Levi stood by my side, his eyes two hard stones. “What the hell is he talking about?”
“I never agreed to his deal,” I said, staring at Levi, hoping he saw the truth in my eyes. “I never agreed to it, I swear. When I thought about going after them, it was to try to steal the cup from them. Nothing else.”
“Check his pockets,” Amiel sang.
A frown appeared between Levi’s brows and he reached into the pockets of my leather jacket. I groaned, but I let him search me. He found it in my jacket’s inside pocket.
His hand trembled as he pulled it out and stared at it. “A Black Thorn?”
“They left it for me on the island, and … I almost left it behind, but I thought I could use it against Imha. Later, I remembered that as much as I wish she were truly dead, I couldn’t kill her. We need all of us alive.”
“But you kept the damn thing in your pocket.” His eyes widened. “This entire time? Since you came back from the island? You had a Black Thorn in your pocket the entire time?”
I didn’t answer and he took my silence as a yes.
“Told you, Lord Levi,” Amiel said. “He was plotting against you, and now he brought you here to us.”
I roared and in less than a second conjured a large black bolt and let it fly. Amiel moved but not fast enough. The bolt hit him in the shoulder and he went flying backward, taking Jed with him. Keon and Riel were moving, and so was Levi.
He cast a shield in front of him and growled at me.
“I’m on your side!” I told him as I dodged small bolts from Keon and Riel.
Levi looked like he wasn’t sure if he should believe me or not. And I didn’t blame him.
I cast a shield of my own and channeled my power, conjuring another powerful bolt. I feigned to the left, making Keon and Riel believe I was coming for them. They got ready for me, but then I turned to the right and let the bolt fly. It hit Keon in the chest. The Death Lord started falling to the ground, but before he could hit the floor, his body erupted in black smoke.
One down for the count.
“Believe me now?” I asked Levi.
Still a little reluctant, Levi nodded then joined me in the fight. Just in time too, as Amiel and Jed regrouped and stared at us.
“We can end this pretty quickly,” Levi said to me, his voice low. “If we join powers, they won’t stand a chance.”
“Let’s do it, but … I want Amiel alive.”
Levi nodded once and then we cast one bolt with both our powers.
Amiel’s eyes widened. “No!”
He took a torch from one of the sconces and threw it at a shelf. The fire caught instantly, and spread like a wave in the ocean.
“Fuck,” I uttered.
Levi and I threw our super bolt. Amiel ducked behind Keon and Riel, who received the brunt of the spell. They became smoke and floated away.
The fire was spreading fast. I made to reach for the book about Diana, but Amiel spoke, making me stop.
“Look what I’ve got here.” He held the Cup of Life. My heart stopped for a brief moment. “You want it? Then kill him.” He pointed to Levi.
“I’ve got a better idea,” I said, teeth bared. And I lunged for him.
Knowing this was the end, Amiel did something I couldn’t undo. He threw the Cup of Life in the fire, making sure it tipped and the liquid spilled over. Then he opened his arms, as if waiting for me to end his life.
But I was frozen in place, watching as the Cup of Life was lost forever, consumed by the raging fire.
Levi acted. He threw a white bolt at Amiel’s heart, killing the bastard.
And I stared at the Cup of Life, as if I could will it to float from the fire, gather the spilled and evaporated liquid, and come to rest in my hands by only the strength in my stare.
That was when we felt it. Demons surrounding the place.
“Let’s go,” Levi said, tugging my arm. “Mitrus, we need to go. Now.”
A shelf behind us fell, and the fire billowed. Heat licked my skin and I flinched.
Briefly awakened from my stupor, I scanned the area. The book was nowhere to be seen. It was probably under the shelves, already consumed by fire.
My chest hurt. Suddenly, it was hard to breathe, and I didn’t think it was because of the smoke and the fumes.
Levi grabbed the collar of my leather jacket. “Wake up, Mitrus. It’s gone. The cup and the book are gone. And there are demons coming our way. Now, let’s move.”
