“Anima, what’s wrong?” Uriel asks, getting up from his chair.
“Change of plans. Scur’s recovered far quicker than we expected. He’ll be here in a few days.”
“How did he scrounge up an army in that time?” Nox questions.
He wasn’t with us during the last battle, but I’m sure Uriel filled him in on what happened. The thought of paying Scur back for what he did to me has a thrill running through me. I’m happy I don’t have to wait a month to kill him.
“Namir and Ari went to scout to try to find out. Is there anything you can think of? Are there hidden people loyal to him? I’d rather not go into this blind. I’m a trained fighter and assassin, but I’m no soldier.”
“He will require the Bloods to fight for him. I imagine the camp we destroyed only held one or two companies. He’ll have more stashed around the Bloodlands,” Uriel says.
“I sent Torque to find Umbra and her mates. We’re to meet in the war room in ten minutes.”
“You both go. I want to talk to Agatha,” Uriel says, making his way to the gate in the back of the garden. The fence is worse for wear with its huge arch that’s seen better days and a cricketing looking fence.
“Who is Agatha?” I ask Nox while we walk back into the castle.
“She’s Uriel’s friend. Her visions are more potent than his. Sometimes she’s able to pull something from just a story.”
“Is she an angel, too?” I’ve never heard of species such as these. If someone had told me last month that angels were still around, I’d have laughed in their faces.
“No, she’s Unseelie.”
“What type of demon is that?”
We reach the door, and he holds it open for me. The cool air from the hall causes my skin to pebble as we walk together toward the war room.
“It’s not a demon at all, but a class of the Fae.”
A laugh burst through me, sounding more like I’m choking. “Did you say Fae? As in fairy tales like they had before the demon attack?”
“Do not allow a Fae hear you speak like that. They are a proud race with formidable powers. The Unseelie more so than the Seelie. They’re creatures older than demons. Created before the first Fallen.”
“Are they from this realm?”
We stop before the door to the war room. I can hear shouting, no doubt from one of Umbra’s mates. They are as fiery as she is.
“A civil war destroyed their realm centuries ago. They seek refuge where they can. The Darklands have accepted some Unseelie. Their magic can communicate with this realm.”
“Are there many in the Mortal Realm?”
“Probably. I’m not sure of their numbers any longer. It’s a question Umbra can answer.”
“What if they’ve sided with Rahna? I hate going into things blindly. From the moment Rahna gave me the contract to kill Torque, everything has been one surprise after another. I’m sick of being the only one who doesn’t know what’s going on.”
“I feel responsible for this. If you had grown up at court, all this knowledge would be yours. All the time we could have spent together, raising you. It breaks me to think about what she stole from me.”
“I didn’t have an awful life if that’s what you’re asking. They took care of me, and all my needs were met. It wasn’t a loving environment, but it was enough.”
He tugs me toward him. Strong arms come around me, squeezing me into his chest. He smells like smoke and the night after a thunderstorm.
At first, I freeze. I’m not used to affection, but then I relax as his grip loosens something inside of me. What would it have been like to have this all the time? Someone I could count on to love me, not for my skills but for being me?
“Now that you are here, I will make up for it all. I love you, Anima. Know I’ve always wanted you. If I could go back and change things, I would. Rahna will pay for what’s she done.”
“Um… I don’t know what to say.” I take a step out of his arms, gazing up at his face. He stands at six feet, over eight inches taller than my compact frame.
“I didn’t say it so you could reply. It is different for you. You only found out what you are a short time ago. I’ve always known how I’d feel if I had a child. Knowing how you turned out makes it all that sweeter.”
He smiles before opening the door to the war room. Everyone is seated at the table except for Togmerin. He’s pacing in the back of the room, looking much like Namir had before.
“Took you long enough,” he shouts before moving over to the maps stacked in the corner. He pulls a few out, then rolls them onto the enormous table between everyone.
Nox ignores his outburst, taking a seat at the head of the table. Umbra sits at his left, and I take his right. Torque squeezes my shoulder from the seat next to me, offering me a weak smile.
“According to Namir, he’ll be here in three days. What he wanted me to ask you all is how could he have amassed an army so quickly when we desecrated his camp not too long ago?”
Umbra and her mates stiffen in their chairs. Someone has been hiding information.
“Speak,” Nox orders.
Donaas rises from his chair, then squeezes in between Umbra and Nox leaning over the table.
“On the Bloodland border, there is a small pocket of magic. Something like a portal, although when we get close enough to inspect, the magic always disappears. We think he’s working with someone from another realm.”
“Do you have proof? And what realm?” Nox asks, staring at Umbra. This is something she should have disclosed in our first briefing. Even Torque is agitated.
“Hell. We think it’s Hell.”
Silence coats the room, but I’m as confused as ever.
“Isn’t that here? I thought Hell was another
