He nodded slowly in understanding. “There was a woman guard,” he said suddenly, his eyes focused on my feet. “She...uh, was known to give hybrids some leniency if we…”
I nodded. “Gotcha. What happened?”
Crow scratched the back of his head, and there was a faint blush on his cheeks. “She’d had her sights set on me for awhile, but I always shrugged her off. Tomb too,” he said, tilting his head at my sleeping gargoyle. “But one night, when she came to my cell, I could tell she’d been drinking. She was a necro, but not very powerful. I think that was why she liked fucking hybrids. She got off on us using her powers. Anyway, I let her in. My birds hated her. As soon as she was...distracted, I let them attack. They killed her pretty brutally, but no one was around. I stole her keycard and broke into the kitchens of the cafeteria. I killed one of the cooks, but a few of the guards shot me before I made it into the air shaft. It took about an hour to climb all the way up, and I kept getting stuck and getting dizzy from the blood loss, but I made it.”
“Gods, that must’ve been awful.”
“It wasn’t my best day,” he agreed. “After that, I passed out in some random alleyway and waited to heal. And then I just ran. But then there was this tugging that I couldn’t ignore. And when I saw that my crows had led me right back to another Spector ritual, I laughed. I thought it was some big fucking cosmic joke.” His violet eyes finally looked up at me. “Turns out, I was just supposed to find you.”
I reached down and laced my fingers through his. “I’m glad.”
“Me too, Little Spider,” he said, placing a kiss on the crown of my head.
Tomb suddenly shot up into a sitting position, his skin threatening to turn stone as a yell erupted from him.
Shit.
I was on my feet in a second, rushing over to Tomb’s side. His eyes were wild, and the moment I reached to put my hand out to comfort him, he snarled and reared back like he was going to attack. I flinched, but before Tomb’s massive fist could come hurtling my way, Crow was there, shoving me back and taking the punch in his own arm. “Shit,” he hissed in pain. At least he hadn’t been in his stone form. “Tomb, it’s us!” Crow shouted.
My heart pounded in my chest as I watched Tomb snarl and jump to his feet, looking like a rabid animal trying to find a way out of his cage. His fists were up, ready to keep attacking, and sadness gripped me. Was this why he’d fought sleep so much? Did nightmares of what he’d endured plague him?
“Tomb,” I said, trying to step around Crow.
My mate stopped me. “He’s not himself yet,” he warned.
“Tomb,” I repeated determinedly. “It’s me. Motley.”
This time, when I touched his arm, he flinched, but stopped himself before moving onto the offensive. Feeling bold, I let my hand gently run up his bicep to comfort him. “It’s just us,” I cooed. “You’re okay.”
He shivered, and I watched as recognition slowly came over his face, and the tension in his body drained out. The glaze of fury left his eyes, and he blinked several times, taking in his surroundings.
“Wid?” he asked tentatively.
When he realized Crow’s protective stance, Tomb let out a breath. “Did I hurt you? Fuck!” He turned and threw a fist into the wall, making the concrete crack.
“Hey, it’s okay. I’m okay,” I assured him. “Really.”
“I could’ve fucking hurt you,” he snapped. “Both of you.”
“We’re fine,” I insisted.
“Yeah, that punch you laid on me was pathetic. More like a tap, really,” Crow joked, even as he touched the spot on his arm and winced.
I smiled, thankful for Crow lightening the mood. I pressed a hand against Tomb’s cheek. “Bad dream?”
He nodded slowly, placing his hand over mine to hold it there. He didn’t elaborate, and I didn’t push him to say more.
“Want to come lie down again?” I asked him, but he shook his head.
“No. I think that was enough for me.”
I wished he’d been able to get more sleep, but I understood. “I can make some web baseballs again, and we can toss them around like old times,” I joked.
He smiled and placed a tender kiss on my lips, in such contrast to his hard body. “That—”
Tomb’s words were cut short when our cell door was opened with an electronic beep, and it slid open to reveal none other than Judge Braxton and a team of enforcers standing behind him.
When Tomb growled, I looked down and noticed that there were red lasers tagged on each of our chests, the enforcers ready to fire if we made a single move at the judge.
The man was arrogant, but not stupid. He didn’t pass over the threshold. He just stood in the doorway, staring at us. Crow and Tomb stayed at my side, and the tension grew thick as the four of us stared at each other.
The judge had sleek black hair that was so shiny it was reflecting the lights off of it. He wore his black judge robe with its high collar done up at his throat, telling me that he’d just come from the courtroom. Which meant…
“You’ve declared a ruling on our lives,” I stated as understanding came over me.
The man nodded. “Indeed. You three have been deemed too dangerous to live and are an unlawful abomination to our kind.”
Tomb growled at the word abomination. I reached down and squeezed his hand in comfort. It wouldn’t be a good idea to attack the leader of the country’s entire supernatural community.
“Your execution date has been set.