Feeling as if I were leaving my soul to be burned by the fire, I nodded and followed him out of the library.
As soon as we were out in the open courtyard of the monastery, Levi and I teleported to a deserted island in the Bahamas. This place had once been beautiful with white sand, crystal blue water, and a bright, warm sun. Now it was dark, the sand was thick and gray, and the water was cold.
And Levi was watching me with even colder eyes.
“I’ll give you one minute to explain before I kill you myself,” he said, his tone flat.
I knew he wouldn’t actually kill me. He needed me just as I needed him. We all needed each other. But the hurt in his eyes …
I shook my head and sighed. “All right, I’ll tell you everything.” And so I did. I told him what happened on the island, all the details, including the deal Amiel and the others wanted to do, the Black Thorn they left with me, and I even lifted my shirt to show the black web of poison spreading across my chest.
“What the …?” Levi took one step toward me, his gaze locked on the thing that could quite possibly kill me. “Does it hurt?”
I dropped my shirt and hid my wound. “Rarely.”
“And how fast is it spreading?”
“About an inch every week or so.”
He took in a sharp breath. “Do you think … what do you think will happen?”
“I have no idea.” I shrugged. “We can’t do anything about this right now, so let’s focus on what matters most.”
Levi nodded absently. “Demons showed up. There is only one way for them to have known where we were.”
“We have a spy among us.”
“To be honest, I thought it was you.” I guess I should have felt appalled, but I wasn’t. He had all the reason in the world to doubt me. Levi sighed, as if he was trying to exhale all the worry and frustration from his system. “Do you think whoever it is, is like Morgan was? Not in control of himself?”
“I honestly don’t know.” I summoned some courage and continued, “But I think I know how we can turn that around in our favor.”
Levi raised an eyebrow and I told him my plan.
20
Nadine
After Micah had breakfast with me, he left with Victor, and I decided I was feeling a little better, so I took a shower and went back to bed.
Two hours later, Alice woke me up, saying it was too late to be sleeping and we needed to train. I cursed her out loud and was able to stay in bed for another hour—it wasn’t every night, or day, that I slept without nightmares waking me up.
When I finally got up, it was almost lunchtime, so I took my time, ate lunch, waited a decent amount of time, and only then went to train with Alice.
“Finally,” she muttered as I joined her in the gym.
However, an hour into training, my focus proved to be shot. I couldn’t concentrate, and Alice kept getting painful hits on me.
“Ow,” I cried as I hit the mat again.
“What’s up with you?” Alice asked, her tone unfriendly.
“I’m just … today isn’t a good day, that’s all.”
She put her hands on her waist. “So, if you’re having a bad day when we’re ready to march on Imha and Omi, we shouldn’t go then?”
I rolled my eyes. “God, you sound like Ceris right now.”
“Well, Lady Ceris is right.”
I grunted. “Okay, I’m done for the day.”
I shot up to my feet and heard Alice muttering about putting everything at risk by not fully committing as I exited the ro
om.
Not fully committing? Hadn’t the girl heard about all I had gone through for the creed? I shook my head, deciding to ignore the comment. She was frustrated because we were now one partner short, and I wasn’t in warrior mode today.
I had no idea what mode, or mood, I was in today.
With a heavy sigh, I went to the kitchen to make some coffee and found Ceris there, taking a fresh pot off the coffeemaker.
“Want some?” she asked as she poured coffee into a mug.
I plopped down on a stool and crossed my arms on the island counter. “Yup.”
She got another mug from the cabinet, served the coffee, and then handed it to me. “Here you go.”
“Thanks,” I mumbled.
She sat down across from me. “What’s with that pout?”
“I don’t have a pout.”
She had a small smile on her lips. “Oh, that mood. I know who caused that. And the pout. What did Mitrus do this time?”
