe not ever, because there was no denying the fizzing sexual
attraction between us, and until that faded or died or whatever, we’d
need to keep a distance from each other.

I closed and locked my bedroom door and then made my way to the
bathroom, stripping off as I went.
“Humansss have such ssstrange bodies,” Cyril said from his coiled
position on the bed.
I yelped and clutched the shirt I’d just pulled off to my chest.
“Fucking hell, Cyril. How did you even get in here?” I tugged the
shirt back on quickly.
“Nooksss and cranniesss, Fee. Nooksss and craniesss.”
I took off my comms watch and placed it on the dresser. I
doubted the device was waterproof, not that I’d been contacted on it
or had the opportunity to use it yet. Conah, Mal, and Azazel’s comms
were linked to mine, so I could send them a message or a signal I
was in trouble. It was fitted with a locator.
“We talked about privacy, Cyril.”
“That’sss why I’m here. To get some.”
I bit back a smile. “What? You don’t like bunking with Cora?”
“My face may not reflect it, but I’m giving you a flat look right
now.”
“She’s not that bad.”
“Then you bunk with her.”
“Nope.” I headed to the bathroom.
“Fine, let me sssleep here.”
“Nope.” I turned on the shower.
“Why not?”
 “Because I don’t want a snake in my bed.”
“You didn’t sssay that lassst night.”
“My legs were aching, the constriction helped me get to sleep.”
“So, you only want me for my body?” He sounded genuinely hurt.
And if anyone was listening to this conversation, they’d be totally
weirded out.
“Besides, your room gets all the sunlight,” he continued.
I shook my head. “Fine, you can hang out here if you want, but I
need to shower before I head to the Academy with Mal.”
I’d deliberately picked a day Conah didn’t work at the Academy
for my weekly visit.
There was a knock on the door, and then Iza entered carrying
fresh towels, but the usual pop to her step was absent.
She carried the towels into the bathroom and reemerged a
moment later and headed for the door.
“Iza?”
She stopped and turned to face me. “Yes, Fee?”
“What’s wrong?”
Her eyes widened. “Nothing’s wrong, Fee. Everything is fine.”
She was lying. “Seriously, Iza, you can tell me if something is
bothering you.”
“No. No. I love it here. I value my job, and I enjoy serving you.”
She was acting super weird. “But something is wrong, isn’t it?”
She shook her head.
“She’s lying,” Cyril said. “She’s upset, I can sssmell it. She jussst
doesn’t want to lose her job.”
He was right. I could sense it too. “Iza, you’ve been a wonderful
friend to me since I got here.”
She looked surprised. “Friend?”
“Yes. Friend. And, as a friend, I want to help you with whatever’s
bothering you. It’s what friends do.”
Her shoulders sagged. “My brother owes money. A debt he took
to ensure me a place in the lottery for noble service.”
“Wait, you have to pay to work here?”
“No, no. The payment was to be considered for noble service. A
noble service is the best employment any lesser demon could ask
for.”
“And now your brother can’t pay back the debt?”
“I’ve been sending home money, but Riaza has been sent.”
“And Riaza is?”
“A debt collector. A killer. The loan has been called in five years
early, and if my brother fails to settle in three days, he will pay with
his life.”
Oh, God. “How much?”
“Fifty ichons.”
Was that a lot? It didn’t sound like a lot, but what did I know.
There was a rap on the door, and I looked over to find Mal
leaning against the frame. “How was the workout?” he asked.
“Do you have fifty ichons?”
He frowned. “What?”
“Ichons. I need fifty of them now. I’ll pay you back if you tell me
what the conversion is.”
His gaze dropped to Iza, and his brow arched. “And what do you
need it for?”
“Iza’s brother’s life is in danger. I need it to clear his debt.”
“How do you know she’s telling you the truth?”
Iza visibly bristled, eyes blazing, but then quickly tucked in her
chin to hide her reaction. Mal was a Dominus, her superior. She
couldn’t defend herself. But I could.
“How do you know she isn’t?”
He opened his mouth to retort, but I held up my hand. “Do you
have fifty ichons or not?”
“Of course, I do. I’m a fucking Dominus.”
“Then please send it to Iza’s brother.”
“I’m not your errand boy, Fee.”
He was probably sick of toting me around everywhere and having
to watch my back all the time, but that wasn’t my fucking fault.
None of this was.
“Then find me a fucking way to do shit for myself. You won’t
have to be my ride anymore.”
“So that you can swan off and get yourself killed?”
“This is bullshit, Mal. I’m not an idiot.”
 “No, Fee, you’re a sentimental fool who thinks she can help
everyone.”
“Not everyone. But, right now, I can help Iza.”
He sighed, and his shoulders dropped a little. “I’ll send the
money.”
Iza sagged in relief, looking up at me like I was wreathed in
rainbows or glitter or something. “Thank you, Fee. Thank you,
Master Malachi.”
“Yes, yes. You can go now.” Mal waved her away.
Iza left before I could stop her.
“You do not get to dismiss my—”
“Servant?”
“Friend. I was about to say friend.”
He walked closer, wrinkled his nose, and swept his emerald gaze
up and down my sweaty post-training form. “Want me to help you
shower?”
There was no mockery in his tone and no hint of amusement on
his face. Was he seriously asking if I wanted him in the shower with
me? Naked. My stomach gave a traitorous flip, and my mouth went
dry.
I tentatively dropped the shield Azazel had helped me build and
tasted Mal’s emotions. Red-hot lust hit me in the solar plexus,
shooting straight to the apex of my thighs to tighten with sweet
pain.
His eyes flared. “I could touch you, Fee. Bring that ache to its
climax.” He leaned in, so his breath kissed my lips. “All you have to
do is say the word.”
My blood rushed to the surface of my skin, hot, potent, and
wanton as images of his bare torso filled my head. His fingers would
slide into me, rubbing, teasing, circling, and … This wasn’t me. It
was him in my head. Fuck. I bit back a ragged moan and brought
my shield back up. The intensity of desire cut off, but there was no
ignoring the latent throb of my body. He’d woken it up in a new way,
and now it wanted satisfaction, but I’d be damned if that satisfaction
came from Mal.
“No, thanks.” I smiled tightly. “I can do a better job solo.”
 Mal blinked slowly, and for a moment, he looked almost lost.
Disappointed? But then his eyes narrowed, and a smirk painted his
lips. “Nice shield. Azazel has been teaching you well.” He held up his
hands and backed up. “We leave in an hour. Don’t eat anything too
heavy. I’m the one who has to carry it.”
He turned away, and even though it was childish, I couldn’t help
but stick my tongue out at him.
I pulled out my hair tie and headed to the bathroom
“You should have taken him up on his offer,” Cyril said.
I jumped. Shit, for a moment, I’d forgotten he was in the room.
“You want him,” Cyril said. “Your pheromonesss say ssso.”
“That’s just Mal’s ability. He can make you feel things.” I tapped
my forehead. “Put suggestions in your head.”
“Oh, I know all about the suggestion,” Cyril said. “But I also know
that suggestion won’t work if you’re not amenable.” He hissed and
slid off the bed. “And I can sssmell how amenable you were.”
I slammed the bathroom door shut and locked it. Pfft. What did
he know? He was a python. A talking python.
I did not want to have sex with Mal.
Did I?
 CHAPTER THREE

