27. Twenty-Seven

Twenty-Seven

Tension sizzled in the air as the guys and I returned to our cottage on the edge of the compound. Something unsettling and invigorating seemed to fill the compound.

Hunters spoke in low, excited whispers. Max was already spreading the word of our assault. We’d leave tomorrow, but the others would wait for Sabrina’s reinforcements before nearing the compound, while I went right into the belly of the beast.

After everything that happened, Sebastian still wanted me to come to him. He still believed I would share his vision of the future. I needed to convince Sebastian I’d had a revelation. Otherwise, I could end up like the other hunters they kidnapped. Whatever happened to them.

Cyrus opened the door to our cottage, and we filed in, gathering in the small living room. I sat in the middle of the old couch, Shael and Skye on either side of me.

“You sure I can’t come with you?” Felix asked as he sat on the ground at my feet. He reached up to tap my hip. “I have a frog spirit. You can just keep me in your pocket.”

I kicked off my boots and plopped my feet in his lap. “As tempting as a pocket Felix is, the wards would detect you.”

Skye jerked his hands in the air and pointed at me. “Is no one going to try and stop her? This is a suicide mission.”

Cyrus sighed and rubbed his eyes. “If I’ve learned anything from these past months working with the Enchanter, it’s that if I tell her not to do something, I’m only encouraging her. Once she sets her mind to something, we can either get out of her way or support her.”

It was the closest to praise I’d heard from him.

“Yes, we all know she’s a stubborn mule,” Skye said. He looked me up and down. “With all that bloodforged iron, we could easily restrain her until she’s thinking more clearly.”

I pointed a finger at Skye. “Try it, blue boy. I’ll go for the balls. I have no warrior’s honor.”

“Despite her appearance and words, she is thinking clearly.” Quillon sat back in the armchair, propping his ankle on his other leg. I smoothed my braided hair, still frizzy from the motorcycle helmet.

“I’ll whip up some dinner.” Felix squeezed my foot and climbed woodenly to his feet. His injuries meant he had none of the grace I’d come to expect from him. He limped down the hall to the kitchen. “I think we could all use a hot meal, and there’s about three elks in the fridge.”

He was right. None of us had been eating enough since we left Qaanir. Maybe it was the stress and staying on the move, but it was probably just that the perpetually refreshed food carts at Quillon’s palace made us lazy.

But we could use more than a hot meal. We were bruised and bloody, and we needed to rest and heal.

And here I was, forcing them to the battlefield again.

But we didn’t have the luxury of time.

I lifted the heavy chains from against my collarbone and rolled my head. Carrying so much bloodforged iron was literally becoming a pain in the neck. Shael’s warm hands squeezed my shoulders and worked the knots. I leaned into his chest.

“Where is Enoch staying?” Shael asked as I melted into his touch.

Cyrus propped himself against the wall. “Enoch doesn’t need to sleep.”

“Oh. Neat.”

Shael’s thumb dug into a delicious part of my neck, drawing an embarrassingly breathy moan from my lips. Heated gazes landed on me as the tension in the room ratcheted up. I didn’t need to feel their auras. My mouth snapped shut.

Quillon smiled devilishly. “Oh, don’t stop, love.”

Shael’s burning hands slid down my collarbone. I gasped as his fingers brushed my breasts and moved across my stomach, still moving down.

“Please stop.” Skye’s intense gaze followed their path.

“Well, since you asked,” I said, “definitely no.”

I arched against Shael’s chest and reached up behind me to run my fingers through his wild red hair. Shael’s lips brushed my neck, and I turned my head to give him better access. His finger hooked into my collar, pulling my shirt down my shoulder. He traced a slow path of scalding kisses.

Everything had been muted since I put on the iron, but this felt electric. Fire burned low in my belly. My eyes found Cyrus’s. His glacial gaze had heated.

“There’s nothing but meat in the fridge, so I put some steaks on.” Felix hobbled into the living room, a kitchen towel slung over his shoulder. He looked at Cyrus before following his line of sight to me. “Oh.”

Felix whipped his shirt off faster than I could blink. The fire in my belly cooled at the sight of him. Deep purple bruises and shallow cuts marred his bronze skin. Bandages covered the rest of him. The worst wounds.

I reached out to him, and he came to me. “You’re hurt.”

“Never that hurt.” Felix brought my hand to his lips and kissed the inside of my wrist, sending a wave of tingles up my arm. “I’d make love to you on my deathbed.”

“That’s lovely.” I smiled up at him. “A little morbid ... but lovely.”

Cyrus cleared his throat. When I looked at him, his eyes had returned to their usual glacial state. Seeing Felix’s injuries must have had the same effect on him. “You should conserve your strength. We’ll need you to scout.”

Quillon raised a finger. “I vote we have a pre-battle orgy. It’s a Qaaniri healing tradition, in fact. Good for circulation.”

Skye rolled his eyes. “Your vote’s always for an orgy.”

“And it always will be.” Quillon shrugged. “I don’t understand why you deny yourself, elemental.”

