20. Toby

After the demons had got themselves under control and returned, I sat back while their mates fussed over them. None of them needed actual medical attention, so I was content to sit and focus on Blaise for a little longer.

To be honest, it was how I'd spent most of the meeting. Once I was over the initial shock of Sebastian's appearance, I'd concentrated on my boy. Something was bothering him, and it was more than just the reappearance of the ghasts or the attacks that had been happening. Ever since Dagon, Dimitri, and Lucky had entered, something had shifted in him.

I had no idea what that thing was, but I wasn't about to let Blaise spiral. I hated to embarrass him in front of the others, but I'd known the only way to reach him was to ask him to submit. Telling him to sit by me killed two birds with one stone. First, I got to have him near me. Second, it gave him a directive to follow, reminding him just who he belonged to. His worries weren't his, they were mine. While we were in a contract, he didn't need to stress about anything, not if it was something I could fix for him.

I was expecting Blaise's pushback, knowing it'd be hard for him to submit with everyone watching. I held firm though, knowing this was what he needed.

His relaxed posture now told me I'd been right.

Satisfied that Blaise was near and happy, I turned my focus to the rest of the room. Dimitri was pressing a kiss to Dagon's split lip. "You better have a handle on things because we need to come up with a plan."

"Finally," Sebastian said from beside me. "The part of the meeting I actually care about."

Dimitri spun to glower at him. "Remind me again, why are you here? It's not like you actually care about what happens to any of us. You'd probably kill your own cousin if you stood to gain from it."

"Probably," Sebastian said with a shrug.

I rolled my eyes, having heard far worse from Sebastian before. There was a loud scraping noise beside me. My head spun around as I found Blaise on his feet, flames dancing at his fingertips and teeth bared at my cousin.

Fuck. Jumping to my feet, I stood in front of Blaise. "Easy, big fella."

Blaise was still glaring at Sebastian over my head, so I put a hand on his chest and pushed him back into his chair. "Sebastian is a grade-A prick, and I'm more than capable of handling myself."

Behind me, I could hear a discussion about fault lines breaking out—the fissures between Earth and Hell had been created after the battle between Lucifer and God. God had used Lucifer's blood to create the gaps before forcing him and all his followers into Hell for all eternity.

These gaps could be traversed by higher demons using a portal key. And, according to Cal, they were growing. Not only that, but we'd learned that was where the ghasts were coming from. The bigger they got, the more ghasts we seemed to hear about.

They also appeared to be what was affecting our powers. Hence why Sebastian was here—it suited his best interests.

He'd just told them they needed to close the fault lines, much to the horror of the demons. No demon would be able to enter or leave Hell again. Contrary to popular belief, not all demons were bad. Trapping them down there for eternity was something none of the brothers were prepared to do.

Sebastian though, wasn't letting it go. "You need to. If you don't, the cracks will continue growing. It won't be long before they start to run into each other. And if that happens…"

"Everything will be over." Cal's voice was filled with horror that echoed the feeling unfurling in my own chest. "The barrier between Hell and Earth will cease to exist."

An explosion of noise followed this revelation as everyone began to dissect what that would mean. I didn't focus on any of them. Didn't think about any of them.

All I thought about was the silent man beside me.

Squeezing the back of his neck, I leaned in close. "You okay?"

Blaise swallowed. "Not sure the potential end of the world is something anyone can ever be okay with."

I squeezed him reassuringly. "Try not to worry. Shit like this always happens, world hasn't ended yet."

"Only takes the once."

"We won't let it. Nothing and nobody is gonna hurt you, not while I've got breath in my body. I swear it, Blaise."

He shot me a thin smile. "That's not what I'm worried about."

"What are you worried about?"

"You already know what."

About someone getting hurt because of him.

That was Blaise's greatest fear, the main thing that'd been holding him back from integrating with the group. The possibility, however slim, that he'd unintentionally hurt someone again.

Before I could reassure him, Mori was asking me a question. "So if blood was used to form the fault lines, can it also be used to seal them?"

I exchanged a look with Sebastian. As much as he pushed my buttons, there was no one who knew more about blood magic than him. The look he gave me told me he was in agreement. "I'd assume so. Although if God herself was the one to create the faults, I doubt it'll be as straightforward as just chucking some of Lucifer's blood on them."

"That can't be the answer." Cal frowned. "Surely using his blood would just make the cracks bigger?"