T he stars were out in full force on the pinnacle, but at least it

wasn’t super windy tonight. The chill was still intense. It
gnawed at my face and found its way under my coat and into my
hood. No. I did not want to have sex with Mal. I just needed to have
sex, and I’d relieved some of that tension in the shower. Sometimes
solo worked best. I needed to get back to my house and grab Errol,
my vibrating companion. Ah, how I missed him.
An errant gust of icy air slapped my face. “Fuck, it’s cold.”
“It’s always cold,” Mal said. “You should be used to it by now.” He
stood at the railing and stretched. No coat, no hat. His long-sleeved
black polo shirt hugged his frame like a second skin. How was he not
shivering his ass off?
I hopped from foot to foot on the spot. “Don’t you feel it at all?”
“Oh, I feel it. It feels good because, you know, I’m hot.” He
winked.
God, he was arrogant, but I’d learned that was just his way of
communicating with the world. Although I had no doubt that he
thought he was God’s gift to women.
“Your body will acclimatize to the underworld,” he said. “You’re a
demon, and we’re built for these climates—intense heat or severe
chill. It’s what fires up our blood.”
He walked over, taking his time, his gaze locked on mine. It was
like facing off with a feline predator. That’s why my pulse began to
race. That’s why my breath came faster. No other reason.
 “You ready to get up close and personal, Fee?” His tone dropped
an octave. “You know these are my favorite moments. Just you and
me beneath the stars, flying through the night air …” His eyes
darkened and dropped to my mouth.
My libido shook itself awake and purred, inhaling his scent. He
smelled like the stars and the open night. Fresh and free.
Nope, not letting my guard down this time.
“My hands on your delectable ass,” he said. And there was that
crooked, mocking smile.
The air trapped in my lungs escaped in a huff. Bastard. I stood
tall and looked him straight in the eyes. “I have people waiting for
me.”
“Demon spawn.”
“Children.”
He frowned at me. “Demon spawn, Fee. Soldiers in training.”
“Not soldiers yet.”
He canted his head. “Well, climb aboard.”
He loved doing this to me. Making me climb him. Making me
wrap my arms around his neck and my legs around his waist. He
loved it when I struggled, but hours in the training room with the
punishing Azazel had honed my muscles. I hopped up easily, clinging
tightly to him with my thighs gripping his hips.
I leaned back and smiled sweetly at him. “Shall we?”
He masked his surprise by launching us into the air, and this
time, I didn’t squeal. His hands settled on my ass as promised.
I sighed. “Do you have to do that?”
“You want me to let go?”
He did just that, and although I was locked on tight, there was
no mistaking the pull of gravity
“Just hold me, dammit.” I grit my teeth.
“Well, if you insist.” His hands splayed under my butt cheeks,
hoisting me up so I grazed his crotch before settling back into
position.
I sucked in a breath at the hardness that nudged me. Don’t look
at him, don’t look at him.
 “Calm down, Fee,” he drawled in my ear. “It’s just an erect cock.
A natural reaction to having a woman’s thighs wrapped around you.
It won’t bite.”
“What?” I kept my tone light. “I didn’t even notice.”
“Ouch.”
Ha, point to me. Now, stop thinking about his cock. Focus. “How
is the mobility situation coming? Have you found a way for me to
travel to and from quarters?”
“Nope.”
“Are you even working on it?”
He gripped me tighter, fingers digging into my ass cheeks.
Shit. Focus, woman. “I don’t like being dependent on anyone.”
“Get used to it. Because unless you sprout wings or suddenly
develop the ability to teleport, you’re stuck with needing us.”
I wanted to protest, but the river rushed toward us in all its
rainbow glory, and then there was no breath to argue.