I opened my mouth to tell her … what was I going to tell her? Not even I knew. In the end, I sighed and said, “He made me breakfast this morning.” I closed my hands around my mug and inhaled the rich scent of coffee. “He then said he wanted to tell me goodbye properly this time and promised he would be back soon.”
“All right. Shouldn’t those actions make you, I don’t know, feel relieved or content that he’s reaching out?”
“They do. They did.” I sipped from my mug, trying to sort through the mess of thoughts in my mind and feelings in my chest. “I just … I don’t know what to feel or what to do anymore. Not when it comes to him.” I shook my head. “I’m not even sure why I’m telling you all this. It’s not like you really care.”
She lost the smile and a knot appeared on her wrinkle free forehead. “I know I can be a bitch sometimes, and I know we don’t see eye-to-eye most of the time, but I’m still Cheryl. I’m still your friend.”
I stared at her. “You have an odd way of showing it.”
“I know.” She sighed. “But it’s the truth. When I was Cheryl, I got to know you, and you were my friend. A real friend. I kinda miss that.” Her blue eyes shone and I could see in them that she was being honest. Or maybe she was a good liar.
“It’s not that easy. To forgive and forget about everything that happened after that.”
She let out a deep breath. “I know, but—” Suddenly, she tensed. “They are back.”
We both shot up from our seats and rushed to the living room just as the front door opened with a bang.
Victor marched in several steps ahead of Micah. I gasped, taking in their singed clothes and the heavy smell of smoke.
“What happened?” Ceris asked, going to Victor.
Alice came from the gym, and Maho, Ronen, and Sol walked into the living room from the hallway that led to the bedrooms.
Fists clenched, Victor paced in front of her. And I watched Micah—his hand was red, as if he had burned it.
“Are you okay?” I asked, my voice low, careful.
He shook his head and averted his eyes.
Ceris glanced from Victor to Micah and back to Victor, the knot in her forehead deepening. “Someone say something!”
Victor halted. He turned to Micah with such tension in his body and so much rage and ice in his eyes. “Mitrus …” He took in a long breath. “The Death Lords found us and said Mitrus was—is—working with them.”
“What?” Ceris asked, her tone not as surprised.
I took a sharp breath, not believing what I was hearing. No. Micah would never work with the Death Lords. Not after all they had done to us.
Micah shook his head again. “It’s a lie. You know that.”
Victor advanced one large step, but then stopped himself again. “Do I? Do I really know that? I’m not sure anymore.”
“Tell me what happened,” Ceris asked, looking at her soulmate.
Victor’s gaze fell on me before returning to Ceris. “It doesn’t matter. Not now.” He then puffed out his chest and lifted his chin. “Mitrus, you should leave. For good.”
“What?” Micah and I asked in unison.
“I … I don’t know if I can trust you anymore, and until I can find out the truth, I don’t want you near any of us.”
“I can prove that I’m on your side,” Micah said, his tone almost begging.
Victor shook his head. “No. It would be too damn easy for you to lie again, to try to twist the truth to make it look like an accident. If I’m to find out the truth, I want to do it alone.”
Ceris glared at Micah. “You heard him. Leave.”
“Wait, that’s too much,” I interjected. “How … we have to talk about this. There must be an explanation.” I turned to Micah. “Right?”
His dark eyes lost its usual amused shine and he averted his gaze. Oh, God.
“There’s nothing to talk about.” Victor’s voice was hard. Dangerous. “The situation is well past the talking phase.” Victor pointed to the door. “Leave, Mitrus. Now.”
Micah sucked in a long breath and stared at Victor one more time before nodding and walking out. Without looking back. Without looking at me. Without saying goodbye.
The door closed behind Micah, and everyone stayed frozen in place for a minute. My brain was still playing catch-up, trying to understand what the hell had happened.
Victor let out a loud breath. “I need a shower.” He turned toward the hallway, but I cut him off, blocking his path.
“First you tell me what happened.”
“Not now, Nadine,” he growled.