“I’m not denying myself.” Skye crossed his arms and finally tore his gaze from me. “I’d have to want something to deny myself it.”

“Fine,” Quillon said. “I’ll schedule the orgy for a night when you’ll be able to read alone in your room.”

I couldn’t stand it. I couldn’t stand them making plans for the future we wouldn’t have. Even if it was planning an orgy.

“What if …” My voice wavered. “What if this is our last night together?”

Cyrus stepped away from the wall. “Don’t say that.”

He crossed the room in two strides and pulled me from the couch. He kissed me ferociously, his lips hard against mine, stealing the breath from my lungs. My knees buckled, but he held me tightly against his body. When he pulled back, we were both breathing hard.

“Consider this your motivation to return.” Cyrus released me, and I fell into Shael’s lap.

Cyrus … kissed me. My mind short-circuited. I wanted to do it again. I pouted. His plan had worked. I wanted to return to him, just to taste his lips again. To feel his meticulous attention.

Shael’s lips brushed my neck again. Cyrus looked away, scowling.

These men were so hot and cold, I couldn’t figure them out.

Shael paused his kisses and sniffed the air. “Do you smell smoke?”

“Shit!” Felix turned on his heel and ran back to the kitchen.

Everyone was silent for a moment.

“There’s something else,” I said quietly.

It would have been easy to mistake Cyrus for a statue. Skye leaned forward, propping his elbows on his knees. Quillon leaned back, enjoying the show. He knew the bomb I was about to drop on them.

Shael rubbed my arms. “What is it?”

“Enoch told me something when he woke up,” I began. “He needs more than mana. That’s why he isn’t at full power yet.”

“What are you saying?” Cyrus still hadn’t moved.

Quillon ran a finger over his lips. “You sure you’re ready to tell them, love?”

“Now may be the only chance I get.” It came out of me in a flood. “Enoch gave me his gift before I was born. It’s what lets me manipulate mana from a distance. He needs it back. I need to give it back.”

Cyrus nodded slowly. “Reapers were never meant to be Ancients.”

“Right. And he needs it back. But I ...” My throat closed around the words. As if saying them out loud would make it real. “I can’t give it to him. The corruption prevents me.”

Cyrus closed his eyes. He understood what I was saying. I glanced at Skye. Heavy raindrops began pattering against the roof. He did, too.

Skye clasped his hands over his knees. His knuckles were white. “And the only way to get rid of corruption is death.”

Shael’s hands tightened painfully on my arms.

I flinched at a knock at the door.

We shared a look.

“Expecting anyone?” Quillon asked.

Cyrus narrowed his eyes on the door. “No.”

A second knock, harder this time. Cyrus pulled a runeblade hilt from his pocket and approached the door. He twisted the doorknob and peered through the crack. His shoulders tensed, and he swung the door open the rest of the way. “Your cousin is here.”

“What? Why?” I jumped to my feet as Genny pushed her way past Cyrus. Whatever fear of bennu she’d had before was clearly gone.

“I’m coming with you,” she announced. A purple bruise had just begun to bloom around her right eye, and blood oozed from a gash in her eyebrow. She wiped it away before it reached her eye.

All the guys tensed. If I could feel their auras, they’d be battering my barriers right now. Cyrus closed the door and stalked over to her. “Who did this?” His voice was low and rumbly. He was containing his anger. For now.

“Ren saw me getting back to the compound with Enoch. He made assumptions.” Genny’s hands trembled. She balled them into fists at her sides. “He wasn’t always like this.”

“No one has the right to control another.” Shael leaned forward in his seat. “Let alone hurt you like this.”

I felt for the dagger at my belt. “I’m going to kill him.”

“Not without me,” Skye growled as thunder boomed overhead.

Genny raised her chin. “I cut off a couple fingers, and I told him if he touched me again, I’d cut off his dick next.”

I offered her the towel Felix had dropped when he whipped off his shirt. “Why wait?”

“He took off.” She pressed the towel to her eyebrow. “It doesn’t matter. I can handle myself.”

Quillon crossed his legs. “Clearly.”

“I came here because I’m coming with you tomorrow. To Sebastian’s compound.” She licked her chapped lips. “I heard you guys talking about the wards. I’m a hunter. I can get through them undetected.”

My heart stuttered. “Why would you want to do that?” I couldn’t have her putting her life at risk like that.

“You were right.” She let her hand holding the towel fall. “Everything’s changed. I’m going to do what I want to do from now on. Elias has done some bad things, but the family needs him.” She gestured to me. “And you need your tall, dark, undead guy.”

I looked at Cyrus. “Tell her she’s crazy.”

Cyrus raised an eyebrow.

“You know.” I waved my arms, urging him on. “You do it to me all the time.”

Cyrus shrugged. “I’m an Aegis captain. Genevieve is a Morgan. I have no authority over her. And it seems like she’s sneaking into that compound to assist you whether you allow her to or not.”

I frowned. He’d used my own logic against me.

Genny smirked.