I t was midday when we landed in the courtyard of the Academy. As

soon as my boots hit the grass, I extricated myself from Mal’s warm
body and put distance between me and his erect cock.
Do not look down.
I looked down.
You could see the outline of it straining against the fabric of his
jeans.
He followed my gaze and shrugged. “You’re not the only one with
a python.”
“Except mine’s much bigger than—” I shook my head. “No. I’m
not engaging.”
I spun on my heel and headed toward the entrance to the
building. “I’ll be in the lounge.”
Unlike Azazel, who shadowed my every move when he was on
guard duty, Mal left me to my own devices once we got to the
Academy. The wards here had been tripled since the Dread attack,
and they’d moved the whole building early instead of waiting for the
end of the year. Yep, the damn Academy moved every year, which
explained why the location was so hard to pin down. Only those who
needed to knew where it was now located. And as only a Dread or
that darned dagger could kill me, I was safe here.
The lounge was heaving today, but then it was lunchtime. Older
cadets sat by the hearth with cups of coffee and plates of food. The
younger ones were engaged in games. I scanned the room until I
caught sight of ivory horns. Palin jumped up and waved frantically at
me. Clayna looked up from her book and smiled. It even reached her
eyes. The knot in my chest eased a little.
I raised a hand in greeting and wound my way over to the pair.
The dark circles that had hugged Clayna’s eyes were gone now. She
was struggling with Fredrin’s death more than the others. He’d saved
her life and died for it. The guilt tore at her. I felt it every time we
were together. Her grief was entwined with relief and guilt. The poor
child was in pain. I cracked my shields as I sat down and opened
myself to their emotions. I caught a frisson of excitement from Palin
and something warm and new from Clayna. A lump formed in my
throat.
Love.
She was feeling love.
“You came,” she said.
“I promised I would.” I settled back in my seat. “So, what are we
playing today?”
Palin tapped the board game on the table with a talon. “It’s a
deck builder game. You have to gather points and trade with each
other.”
Clayna put her book down. “We haven’t played this for a long
time.”
And we hadn’t played the dungeon game since Fredrin died. It
had been their go-to game, his favorite, and neither child could bring
themselves to play without him.
I rubbed my hands together. “Well, let’s get stuck in.”
I reached for the board as a shadow fell over me.
“Master Luena.” Palin looked up in surprise.
 The younger children’s housemaster and the war games
coordinator for the older cadets, Luena was a hard-ass who didn’t
like me. How did I know? I’d felt it.
“Back again, Dominus?” she said.
I looked up with a polite smile. “Luena, how nice to see you
again.”
“The hours you spend here make me feel like we should employ
you.”
It was a dig that I chose to ignore. “No need. I’m happy to
entertain the children for free.”
“They are perfectly capable of entertaining themselves.”
She picked up the board game and replaced it with another.
“You’ll play this today. The young ones wish to play the card game.”
Clayna sucked in a sharp breath, and Palin’s eyes grew sad. I
stared at the lid to the dungeon game.
“Or maybe we can find something else?” I pushed back my seat
and stood.
“No.” Luena faced off with me. “This is the game they will play
today.”
Maybe she didn’t know what this game meant to them? Maybe
she didn’t realize how this was upsetting them?
“Can I have a word?” I jerked my head toward the exit to
indicate she follow and made to walk away.
“We can speak here,” Luena said.
I looked down at the children then back at the master’s stern
face. Fuck it. “This was their favorite game to play with Fredrin.”
“I know,” she replied. “It’s an excellent game.”
“But I’m sure you can appreciate how it might be hard for them
to play it now he’s … gone.”
“Which is all the more reason they should play.” She clicked her
fingers at a nearby table, and a slightly older child pushed back his
chair and joined us. “Barker will join you in the game. He will replace
Fredrin.”
Clayna made a small sound, part distress, part pain.
Anger flared in my chest. “You can’t just replace someone.”
 She stared levelly at me. “Yes. Yes, we can. It’s what we must do
on the battlefield. If a comrade falls, we reinforce our ranks, and we
fight on.”
“They’re not on the battlefield. They’re children.”
“They are potential reapers. Soldiers in training. They are not
human children.” She took a breath through her nose and released it
slowly, and it hit me. She was pissed off, like mega pissed off, but
she was controlling it. “We’re training an army here, Dominus.
Please allow us to do our job.” She indicated the doorway. “I’m sure
you have other duties to attend to.”
Was she telling me to get out? Shit, she was totally telling me to
get out.
I looked down at Clayna, who was staring up at me with tears in
her eyes. Palin shook his head slightly, his gaze darting from Luena
to me. They were children. Orphaned children. Had it even been
their choice to become soldiers?
This was wrong. I stood taller. “I’m not going anywhere. These
children just lost a friend. What they need right now is
understanding and compassion and—”
“Dominus Dawn.”
My head snapped around to find Conah striding toward us.
“There you are. I’ve been looking for you. A word, please.”
He didn’t wait for me to respond, but instead gripped my arm
and practically hauled me from the room. Shock stalled my tongue
for a moment, but as he tugged me around the corner and down the
corridor, I finally found my words.
“What the fuck, Conah?”
“Not here.” His grip on me didn’t loosen as he led me up a short
flight of steps and down a narrow corridor that looked like it led to a
serial killer’s hideout. He shoved open the door at the end of the
corridor and finally released me.
“Please.” He swept his hand toward the room beyond.
It was a masculine room with a wide desk, a lamp, and a huge
window that was letting in enough sunlight to attract a horde of cats
in need of a nap.
 I stepped over the threshold, and he followed, closing the door
behind him.
I rubbed my arm where he’d gripped me a little too tightly. “I’m
going to give you a pass on the arm grabbing this time, but do it
again, and I won’t be so compliant.”
His eyes narrowed. “The situation warranted quick action. I didn’t
mean to hurt you.”
He hadn’t hurt me physically, but my pride was another matter.
“What are you doing here, anyway? It’s not your day.”
“I don’t need permission to come to the Academy, Fee. I had
business to attend to. They only just discovered the vault’s been
raided.”
“You have a vault here?”
“Yes, containing valuable items.”
“You think the Dread did it? Do we know what’s been taken?
Shit, could that have been the real reason for their attack on the
Academy?”
“We don’t know. The stuff in the vault is ancient, and the log of
items has also gone missing.”
“We need to figure out what was taken. There must be another
log somewhere. A copy?”
“There is. The Beyond has it. I’ve sent a message to Uri.”
The anger at being dragged from the lounge had faded a little in
light of this news. The Dread had taken something, and the fact we
had no idea what that was meant they were several steps ahead of
us. “What is their agenda?”
He frowned at me. “What?”
“You never told me what the Dread want. I mean, what’s their
purpose?”
