Page 45 of Psycho Gods

I inhaled enchanted smoke. “Personally, I’m going to keep smoking. If you want to die stone-cold sober, then be my guest. But worry about yourself.”

“You know, I’ve never thought about it that way,” Sadie said as I passed her the pipe. “It really makes you think about things.”

“What things?” I asked.

She stared at the smoke. “Things.” She spoke like she was saying something deep.

There’s my special girl.

“You’re so right.” I nodded in agreement and let her have her philosophical moment. I was nothing if not supportive.

Rina wrinkled her nose. “It’s against the rules for everyone, especially us. We’re the leaders. We need to set a good example.”

“That’s not really our thing,” Sadie mumbled as she smoked, and I nodded in agreement. We had a reputation to uphold, and it involved drinking excessive amounts of demon brew and making questionable life choices.

Rina’s pretty face contorted. “I wasn’t talking to you, half-breed mutt.”

Stunned silence.

“What did you just call my mate?” Cobra’s voice was serrated, and there was a loud schhhhhhk as Xerxes pulled out his knives.

I started to stand up, but Sadie pulled me back down.

No one stopped Cobra.

He stalked across the narrow rocks and glared down at Rina with slit pupils as black shadow snakes slithered across his exposed skin.

The hairs on the back of my neck prickled.

Danger intensified.

Knox moved in a blur until he stood nose to nose with Cobra. One of his eyes gleamed black, while the other glowed yellow, and his expression was cruel.

A low hiss erupted from Cobra’s chest.

Knox’s features smoothed into a pleasant expression, and he took a step back. He relaxed his shoulders like he wasn’t a threat and said suavely, “She doesn’t interact with grounders often, forgive her. She’s forgotten her manners.” He glared down at Rina, who visibly cowed beneath his censure.

“Grounders?” Vegar asked.

The blond man kneeling next to Rina tilted his nose up. “It’s what we call people who aren’t angels.” He was equally gorgeous and gave off the same haughty air. I believed his name was Arthur, and they were clearly siblings.

“We mean no harm from it. Excuse us,” Knox said smoothly as he bowed his head.

His words fell on deaf ears. Tension expanded across the outcrop as the legions sized each other up.

Eyes narrowed as everyone realized at the same time that the angels were prejudiced against other species.

A headache pounded in my temple.

Working with them would be fun.

Not.

Xerxes cleared his throat and turned toward Jax and Malum pointedly. “Why were you two swearing? What did you see?”

The obvious attempt to change the topic worked because Knox backed away from Cobra and everyone focused on why we were freezing our butts off on the side of a mountain in the first place.

“We can see people in the courtyard,” Jax said slowly.

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