“But—”
“Your scythe is the key, Delta,” Nefta says with one arched eyebrow, indicating a heavy double meaning.
She sends a look over her shoulder at Taz. “Good to see you aren’t completely useless on the battlefield, Pride,” she says, turning and sweeping out of the room before he can say a word back to her.
Taz scowls at the empty space she just was occupying. “That angel is a pain in my ass.” He looks over at me, like he’s just now noticing I’m here. “Ah, Delta. Glad to see you didn’t die. Must be my Abdicated blood that kept you quick on your feet.”
“Must be,” I say dryly.
His wings poof up behind him. “Did you see I had the Ophidian in my grasp? Even held a knife to his throat.”
“Fuck, we’re never going to hear the end of his bragging about that,” I mumble under my breath. Crux snorts.
“I believe I killed the most on the battlefield, too. Certainly more than your mother. One hundred sixty-seven demons, I culled,” he adds proudly as he rocks back on his heels. “I counted.”
“Of course you did,” I reply, barely suppressing the urge to roll my eyes. But then I remember Lucifer, and a grin spreads across my face.
The sight of it makes Taz stop preening long enough to narrow his eyes on me. “What?” he asks warily.
“Lucifer wants to talk to you. Immediately,” I say, adding some flair to my tone as I wag my brows.
That takes the wind out of his wings. “Why?”
I lift a shoulder. “Don’t know. He said it while he was wearing your body like a coat. It was pretty fucking creepy, actually.”
Taz sighs, looking up at the ceiling. “Fuck, I hate when he does that.”
“I bet,” I say cheerfully. “So you better go back to Hell quick and see what he wants. I think you’re in trouble.”
He snaps his eyes onto me. “I most certainly am not in trouble.”
“Are you sure about that?” I ask, working to keep my face perfectly serious.
Doubt and worry flash over his features for just a split second, and I nearly lose it right then and there. I think the corners of my lips twitch, because his expression turns pissed. “You’re a little shit, you know that?”
I chuckle. “You don’t wanna be late, Taz. You better hurry.”
“You’re just trying to get rid of me.”
I place a hand over my heart in mock offense. “Me? I would never.”
I hear a couple of the guys snicker, and Taz’s teeth clench. “This is why I never wanted progeny!” he complains before turning on his heel and stomping out of the room. “I will summon you at a later date!” he snaps before disappearing down the hallway.
“Can’t wait!” I call like a smart ass.
Iceman gives me a wry look. “You really love to push his buttons, don’t you?”
“Yep,” I say with a grin. “But I have to enjoy every little piece of happiness I can get, since it seems like my life isn’t going to be getting easier any time soon.”
The guys all surround me, like they’re silently offering me their support. “We’ve got your back. Every step of the way,” Iceman promises.
“I know,” I reply with a smile as I look at each of them and wonder how the hell I got so lucky to find them. I take a deep breath. “I guess we should go down to Hell’s Embrace? See if we can figure out whatever vague talk Nefta hinted at with the Hellgate?”
“Are you sure you’re ready?” Echo asks me.
“I have to be,” I answer honestly. “Our portal is fucked, and apparently, I can’t be a Gate Guardian, so I’m no help to you that way. My induction apparently did jack shit, but I’m not going to just leave the Gate and all of you vulnerable,” I say, shaking my head. No wonder I didn’t feel the attack the way they did. “I have to do something, or we could just get overrun again as soon as Morax regroups and starts building up his army again. We can’t waste any time.”
“Then let’s go,” Jerif says as he nods at me. “Call your scythe.”
I raise a brow at his bossy tone. “Aren’t you going to say please?” I say teasingly.
“No, but I’m sure you’ll be saying that later when you beg,” he replies, and fuck, his banter wins over mine. My cheeks go pink at the wicked promise, and the other guys all seem to be on board with Jerif’s plan, which reminds me of that group sex dream I had in what seems like forever ago.
Fix the Hell Gate.
Fuck the shit out of my demons.
Try not to get caught and used as a pawn in realm domination.
Sweet, looks like a pretty solid to-do list to me.
I exhale a steady breath and shake out my hands. I loosen up, dispelling the arousal that Jerif stirred in my belly, and focus on calling my scythe. Holding my right palm up, I get ready for her. “Come on, Red Queen! Let’s do this shit.”
My hand prickles, and then my scythe appears in all her bladed glory. I let out a shriek that takes the guys by surprise as I jump in the air with a huge victorious smile on my face. “Yes! I fucking did it! Did you see that? I called and she appeared, just like that!”
“We saw,” Jerif says dryly, rolling his fiery eyes. “Now let’s go.”
I follow him and the others out of the room, tsking at his surliness. “Don’t worry, Queen,” I say, petting her wood slightly. “Jerif is very impressed with us, he just isn’t good at showing his feelings.”
Iceman snorts beside me, while Echo and Crux snicker.
“Keep it up, Warrior Princess, and I won’t just have you begging later. I’ll be painting that ass of yours red, too.”
Dammit, now I’m horny again. This is gonna be a long walk to the Hellgate.
25
I exit the massive mausoleum that