His smile had a patronizing air that fed my annoyance. “They’re
monsters, Fee. They want to feed and kill and thrive.”
His tone was complete arrogance, and it grated.
“Uh-huh, and how does raiding your vault and taking something
serve that purpose? There must be more to it than that. If we can
find out what they took, we can maybe figure out what their agenda
is.”
 “You give them too much credit.”
“And maybe you don’t credit them enough.”
I was beginning to get a picture of the demons, and the Dominus
in particular. They thought themselves superior, important, better
than the creatures they hunted. “Every living thing has a purpose,
Conah. Even the Dread, whether you think it’s important or not, and
the key to stopping them is to figure out what their goal is.”
“With all due respect, Fee, I’ve been a reaper and a Dominus for
much longer than you. I’ve fought the Dread, hunted them, and
been hunted. They want nothing more than to spread like locusts on
this land and devour it. You’ve only seen the lower-level Dread, the
ones with the crimson eyes and ridges on their nose, but there are
others who look completely human. Charismatic Dread, able to
attract prey.”
There was no arguing with him. Not until new information came
to light. “Why did you drag me here?” I crossed my arms
defensively. “You agree with Luena, don’t you?”
He blinked sharply, probably at the sudden change in subject. “Of
course I agree with her. This is an Academy that trains warriors.
Demons who are willing to die and watch their comrades die if need
be.”
“They’re children!” I bridged the distance between us and lifted
my chin to look into his eyes. “Children, Conah. They lost their
friend. They have no parents. They’re alone.” Anger and sorrow
joined forces to choke off my words. My eyes burned with
frustration. “Fuck it. They deserve to be loved and taken care of.”
I looked up at him through a sheen of unshed tears. Tears for
Fredrin. Tears for Clayna and Palin. Tears for the fact that deep
down, I knew there was nothing I could do, that death would find
them one way or another. Tears of impotence because, despite my
position as a Dominus, there was nothing I could do to shield the
next generation.
Conah’s expression softened, and his sapphire eyes darkened as
he swept his gaze over my face. “There is no room for compassion
on the battlefield.” He said the words softly, leaning in so that his
forehead kissed mine. “You have so much of it, Fee. It’s warm,
inviting, and safe, and these children … They will be drawn to you
…” His finger skimmed down my cheek. “They will be lulled into a
false sense of security that will eventually get them killed.” I got the
impression he wasn’t just talking about the children, but it was hard
to think when he was sweeping his thumb across the base of my
throat. Shivers radiated out from the contact, down over my breasts
to tighten my nipples into aching nubs. “Because the real world,“ he
continued, “our world, is a cutthroat place where the only
commodity that matters is power.”
He was too close, cocooning me with his presence and the
energy that was uniquely him. My pulse thudded hard in my throat,
each beat drawing moisture from my mouth to leave it dry. I needed
to move away, to put distance between us, but my feet remained
rooted to the spot, and my breath remained trapped in my lungs.
Our noses brushed, mouths parting a mere inch apart. I wanted
him to kiss me. I needed him to kiss me. I wanted his tongue in my
mouth. I wanted to taste him. It would be so easy to slip, to tilt my
chin up a fraction in acquiescence and take what I wanted. No
blame, no judgment, no one to see. Just us, in this room.
I could have him.
Kiara’s smiling face flashed in my mind, acting like the icy wind
on the pinnacle. A stone settled on my chest, and I tucked in my
chin, breaking contact.
The door slammed open, and Mal stood on the threshold. His
attention went from my face to Conah. His emerald eyes flashed,
and a pang of fear shot through me, but then he was smiling his
cocky smile.
“There you are. I’ve been looking everywhere.” He walked over
to the window and leaned against the sill. “Wait for me in the
courtyard, Fee. Conah and I have some business to discuss.”
It was an order, and although part of me balked at that and
wanted to argue, the bigger part, the ashamed part, was happy to
skulk quickly from the room. I closed the door and was about to
walk away when Mal’s angry tone stopped me in my tracks.
“Keep your dick in your pants, Con,” he said. “You know what’s at
fucking stake if you don’t.”
 “Why, so you can have her?” Conah’s tone was bitter.
“Fucking hell, you have it bad, don’t you? Does Kiara know how
you feel? It’s only a matter of time until she figures it out.”
I could hear them perfectly. How thin were these doors? No,
wait. The door was solid. It was my hearing. My senses were
sharper. Eavesdropping had never been my thing. Okay, so it totally
was, and I wasn’t even ashamed as I tuned back in to listen.
“I won’t hurt her,” Conah said. “Kiara is important to me.”
“Is that why you almost had your tongue down our delectable
Dominus’s throat a moment ago?”
Silence.
“Oh, fuck,” Mal said softly. “You don’t love her, do you? Does she
know?”
“I do love her,” Conah said. “She’s my soulmate.”
“Uh-huh, and what would you have done if I hadn’t interrupted
you just now?”
“She pulled away. Nothing happened.”
“At least she has the decency to back off. Fucking hell, brother.
You’re the key to peace. You fuck this up, and there will be war.”
“I know. I won’t. I’ll stay away.”
“You fucking better. We don’t know what effect another trauma
could have on her.”
Huh? Were they talking about Kiara or me?
“She’s not broken,” Conah said. “She’s the strongest woman I
know.”
“Oh, boy.” Mal sounded disgusted. “Pull your shit together, tuck
your dick into your pants, and man the fuck up.”
Fuck, he was headed this way. I turned and ran.
I made it back to the courtyard before him, but I was still
breathing heavily when he joined me.
He looked at me strangely.
I made a meh face. “I did a couple of laps.”
He shrugged. “Let’s go.”
“I want to say bye to the children first.”
“Luena has made it clear you’re not to spend time with the
demon spawn.”
 My heart sank. “Mal, they need me.”
“No, Fee, they don’t. This is the way we do things, and you need
to fall in line or stay away. The reapers aren’t simply soul collectors.
We are Lilith’s army. We’ve seen many wars, and any peace is
always tentative and temporary. This works, so leave it be.”
Just because it worked didn’t mean there wasn’t a better way of
doing things. I opened my mouth to say as much, but Mal held up
his hand.
“Enough, Fee. You have a fucking job to do. How about you
focus on that, eh?”
Once again, shame stung my cheeks. I walked up to him and
wrapped my arms stiffly around his neck.
“Let’s go.”
My body was tense, thrumming with frustration. His sigh echoed
through me, and then he wrapped his arms around me and held me.
My brain froze, and for a moment, I didn’t comprehend what he was
doing.
And then the reality of this moment filtered into my shocked
brain. Mal, arrogant, cocky, loved-himself Mal, was hugging me.
He was hugging me, and I had no idea what to do with that.
Another random document with
no related content on Scribd:
 ¹⁴But as for Moses the man of God, his sons
were named among the tribe of Levi.
14. among the tribe of Levi] The descendants of Moses as
distinguished from those of Aaron had the standing, not of priests but
of Levites.