More discussion broke out, this time about what the actual answer was. Once again, I stayed quiet until I was needed. The night Blaise and I had met, the night his twin had been kidnapped by ghasts, there'd been another mage. The final member of Blaise and River's clan—a seer. His final words before parting with his immortality had been a prophecy claiming that Dagon, an angel, and a human, would be the salvation to the ghast problem.

Given Dagon was now mated to both an angel and a human, it made sense that the three of them were the answer.

I offered up my thoughts, sighing as I thought about how this discussion must be affecting Blaise. The reminder of the loss of the final remaining clan member, other than himself and his brother, must have been hitting him hard.

"You need to mix your blood. I think that's what he means. Each of you represent the three main races involved in the great war between Heaven and the fallen."

"Humans were involved?" Oscar asked in disbelief.

"Yes," Dagon replied. "But that's a tale for another time. Toby, do you think it's that straightforward?"

I blew out a breath. "I can't be sure, but it's worth a go. A bond forged between representatives of all three parties might be the thing that's needed."

Lucky's voice trembled as he spoke. "How much blood do you need?"

Sebastian leered at him. "Don't worry, I can take enough for you. I'll even make it pleasurable."

I groaned internally. Fucking Sebastian. There was only one way this was going to end.

Dimitri moved faster than I could blink, pinning my erstwhile cousin to the wall so hard that the plaster cracked.

"Careful of the photos," Oscar barked.

"Say that again," Dimitri's tone was deadly. "I dare you."

"Good to see you're as easily riled as you always have been. Don't worry. I wouldn't dream of touching your little human. Or any human, for that matter. They are good for one thing —feeding. If I had my way, they'd all be kept in cages and only released as needed."

Sebastian's words had the desired effect as Dimitri stepped away from him in disgust. Although I understood where Sebastian's attitude came from, it was frustrating that he judged all of humanity based on the actions of one individual.

I pinched the bridge of my nose. "Yes, we're all aware of your ridiculously outdated viewpoint. How about you apologise to Dimitri and his mates before I stake you myself?"

Sebastian straightened his jacket as he sneered at me. "Is that supposed to be a threat?"

He was pinned back to the wall in a flash, but this time it was my arm across his chest. My other was angled towards his crotch, the tip of my stake pressed against his groin. "No, it's a promise. It might not kill you, but it'll take a solid month for your cock to grow back properly. Is that a risk you want to take?"

It took Sebastian a long minute to answer. His gaze flitted over my shoulder. "Sorry."

"See how easy that was?" I stepped away, tucking my stake back into its sheath. Turning my back on my cousin, I moved for my chair.

A collective gasp went up around the room as a flash of warmth hit my back. Whirling around, I saw Sebastian flinching back, a wall of fire separating us.

Blaise.

Sebastian bared his fangs at the demons as he rounded the table. "Which of you fuckers is to blame for that?"

My heart almost stopped as my boy got to his feet. Fury contorted his features as he glared back at Sebastian. "Me. Try and touch him again, and it'll be your body I'll engulf."

Any feeling or warmth I might've felt at Blaise defending me was crushed by the complete fear of what was about to happen. Blaise was powerful, but Sebastian was unhinged.

I launched myself into Sebastian's path at the same time he threw himself at Blaise, but before we could collide, Sebastian froze mid-movement. He literally went completely still, as though his body was no longer under his control.

Then I heard River's voice, and realised that was exactly what was happening.

"Feels strange, doesn't it? When your blood stops moving."

River prowled to stand in front of Sebastian, picking an invisible piece of lint from his collar. "Now, as a supe, it won't kill you. No, you're just stuck here until I decide to let you free."

Everyone around the table looked stunned…everyone except Blaise, that was. He was watching his twin with a look of fierce pride.

"Carry on this little tantrum, and I'll bring out my big party trick. The one where I drain every drop of blood from your body before asking my big lumbersnack over there to end you permanently." River let go of his power, sending Sebastian crashing to the floor.

I shook my head at Sebastian in disgust and sorrow. "Always told you that one day you'd piss off someone more powerful than you."

"It's what I'm best at," Sebastian croaked, getting off the floor. "Now that you have the solution, I expect you to fix this problem. Hopefully I won't need to see you for another few hundred years."

He stalked out of the room, leaving a stunned silence in his wake.

It was Lucky who broke the tension. "Well, he seems delightful."

The demons flew to the nearest fault line, and the size of our problem was clear before we'd even landed.

What had once been a narrow fissure in the grounds of the church was now a gaping void of swirling shadows and darkness, pierced with occasional flares of the fires from down below.

I shivered, moving closer to Blaise automatically. "I hate it here. I try to avoid these places."

"Same. Especially this portal."

