“What about Peaches?”
“He can’t go with you on this one,” Dex said, glancing over at my peacefully sleeping hellhound. “I’ll keep him safe.”
“You said you’d…”
“No,” Dex said. “No harm will befall your bondmate. If you fall, I will keep him in stasis and return him to Hades if need be.”
“Cerberus will kill him if you do that.”
Dex gave me a long stare.
“Then don’t fail,” Dex said. “I’m not here to paint a pretty picture for you, boy. Tristan will try his best to undo you, unless you can get through to him. The Golden Circle is hidden, but not in stasis. My nephew just doesn’t know it’s hidden.”
“How could he not know?”
Dex raised an eyebrow.
“I do have some skill,” he said. “You thought I was over here, repairing the gate, while I stood next to you. Letting him believe he is at the deserted Golden Circle, while difficult, is not impossible. The fact that he’s not in his proper mind helps, but it won’t last. As he grows in power, he will see through my deception.”
“Was there any moment I was a threat?”
“To whom?”
“To you,” I said. “Was there any moment I had a chance against you?”
Dex smiled and then grew serious. He gestured over my charred arm, causing golden runes to fall on the burned skin. My skin began repairing itself immediately. Once my skin healed, my jacket sleeve reappeared, as if I hadn’t tried to barbecue my arm off.
“Thank you,” I said, looking at my new sleeve. “I was in real danger here?”
“Mortal, even. Immortality can create a false sense of security,” Dex said as he finished gesturing over my arm. “I needed to see how you would act with the knowledge of real death being possible.”
“There was no way I could’ve faced you and won?”
“You weren’t here to face me.”
“It sure felt like I was facing you, especially when you were bouncing me around this place,” I said. “By the way, the insults? Not cool and not appreciated.”
“I know the truth stings,” Dex said, “It was necessary, but we both know, it’s no longer your truth—it’s your past. You’ll face worse soon. You didn’t let me get in your head; don’t let anyone else in either.”
I nodded at the implication.
“You never answered my question: Was I ever a threat?”
“You mean besides that mouth of yours?” he said with a small smile. “Why bother asking questions you know the answer to?”
“I guess I do know,” I said. “Thank you for not smushing me all over the stones.”
“There’s still hope for you. Not much, but there’s a sliver.”
“Your compliments need work, old man.”
“Just so you know—because my nephew isn’t exactly the forthcoming type,” Dex said after a pause, “he was never abandoned, even when he was sent away. I always made sure he was cared for, even though his training was rigorous and harsh.”
“Maybe he never wanted to be sent away,” I said. “Could be all he ever wanted was a normal life.”
“For a Montague?” Dex said, with a hint of sadness. “No such thing…ever. Battlemages are trained to stand and die. We’ve never had a choice in that. It is what we are called to do.”
“That calling sucks.”
He nodded and gestured, turning the center of the gate into a blur, showing an image of the Sanctuary I remembered from my last visit to the Golden Circle. It shimmered and vibrated with power as the runes in the stone shone with a golden light.
“Ready?”
“Not in a million years.”
“Good,” Dex said. “I’d be worried if you thought you were. Remember what you learned here. It’s the only way you’re going to be able to bring him back.”
“What did I learn?” I asked, confused. “Besides that you are scary powerful?”
Dex stood next to me and put a hand on my shoulder.
“Take a moment to use that dead sponge you call a brain, and you’ll understand,” Dex said. “My nephew will be in the center of the complex, beyond the Second Gallery. The defenses are disabled for now. Don’t dally; time is not your friend.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, I can only keep him hidden for so long,” Dex said. “As his power shifts, I won’t be able to keep him hidden.”
“Does that mean…?”
“Aye, lad,” Dex said. “Evers and Talin will find him…eventually. At least this way, we control the battlefield.”
“Control the battlefield?” I repeated slowly. “What are you saying?”
“That we should limit the amount of collateral damage,” Dex said with a glare. “Maybe keep the property damage to a minimum by resolving this somewhere far from a population of eight million?”
“I just want to go on the record here and state that ‘damage’ can’t be spelled without a ‘mage.’” I said. “The destruction is not my department.”
“Clever,” Dex said with a nod, “but irrelevant. You associate with mages, so you’re part of the damage. Like it or not.”
“Shouldn’t we be calling in the cavalry?” I asked, concerned. “Maybe the Dark Council?”
“This is mage business,” Dex said. “The Dark Council has, and wants, no part of it in the city. The Director was adamant about distributing large amounts of pain and discomfort, if we failed to comply.”
“You spoke to Chi?”
“You haven’t?” Dex asked. “I’d arrange that conversation with haste, boy. You don’t want a woman like that to come looking for you, trust me.”
“What about the Ten?” I asked. “They can handle something like this quietly.”
“LD and TK are on it,” Dex said. “You do your part, and they will do theirs.”
“What happens if I fail?”
“If you fail, you’ll die, your hellhound will be placed in harm’s way, and Tristan will most likely follow you into death,” Dex answered matter-of-factly. “I’d suggest you strongly focus on not failing.”
“Great pep talk, thanks,” I said, stepping in front of the gate. “Hit me right in the feels. The next time I need—”
“Right then,” Dex said, cutting me off and gripping my shoulder tightly. “Off you go.”
Dex gently tossed me into the gate before I got to finish the sentence.
TWENTY-SEVEN
I landed in