¹⁵The sons of Moses; Gershom and Eliezer.

15. Gershom and Eliezer] Compare Exodus xviii. 3, 4.

¹⁶The sons of Gershom; Shebuel ¹ the chief.

¹ In chapter xxiv. 20, Shubael.

16. The sons] compare the following verse; also ii. 31, where the
plural, The sons, is thrice followed by a single name only.

Shebuel] rather, as in xxiv. 20, Shubael; so LXX. here.

¹⁷And the sons of Eliezer were, Rehabiah the

chief. And Eliezer had none other sons; but
the sons of Rehabiah were very many.
17. Rehabiah] Compare xxiv. 21.

¹⁸The sons of Izhar; Shelomith ¹ the chief.

¹ In chapter xxiv. 22, Shelomoth.

18. Shelomith] In xxiv. 22, Shelomoth.

¹⁹The sons of Hebron; Jeriah the chief,

Amariah the second, Jahaziel the third, and
 Jekameam the fourth.
19. The sons of Hebron] Compare xxiv. 23.

²⁰The sons of Uzziel; Micah the chief, and

Isshiah the second.
20. The sons of Uzziel] Compare xxiv. 24. Nine Kohathite families
seem to be here reckoned.

²¹The sons of Merari; Mahli and Mushi. The

sons of Mahli; Eleazar and Kish.
21. The sons of Merari] Compare xxiv. 26.

The sons of Mahli] Compare xxiv. 28, 29.

²²And Eleazar died, and had no sons, but

daughters only: and their brethren the sons of
Kish took them to wife.
22. their brethren] Their kinsmen.

took them to wife] i.e. in accordance with the law stated in

Numbers xxvii. 4, compare Numbers xxxvi. 6, whereby daughters
had a right of inheritance in hope of perpetuating the name of him
who died without male heirs. Thus Eleazar, by his family through the
female line, may be reckoned one of the heads of fathers’ houses. If
this view be correct, the list contains not twenty-two but twenty-three
“heads”; and it may be conjectured that the one name more required
to make up the desired total of twenty-four has been lost in the
transmission of the text.

²³The sons of Mushi; Mahli, and Eder, and

Jeremoth, three.
 23. The sons of Mushi] Compare xxiv. 30.

24‒27.
Organisation of the Levites (second account).

²⁴These were the sons of Levi after their

fathers’ houses, even the heads of the fathers’
houses of those of them that were counted, in
the number of names by their polls, who did
the work for the service of the house of the
Lord, from twenty years old and upward.
²⁵For David said, The Lord, the God of Israel,
hath given rest unto his people; and he
dwelleth in Jerusalem for ever: ²⁶and also the
Levites shall no more have need to carry the
tabernacle and all the vessels of it for the
service thereof. ²⁷For by the last words ¹ of
David the sons of Levi were numbered, from
twenty years old and upward.
¹ Or, in the last acts.

24. from twenty years old and upward] The striking divergence
between this verse and verse 3, where thirty is given as the
minimum age for service as a Levite, has given rise to much
discussion—see the note to verse 3. No doubt the concluding
remarks of that note are true historically: a change in the inferior age
limit of the Levites did take place at some time on account of the
need for larger numbers in office. But neither that fact, nor the theory
(which is hardly borne out by other considerations) that the
Chronicler has used varying traditions from two different sources,
suffices to explain why he left the evident contradiction in his
narrative. The desirability of explaining this circumstance strongly
favours the view urged by Curtis, that in verses 3 ff. the Chronicler
meant to describe the Levitical organisation during and for the
purpose of the preparation and erection of the Temple, whilst verses
24 ff. relate to the period when the Temple was completed and the
duties of the Levites, being both more numerous and at the same
time of a more mechanical nature, might well seem to call for an
increase in the number of those officiating. When the reduction of the
age limit to twenty actually took place is of course immaterial; but it is
quite in keeping with the manner of the Chronicler that he should
thus carry both arrangements back to the time of David.

28‒32.
Duties of the Levites.

²⁸For their office ¹ was to wait on the sons of

Aaron for the service of the house of the
Lord, in the courts, and in the chambers, and
in the purifying of all holy things, even the
work of the service of the house of God;
¹ Hebrew their station was at the hand of the sons of Aaron.
See Nehemiah xi. 24.

28. their office was to wait on] Literally, as margin, their station
was at the hand of. For the phrase at the hand of compare Psalms
cxxiii. 2, as the eyes of servants look unto the hand of their master.

the chambers] compare ix. 26, note.

²⁹for the shewbread also, and for the fine flour

for a meal offering, whether of unleavened
wafers, or of that which is baked in the pan, or
 of that which is soaked, and for all manner of
measure and size;
29. for the shewbread] i.e. for the preparation of the shewbread
(compare ix. 32).

that which is soaked] Compare Leviticus vi. 21 [14, Hebrew].

for all manner of measure and size] i.e. for measuring the
component parts of the meal-offering, etc.

³⁰and to stand every morning to thank and

praise the Lord, and likewise at even;
30. every morning ... and likewise at even] Corresponding with
the daily morning and evening sacrifice; compare Exodus xxix. 38,
39.

³¹and to offer all burnt offerings unto the Lord,

in the sabbaths, in the new moons, and on the
set feasts, in number according to the
ordinance concerning them, continually before
the Lord:
31. to offer all burnt offerings] This was the duty not of the
Levites, who were to stand near-by praising Jehovah (verse 30), but
of the priests. The apparent difficulty is due to a mistranslation:
render and (to stand, i.e. assist) at every offering of burnt
offerings.

the set feasts] i.e. the yearly feasts; Exodus xxiii. 14‒17.

³²and that they should keep the charge of the

tent of meeting, and the charge of the holy
 place, and the charge of the sons of Aaron
their brethren, for the service of the house of
the Lord.
32. the charge of the holy place] This duty is assigned to Levites
in Numbers iii. 28, 32; is restricted and confined to such Levites as
were sons of Kohath in Numbers iv. 15; and according to a variant
tradition in Numbers xviii. 5 is assigned to the priests.

the charge of the sons of Aaron] Compare Numbers xviii. 1‒7.

Chapter XXIV.
1‒19.
David’s Organisation of the Priests by courses.

¹And the courses of the sons of Aaron were

these. The sons of Aaron; Nadab and Abihu,
Eleazar and Ithamar.
1. the sons of Aaron] So vi. 3; Exodus vi. 23.

