Chapter Twenty-Nine

I saw the van pull over to the side of the road but stayed put. Then my phone rang, and I saw Dominic get out.

I answered as I stood up, “Hey. I'm here.”

“Thank the Gods!” Dominic rushed over to me, picked me up in a hug, and ran back to the van with me, holding me like that. He kissed me on the cheek, set me in the back of the van, and slammed the door shut, all before I could say anything. Then he was back in the passenger seat, slapping the dash and shouting, “Go!”

Darius took us onto the road and sped off.

Once we were moving, I sighed in relief and looked over at Declan, who was in the back with me. He held out one arm with a hopeful expression on his face. I slid down the bench and nestled into his embrace. We sort of crumpled together.

“Don't ever do that again, Amélie,” Declan said.

“Which part?” Darius growled. “Leaving the house when we told her not to, going to the bar to confront our enemy alone, or coming after us when there was absolutely nothing she could do to help?”

“Don't be a dick, Dare,” Declan said.

“I don't leave people I love to fend for themselves,” I said.

Darius's eyes went wide as he flung a shocked look over his shoulder.

I snorted. “I meant my employees.”

Darius grimaced and glared out the windshield as the other two men laughed.

Dominic turned in his seat to look at me. “But you meant us too.” He grinned. “Just a little, right?”

I couldn't help grinning back. “Maybe.”

Dominic's grin stretched wider. “Me too, angel.”

And there it was—said but not said. Why was I not surprised that our first exchange of love was so easy? So casual. It was perfect for us.

“Stop smiling like an idiot,” Darius snarled at Dom. “She got taken again. By a god. It's a fucking miracle that she got away.”

“I had my potion vest on,” I said.

Declan eased to the side to look down at me. “Is that what I'm feeling? Potion bottles?”

“Yeah. And get this—the freeze potion I used to get away worked on Michael and Silas.”

“It worked on a god?” Darius asked. “That settles it. He's a minor god.”

“He said I was very powerful. Oh! And from what I overheard, Michael and Silas haven't been in cahoots from the beginning. It was all Michael at first, then Silas offered him an alliance.”

“Really?” Declan asked. “That's interesting.”

“What's really interesting is how Michael tried to end their alliance tonight. He said he was going about this all wrong. All he wants is to be left alone. He created the Host to protect himself from Cerberus teams. But now he thinks it would be better to lie low instead of going on the offense.”

“He's right,” Darius said. “If he went to ground, he'd be much harder for us to catch.”

“Speaking of which, when Silas refused to end their alliance, Michael jumped out of the body he was using and tried to leave. But Silas grabbed his soul out of thin air and stuck it back in.”

“What?!” Dominic spun around to look at me again. “A minor god shouldn't be able to do that.”

“Unless his magic has something to do with souls,” Declan mused.

Dominic blinked. “Oh, that's good. That might help us figure out who he is.”

“Yup,” Declan said. “We gotta talk to Hades again.”

“By the way, I did just fine at the bar,” I said, straightening out of Declan's hold. We were already in the main part of town and the bright lights reassured me.

“What does that mean?” Darius asked.

“I nearly had Michael,” I said smugly as I took out the clay jar and held it up. “This is a govi pot—a soul jar. It's used in a funeral ceremony to hold the soul of the dead after summoning it out of the abysmal waters to be reborn.”

“Abysmal waters?” Dominic asked. “Yeah, I'd want to get out of there too.”

“Don't joke about it,” I said sharply. “Some of my family members practice Vodou. It's their religion.”

“Sorry, angel,” Dominic said. “I . . . you do know that there is only one place where souls go?”

“Yes, but that doesn't mean there is only one path to it,” I said.

“Holy shit,” Darius muttered. “She just gave me the shivers.”

“You may be right,” Declan said. “I mean, souls escape the Underworld more often than Hades likes to admit. There must be many paths to his territory.”

“And many names for it,” I said. “I took a chance that the ceremony would work for a possessed man as well, pulling out the soul as it might take it out of the waters. And it nearly did. Unfortunately, Michael realized what I was doing before I could finish the spell, and he fled.”

“Holy shit,” Dominic whispered. “You're amazing, angel. And perfect for us. A woman who can exorcise souls.”

“That is impressive,” Darius said. “But now they know what you can do. You have to be even more careful, Amélie.”

“Yeah. I know,” I muttered.

“We just want to protect you,” Darius said.

I sighed. “I know that too.”

“Good. Then maybe you'll listen to us in the future.”

I made a face at Declan, and he smirked at me. Then he nuzzled my cheek and pulled me back into his arms. And I stayed there for the entire ride home.