I never expected a Morgan to team up with an Aegis captain. Especially not to help me. But Genny reminded me of myself in more than a few ways, one of them being her stubbornness.

“Fine. But you’re staying out of sight. I won’t be able to blend in, but you might.” I massaged my temples. Things were getting complicated. We had the Aegis, two hunter families, demons, and a random assortment of otherworlders teaming up to bring Sebastian and Valeria down.

But I would go in first alone. Well, not alone anymore.

There were so many moving parts. There was no way this would all work out. Was this how Cyrus felt all the time?

I poked Cyrus in his hard chest. “This is the last time I’m planning anything.” I shook out my throbbing finger. Gods, I was so weak without my hunter blood. “I’m not built for it.”

Genny rocked back on her heels awkwardly.

“Want to crash here?” I asked her. “Just in case Ren comes back?” I pointed my thumb over my shoulder at the kitchen where Felix was rescuing our dinner. “We even have our own guard dog.”

Genny’s smile wobbled. “Thanks, Syn.”

My mood lifted hearing my nickname. She hadn’t called me that since I left. “You can take the couch, Gen.”

Felix swept into the living room, carrying plates piled high with cuts of meat. “Dinner is served!” His grin fell. “What did I miss?” He jerked his head. “Is that Syn’s cousin?”

“Long story.” I snagged a plate from his arm and shoved a piece of steak in my mouth.

We filled him in over dinner. He didn’t react well to the news of my impending death. In fact, he didn’t react at all. He must have been in the denial stage.

Shael made Genny a plate. I sat on the floor beside her, pulling my knees to my chest.

I nudged her with my knee. “I might have to borrow some hunter weapons. I don’t think my blood works the same right now.”

“Uh ... sure. I can just prep your blades for you if you have them.”

“Really?” I asked. Genny nodded. “Okay. Thanks.”

I jumped to my feet and retrieved my bag of weapons, dumping them on the rug beside her. She didn’t bat an eye at the quantity.

“Are there somehow more blades in there than before we left Qaanir?” Skye asked, looking up from his book.

“This is nothing.” Genny picked up a small knife and pricked her finger. She ran her bleeding finger along the meandering grooves in the blade, ensuring her silver blood filled every inch. “You should see my closet.”

Felix raised his eyebrows. “You two scare me.”

He got up and fixed the couch into a makeshift bed, placing pillows and a blanket on the cushions.

“It’s not much, but hopefully it will suffice for the night.” Felix patted the couch and surveyed his handiwork.

Genny didn’t look up. “I’ve slept soundly in damp caverns and at the tops of trees in storms.” She blew on the blade to dry her blood. “I’ll be fine.”

“Night,” I called to her as I herded the guys toward our bedroom.

I ducked into the bathroom to change into a T-shirt and a pair of sweats.

When I returned, Skye sat in the armchair, and Shael lay on the ground at the foot of the bed, curled up in a blanket. He was already sound asleep.

Quillon spread another blanket on the last free bit of floor space. He lounged against his pillow like the king he was.

Cyrus had already gotten under the covers of the bed and lay on his back. He was shirtless. His muscled chest peeked out of the blankets pooled at his hips. He lifted his arms to cradle the back of his head, giving me a drool-worthy view of the endless lines of runes tattooed on his chest, down the side of his ribcage, and covering his arms.

I tore my gaze away before he caught me looking and climbed into bed between Cyrus and a mostly naked Felix. Felix opened the covers for me to slip under and pulled me to him until we were chest to chest. Cyrus turned off the bedside lamp. Dim moonlight and the frigid night breeze filtered in through the open window.

I snuggled into Felix’s warmth and even placed my frozen feet on Cyrus’s leg. Instead of pulling away, Cyrus shifted onto his side and his warm, callused hands engulfed my feet. I began to drift off as his fingers massaged. They moved up my ankles. My heart beat faster as one of his hands sparked a path across my calf and up my thigh. His fingers dug into my hips. A thick arm slid underneath me and pulled me flush against Cyrus. I stayed still, as if my moving would remind him who he was cuddling and would break the spell.

I opened my eyes to find Felix awake and smiling at me.

I frowned. “You need to sleep,” I whispered.

He continued staring, unblinking.

“Stop staring, you creep.” I giggled quietly and booped his nose. “At least blink.”

Felix shoved his hands under his head. “I can’t stand to lose a minute of looking at you.”

“Sleep. Please. You need to heal.”

“My mind is racing too much for that.” He grabbed my hand and kissed my knuckles. “I can’t stop thinking this might be the last time I get to hear your soft breathing as you fall asleep. The last time I get to see your eyelashes flutter when you dream.” He flipped my hand and kissed my druid spirit mark. His amber eyes seemed to glow in the moonlight. “I’ve spent my whole life chasing visions of the future, but now the only future I care about is one with you. Promise me this won’t be the last time I get to sleep beside you.”

My heart swelled. “I won’t make a promise I can’t keep.”

“Then I’ll stay awake all night to savor every moment.”