²But Nadab and Abihu died before their father,

and had no children: therefore Eleazar and
Ithamar executed the priest’s office.
2. Nadab and Abihu died] by fire from heaven as a punishment
for sacrilege—so Leviticus x. 1, 2; Numbers iii. 4.

³And David ¹ with Zadok of the sons of Eleazar,

and Ahimelech of the sons of Ithamar, divided
 them according to their ordering in their
service.
¹ Or, And David divided them, even Zadok &c.

3. Ahimelech of the sons of Ithamar] The colleague of Zadok in

the priesthood is variously named in different passages:—

1 Chronicles xxiv. 3. Ahimelech of the sons of Ithamar.

1 Chronicles xxiv. 6. Ahimelech the son of Abiathar.

1 Chronicles xviii. 16. Abimelech the son of Abiathar.

Probably the same person is meant throughout, the confusion

springing from a false reading in 2 Samuel viii. 17, Ahimelech the
son of Abiathar for Abiathar the son of Ahimelech; see the notes on
xv. 11, xviii. 16.

according to their ordering] i.e. according to the arrangement

which follows; compare verse 19.

⁴And there were more chief men found of the

sons of Eleazar than of the sons of Ithamar;
and thus were they divided: of the sons of
Eleazar there were sixteen, heads of fathers’
houses; and of the sons of Ithamar, according
to their fathers’ houses, eight.
4. more chief men found of the sons of Eleazar than ... of
Ithamar] The superiority of the Zadokites (sons of Eleazar) in the
post-exilic period is read back into the days of David, and construed
in the terms of a right of primogeniture: thus the proportion assigned
here is sixteen to eight, i.e. Eleazar’s descendants have a double
portion, besides the right of the High-priesthood.
 ⁵Thus were they divided by lot, one sort with
another; for there were princes of the
sanctuary, and princes of God, both of the
sons of Eleazar, and of the sons of Ithamar.
5. one sort with another] i.e. sons of Eleazar with sons of Ithamar.

there were princes of the sanctuary, and princes of God, both of

the sons, etc.] The princes of the sanctuary (Isaiah xliii. 28) are
probably the same as the princes of God and as the chiefs of the
priests (2 Chronicles xxxvi. 14). The Hebrew expression in 2
Chronicles xxxv. 8 is different (rulers of the house of God).

⁶And Shemaiah the son of Nethanel the

scribe, who was of the Levites, wrote them in
the presence of the king, and the princes, and
Zadok the priest, and Ahimelech the son of
Abiathar, and the heads of the fathers’ houses
of the priests and of the Levites: one fathers’
house being taken for Eleazar, and one taken ¹
for Ithamar.
¹ The Hebrew text has, taken, taken.

6. the scribe, who was of the Levites] so designated in order to

distinguish him from the king’s scribe (compare 2 Chronicles xxiv.
11).

one taken] This rendering involves a simple and entirely probable

correction of the Hebrew The alternate drawing here described could
have lasted only for the first sixteen lots; in the last eight drawings
the descendants of Eleazar must have drawn against each other
only; compare verse 4, and the similar procedure described in xxv.
9‒31.

⁷Now the first lot came forth to Jehoiarib, the

second to Jedaiah;
7. Jehoiarib] Lists of the priestly families occur also Nehemiah x.
2‒8, xii. 1‒7, 12‒21. Compare Ryle (on Nehemiah xii. 1) for a
discussion of the names. For Jehoiarib see ix. 10, note.

⁸the third to Harim, the fourth to Seorim;

8. Harim] So Nehemiah x. 5, xii. 15, but in Nehemiah xii. 3,
“Rehum.” The confusion of form is easy in Hebrew writing.

⁹the fifth to Malchijah, the sixth to Mijamin;

9. Mijamin] So Nehemiah x. 7, xii. 5; but xii. 17, “Miniamin.”

¹⁰the seventh to Hakkoz, the eighth to Abijah;

10. Hakkoz] Called “Koz” in Ezra ii. 61; Nehemiah iii. 4, 21
(Revised Version “Hakkoz” in all three places; so also in 1 Chronicles
iv. 8 where a Calebite Koz is mentioned). Unable to trace their
genealogy in the records after the Return, this family is stated in
Ezra (ii. 61) to have been deprived of their right to the priesthood.

Abijah] So Nehemiah x. 7, xii. 4, 17. Zacharias, the father of John

the Baptist, was of the course of Abiah (Revised Version Abijah);
Luke i. 5.

¹¹the ninth to Jeshua, the tenth to Shecaniah;

11. Jeshua] This is the Hebrew name expressed by Ἰησοῦς in
Greek, and by “Jesus” in English. The high-priest under whom the
second Temple was built bore this name according to Ezra iii. 2, v. 2.
 Shecaniah] So Nehemiah xii. 3; but Nehemiah x. 4, xii. 14,
“Shebaniah.” The Hebrew letters transliterated b and c are easily
confused.

¹²the eleventh to Eliashib, the twelfth to Jakim;

¹³the thirteenth to Huppah, the fourteenth to
Jeshebeab;
12. Eliashib] A priest of this name is mentioned Nehemiah xiii. 4‒
7.

¹⁴the fifteenth to Bilgah, the sixteenth to

Immer; ¹⁵the seventeenth to Hezir, the
eighteenth to Happizzez;
14. Bilgah] “Bilgah” (Nehemiah xii. 5) appears as a priest or
priestly family in the time of the Return, and (under the form “Bilgai,”
Nehemiah x. 8) in the time of Nehemiah.

Immer] compare ix. 12; Ezra ii. 37; Jeremiah xx. 1.

¹⁶the nineteenth to Pethahiah, the twentieth to

Jehezkel;
16. Jehezkel] a more correct form of “Ezekiel,” the name of the
priest-prophet of the Captivity.

¹⁷the one and twentieth to Jachin, the two and

twentieth to Gamul;
17. Jachin] Compare ix. 10 (= Nehemiah xi. 10).

¹⁸the three and twentieth to Delaiah, the four

and twentieth to Maaziah. ¹⁹This was the
 ordering of them in their service, to come into
the house of the Lord according to the
ordinance given unto them by the hand of
Aaron their father, as the Lord, the God of
Israel, had commanded him.
18. Maaziah] Nehemiah x. 8 (x. 9, Hebrew).