“Yes, now.” I folded my arms over my chest. “The shower isn’t going anywhere.”
“I’m tired, I’m dirty, I’m hungry.” He rubbed his eyes with the balls of his hands. “We can talk later.”
I stomped my foot like a petulant child. “I don’t care! Tell me now.”
He sighed. “All you need to know is we can’t trust Mitrus anymore. He was probably working with the Death Lords ever since he came back from Nasya’s island.”
I had heard them mention this place before. “What’s Nasya’s island?”
“It doesn’t matter now.”
“Stop treating me like I’m a child who will not understand what’s going on. Or are you not telling me because you also think I’m not an important part of this damn thing?”
He frowned. “Also? Who thinks …?” He shook his head. “You’re important to this war, Nadine, you know that.”
“Then stop stalling and tell me.”
“I won’t tell you!” Victor raised his voice and I flinched. Ouch, that hurt. He sighed. “I swear to you if it made any difference, I would tell you, but it doesn’t now. Unfortunately, what he did, and what we were doing earlier today doesn’t matter anymore. All that matters now is I believe he betrayed us, even if only for a moment. We can’t trust him now and we should move on.”
“But—”
“Nadine,” Ceris said. One word uttered with such power, an intense demand, a warning.
It didn’t make sense. Victor and Micah had left like brothers, and they had come back as enemies. What the hell had happened? Why did I feel like they were hiding so much from me? From everyone?
I stepped aside and let them pass.
But this was not over. I would find out what happened, one way or another.
21
Micah
Morgan didn’t like my plan, but I didn’t care. I was out of options. I needed to do something.
After two days of planning, I teleported to the edge of the hill in England, a hill that housed a large villa-like castle—the place I had heard Imha was calling her headquarters these days.
Demons upon demons dotted the landscape and guarded the tall stone fence around the villa. They saw me the moment I appeared and charged. I raised my hands, creating a barrier around me.
“I’m not here to fight,” I said loud and clear. “I’m here to speak with Imha and Omi.”
The demons stopped and looked at each other
, unsure of what to think. Dumb things.
The sea of demons opened up, revealing Corinia, a lesser goddess under Maho. She walked toward me, a sly smile on her pale lips. “Well, well, what do we have here?”
I dropped my shield. “Working for Imha, huh? That’s so unlike you.”
“It’s all about survival of the fittest, my lord. Imha and Omi have the upper hand, so here I am.” She halted only three feet from me and flipped her long blond hair. Batting her lashes, she asked, “What are you doing here?”
“I want to talk to Imha and Omi.”
“About?”
I growled. “Are you really asking me that?”
She bowed, though I knew it wasn’t a real curtsy. “My apologies, my lord.” She gestured to the path leading up the hill. “This way, my lord.”
I followed her to the estate. The demons stepped back, watching me with hunger in their yellow eyes—hunger for fighting, for killing.
The villa was even more opulent from the inside. Fancy stone flooring, big chandeliers, velvet cushions and curtains, thick rugs, large paintings—just like Imha liked.
Corinia took me down a long hallway on the first floor. She knocked on the double doors, and they opened a second later.
Imha stood in the middle of what looked like a converted throne room. Omi was behind her, seated on one of the throne-like chairs.
“What a surprise,” Imha said, smiling. She waved her hands to Corinia, dismissing her.
As soon as Corinia closed the double doors behind her, Omi stood. “Give me a good reason why I shouldn’t use this in the next ten seconds?” He extended his hand and a Black Thorn appeared on his palm.
“I’m here to join you,” I said, my eyes fixed on Imha. I hoped our past would speak for itself, and she would at least consider my proposition.
Her smile widened. “I thought you were on a honeymoon with your new best friend.”
I scoffed. “You know Levi wasn’t and never will be my friend. We just endured each other. This time was no different. We needed each other to find out who we were and locate our scepters. Now, I don’t have to pretend to care anymore.”
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