This was the portal Harlow had returned from Hell through, only to realise Bailey was dead. I grasped Blaise's shoulder and squeezed. "We're moving on from that, remember?"

He gave me a thin smile. "I'm trying."

"All you can do is try."

He tilted his head to the side and stroked his cheek over the back of my hand, almost like he was nuzzling it. It was such a simple movement, the gentlest of touches, but it ricocheted through me like a bomb.

The way he took comfort from me made me want to spirit him away and wrap him in blankets. I wanted to keep him fed. Keep him warm. Keep him safe. Keep him happy.

Oh, fuck.

I wanted to keep him.

How could I have let this happen?

Forcing that thought away before I could spiral about what it might mean, I tuned into the unfolding conversation. Dagon and Cal were trying to figure out the best way to get the blood from Lucky, while Dimitri was waving an over-the-top blade far too enthusiastically.

Poor Lucky looked less than two seconds away from collapse.

Knowing this was going to go down like a lead balloon, I held up my hands placatingly. "Don't throttle me, but I can get a drop without him feeling anything."

Dagon and Dimitri reacted exactly as expected, which is to say, poorly.

"Not. Happening," Dagon growled, followed by Dimitri adding, "What he said."

A tense argument broke out between Lucky and his mates as he tried to get them to see reason. While there was something to be said about the stubbornness of supes, there was one thing I knew that could topple it.

Making their mate happy.

And seeing as my solution was the only one that would guarantee Lucky wouldn't feel any pain, it was the one he was backing. Honestly, they were being ridiculous. We were talking a literal drop of blood, something I'd need from all three of them if we wanted to test the theory. I mean, it was logical. Lucifer's blood had opened the fault lines, so the mixed blood of all three races should be able to close it. The fact that they were mated added an additional magic I didn't understand, but the mage who'd delivered the prophecy clearly had.

While they continued to bicker, I darted a glance to Blaise to check on him. He was stiff, arms folded over his chest and a small crinkle between his brows. This tension seemed different to before. He wasn't bowing his head with guilt or avoiding everyone's gaze out of shame.

He was…annoyed.

Sidling up to him, I dropped my voice to a whisper. "What's wrong?"

His muscles pulled tighter. "Nothing."

A growl slipped loose in warning. "Boy…"

He blew out a breath, seeming to fight something inside himself. "You're going to bite them?"

That was what he was annoyed about. "No. I'm just going to graze their skin lightly to extract a drop of blood. There will be no venom and no chance of anything else happening."

"Didn't realise that was something you could do."

I stared up at him, confused. "Is this seriously bothering you?"

"No." Something shuttered in his face, and I knew I wouldn't be able to push him further. Not right now, with so many eyes and ears around.

"We'll discuss this later, boy, and I want full answers, so start thinking about it now."

On that note, I strode over and interrupted the bickering mates. The faster this was done, the faster I could get my sub home and figure out what was going on. "Listen, I'll bite all of you." Well technically not, as I'd just said to Blaise, but for the sake of speed I was using it. "It's not like we've got anything suitable to mix your blood in anyway."

Dimitri huffed. "Then you'll what, spit it on the fault line and see what happens?"

I spread my arms wide in frustration. "Well, we know my saliva won't affect it as I'm a vampire. You got a better idea?"

Dimitri looked at Dagon, who shrugged in response. "Spitting on our old home actually seems pretty apt."

That was as much of a go-ahead as I was ever going to get. I smiled reassuringly at Lucky. "You ready?"

He nodded. Before anyone could protest, I moved as fast as supernaturally possible, swiping the pad of his finger over my canine.

It went against all my natural urges to just let the drop of blood sit on my tongue. Already I could feel the clawing thirst burning up my throat, begging me to swallow.

Centuries of life meant my self-control was as well honed as a fine blade. As soon as Lucky's mates had stopped fussing over his already healed finger, I repeated the movement on the two of them.

With all three drops in my mouth, I stepped up to the edge of the fault line and spat the mixed blood into it.

The instant it made contact, lightning crackled across the ground. An ear-splitting noise tore through the air as massive arms wrapped around my waist.

I let Blaise haul me backwards, staring in awe as the seams of the earth wove back together. After a few seconds, the noise stopped. The ground now looked like normal grass, no different to any other area of the graveyard.

"Holy shit," Blaise whispered in my ear. "You realise what this means, right?"

I put my hands on top of his and squeezed. Yep. I knew exactly what it meant.

We'd found a solution to our problem.

But we had just invited a world of pain into our lives by finding it.