20‒31 (compare xxiii. 13‒23).

Families of the Levites.

These verses repeat the list of Levitic families given in xxiii. 6‒23
with the important omission of the whole of the Gershonites (xxiii. 6‒
11), but with some additions to the Kohathite and Merarite families.
Further, six “heads” of classes mentioned in xxiii. are here replaced
by new names. These features, together with several details, point to
the conclusion that the present list is the work of a later writer than
the Chronicler.

²⁰And of the rest of the sons of Levi: of the

sons of Amram, Shubael ¹; of the sons of
Shubael, Jehdeiah.
¹ In chapter xxiii. 16, Shebuel.

20 And of the rest of the sons of Levi: of, etc.] These are probably
the words of the glossator, introducing the list which follows and
which he intended as a corrective to the list in xxiii. 6‒23.

Amram] The four Kohathite families are now noticed in order, viz.
Amram, Izhar (verse 22), Hebron (verse 23), Uzziel (verse 24).

Shubael] Called “Shebuel” in xxiii. 16, xxvi. 24.

 ²¹Of Rehabiah: of the sons of Rehabiah,
Isshiah the chief.
21. Of Rahabiah] He (like Shubael) was descended from Moses;
xxiii. 15‒17.

²²Of the Izharites, Shelomoth ¹; of the sons of

Shelomoth, Jahath.
¹ In chapter xxiii. 18, Shelomith.

22. Shelomoth] Called “Shelomith” in xxiii. 18.

²³And the sons of Hebron; Jeriah the chief,

Amariah the second, Jahaziel the third,
Jekameam the fourth. ²⁴The sons of Uzziel,
Micah; of the sons of Micah, Shamir. ²⁵The
brother of Micah, Isshiah: of the sons of
Isshiah, Zechariah.
23. And the sons of Hebron; Jeriah the chief] The words of
Hebron and the chief which are printed in italics in the text above
have been omitted in the Hebrew by some error of transmission.
They are rightly restored in accordance with xxiii. 19.

²⁶The sons of Merari; Mahli and Mushi: the

sons of Jaaziah; Beno. ²⁷The sons of Merari;
of Jaaziah, Beno, and Shoham, and Zaccur,
and Ibri.
26. The sons of Merari] In xxiii. 21 only two families of Merari are
mentioned, viz., Mahli and Mushi. Here however a third family “the
sons of Jaaziah” is mentioned. Probably the fuller text is right to this
extent that there was a family tracing their ancestry to Jaaziah and
claiming that this Jaaziah was of Merarite descent; but is wrong in
making Jaaziah an immediate son of Merari, parallel with the famous
Mahli and Mushi. Hence the following word Beno (literally his son)
should probably be struck out as an erroneous gloss (see also verse
27).

of Jaaziah; Beno] Either delete Beno (see previous note) or

perhaps read Bani.

²⁸Of Mahli; Eleazar, who had no sons. ²⁹Of

Kish; the sons of Kish, Jerahmeel.
28. Eleazar] Compare xxiii. 22.

³⁰And the sons of Mushi; Mahli, and Eder, and

Jerimoth. These were the sons of the Levites
after their fathers’ houses.
30. Jerimoth] Spelt “Jeremoth” in xxiii. 23.

These were ... houses] = xxiii. 24a.

³¹These likewise cast lots even as their

brethren the sons of Aaron in the presence of
David the king, and Zadok, and Ahimelech,
and the heads of the fathers’ houses of the
priests and of the Levites; the fathers’ houses
of the chief even as those of his younger
brother.
31. and Ahimelech] We expect and Abiathar; compare verse 3,
xv. 11, xviii. 16, with the notes.
 Chapter XXV.
1‒7.
The Families of the Singers.

The Chronicler displays so much interest in the liturgical worship

of the Temple that it is very probable that he was himself a member
of the musical guilds. There is no reason to question the importance
of the musicians in the Temple worship of the late post-exilic period.
But the development of their organisation and duties was certainly a
gradual process, and did not, as the Chronicler here represents,
spring into being, full-grown, in the days of David. Three classes—
the sons of Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun (= Ethan) had come to be
clearly recognised. They are here regarded as divided into twenty-
four courses (like the Levites and Priests), but that this even in the
Chronicler’s time represents not an actuality but an ideal is
suggested by the artificial character of the names which conclude
the list—see verse 4, note on Hananiah.

¹Moreover David and the captains of the

host separated for the service certain of the
sons of Asaph, and of Heman, and of
Jeduthun, who should prophesy with harps,
with psalteries, and with cymbals: and the
number of them that did the work according to
their service was:
1. Moreover David] Render, And David.

separated] compare xxiii. 13, note.

 who should prophesy] i.e. sing and praise in the manner of the
prophets, compare 1 Samuel x. 5. There is no reference to the
predictive power or the higher spiritual activities of the great
prophets. Nevertheless the term serves, and is intended, to invest
the office of the musicians with a greater honour than that of the
ministrant Levites.

psalteries] See xiii. 8, note.

²of the sons of Asaph; Zaccur, and Joseph,

and Nethaniah, and Asharelah ¹, the sons of
Asaph; under the hand of Asaph, who
prophesied after the order ² of the king.
¹ In verse 14, Jesharelah.

² Hebrew by the hands of the king.

2. Asaph] See xv. 17, note.

Asharelah] In verse 14, “Jesharelah.”

after the order] All was done according to the order established
by king David.

³Of Jeduthun: the sons of Jeduthun; Gedaliah,

and Zeri ¹, and Jeshaiah, Hashabiah, and
Mattithiah, six ²; under the hands of their father
Jeduthun with the harp, who prophesied in
giving thanks and praising the Lord.
¹ In verse 11, Izri. ² With Shimei, mentioned in verse 17.

3. Jeduthun] See xvi. 41, note.

 Zeri] read as in verse 11, Izri.

Jeshaiah] After Jeshaiah LXX. B inserts the name “Shimei”

(Σεμεεὶ), no doubt rightly for (1) six sons are reckoned in this verse,
(2) the “Shimei” of verse 17 is otherwise unmentioned in verses 2‒4,
though his twenty-three companions are named.

⁴Of Heman: the sons of Heman; Bukkiah,

Mattaniah, Uzziel ¹, Shebuel ², and Jerimoth,
Hananiah, Hanani, Eliathah, Giddalti, and
Romamti-ezer, Joshbekashah, Mallothi,
Hothir, Mahazioth:
¹ In verse 18, Azarel. ² In verse 20, Shubael.

4. Heman] See xv. 17, note.

Uzziel] In verse 18, “Azarel.” The variation between the two

words when written with Hebrew consonants is small. Compare note
on 2 Chronicles xxvi. 1 (“Uzziah” and “Azariah”).

Shebuel] In verse 20, “Shubael.”

Jerimoth] In verse 22, “Jeremoth.”

Hananiah, Hanani] Hananiah, which signifies “Jehovah (Jah) is

gracious,” and Hanani (probably a contraction of Hananiah) are
names found not infrequently in the Old Testament; but the following
seven words are practically impossible as proper names, and the
nine words together, with some easy alterations, actually form a
poetical petition, which may be rendered thus:

“Be gracious unto me, O God; be gracious unto me!

Thou art my God.

 Thou hast magnified and exalted help for him that sat in
distress.

Thou hast given visions abundantly.”

What explanation can be offered of this startling fact? It may be that

the names are wholly artificial, invented by the Chronicler to fill out
the desired twenty-four courses (see the head-note above), but the
device is clumsy and the Chronicler was not likely to be bankrupt for
names. Perhaps by a curious chance the original names bore some
slight resemblance to a sentence such as the above, and the
resemblance has at some time been perfected by a fanciful scribe.

⁵all these were the sons of Heman the king’s

seer in the words of God, to lift up the horn.
And God gave to Heman fourteen sons and
three daughters. ⁶All these were under the
hands of their father for song in the house of
the Lord, with cymbals, psalteries, and harps,
for the service of the house of God; Asaph ¹,
Jeduthun, and Heman being under the order
of the king.
¹ Or, after the order of the king, even Asaph &c.

5. the king’s seer] This title is given to Gad in xxi. 9, and to

Asaph, Heman and Jeduthun, all three in 2 Chronicles xxxv. 15
(LXX. not Hebrew).

in the words of God] The exact meaning of this is uncertain; it

may either mean “in Divine things” (i.e. arrangements for worship), or
“by Divine appointment” (compare 2 Chronicles xxix. 15 “by the
words of the Lord”).
 to lift up the horn] i.e. to make loud blasts upon the horn; but a
slightly different division of the Hebrew consonants should probably
be made and the phrase connected with the following verse. Render
therefore, To lift up the horn (i.e. to increase his power) God gave
to Heman, etc.

fourteen sons] Corresponding with the fourteen names given in

verse 4.

⁷And the number of them, with their brethren

that were instructed in singing unto the Lord,
even all that were skilful, was two hundred
fourscore and eight.
7. two hundred fourscore and eight] The number corresponds
with the twenty-four courses of twelve members each about to be
enumerated.

8‒31.
The Allotment of the Courses.

⁸And they cast lots for their charges ¹, all alike,

as well the small as the great, the teacher as
the scholar.
¹ Or, ward against ward, as well &c.

8. for their charges, all alike] charges, i.e. duties. The Hebrew
text is faulty, but the Revised Version rendering probably represents
the right reading.

the teacher as the scholar] LXX. τελείων καὶ μανθανόντων (i.e. the
initiated and the learners). For a similar inclusive phrase compare
the Arabic “he that giveth to hear and he that heareth,” and see
further references in Driver, Deuteronomy (International Crititcal
Commentary), p. 376. Instead of “the teacher” we may render “the
skilful” as in verse 7; the Hebrew word is the same. It is to be noted
that we have here twenty-four courses of singers corresponding with
the twenty-four courses of the priests.

⁹Now the first lot came forth for Asaph to

Joseph: the second to Gedaliah; he and his
brethren and sons were twelve: ¹⁰the third to
Zaccur, his sons and his brethren, twelve:
9. for Asaph] A comparison of verses 9‒31 with verses 2‒4
shows that the first, third, fifth and seventh lots fell to Asaph, the
second, fourth, eighth, tenth, twelfth and fourteenth to Jeduthun, and
the rest (fourteen in number) to Heman.

¹¹the fourth to Izri, his sons and his brethren,

twelve: ¹²the fifth to Nethaniah, his sons and
his brethren, twelve: ¹³the sixth to Bukkiah, his
sons and his brethren, twelve:
11. Izri] See note on Zeri, verse 3.

¹⁴the seventh to Jesharelah, his sons and his

brethren, twelve: ¹⁵the eighth to Jeshaiah, his
sons and his brethren, twelve: ¹⁶the ninth to
Mattaniah, his sons and his brethren, twelve:
14. Jesharelah] Compare verse 2.

¹⁷the tenth to Shimei, his sons and his

brethren, twelve:
 17. Shimei] Not mentioned in the present text of verses 2‒4; see
note on Jeshaiah, verse 3.

¹⁸the eleventh to Azarel, his sons and his

brethren, twelve: ¹⁹the twelfth to Hashabiah,
his sons and his brethren, twelve:
18. Azarel] Called Uzziel, verse 4.

²⁰for the thirteenth, Shubael, his sons and his

brethren, twelve: ²¹for the fourteenth,
Mattithiah, his sons and his brethren, twelve:
20. Shubael] Called Shebuel, verse 4.

²²for the fifteenth to Jeremoth, his sons and his

brethren, twelve: ²³for the sixteenth to
Hananiah, his sons and his brethren, twelve:
²⁴for the seventeenth to Joshbekashah, his
sons and his brethren, twelve: ²⁵for the
eighteenth to Hanani, his sons and his
brethren, twelve: ²⁶for the nineteenth to
Mallothi, his sons and his brethren, twelve:
²⁷for the twentieth to Eliathah, his sons and his
brethren, twelve: ²⁸for the one and twentieth to
Hothir, his sons and his brethren, twelve: ²⁹for
the two and twentieth to Giddalti, his sons and
his brethren, twelve: ³⁰for the three and
twentieth to Mahazioth, his sons and his
brethren, twelve: ³¹for the four and twentieth to