Page 67 of Reluctant Rebel

“Hey, Jinx. Happy birthday! Great party!” Uno shouted at her from across the room.

Jinx grinned and waved at him. “I guess it’s not so bad,” she allowed, as the music began to pump through the speakers.

“Jinx …”

She spun around, only to be utterly gobsmacked. Mikhail was standing there looking like a juicy apple ripe for the picking. She’d never seen him looking so casual. Jeans clung to his arse and thighs, and he was wearing sunglasses and a tight-fitting red t-shirt. He removed the shades as he walked over, smiling down at her.

“You’re staring at me,” Mikhail whispered in Jinx’s ear.

His breath was warm against her neck, causing her to shudder. “I was not,” she lied. But she gave in quickly when he grinned at her, looking smug and happy. “Okay. I was staring. Happy now?”

“Outrageously,” he teased.

“I’ve just never seen you in jeans and a T-shirt before. It’s …” she licked her lips, recalling how amazing his kisses were, and eyed him up and down. “… inspiring.”

“Inspiring, huh?” Mikhail said, crowding her a little. She was startled to realise she didn’t mind one bit.

“I thought you two weren’t getting together,” Mercy piped up, shoving biscuits into his mouth.

“We’re not,” they said simultaneously.

“Riiiight,” the pain demon drawled. “Then what’s with the foreplay?”

Jinx gasped, taking a hasty step back. “Mercy!” He simply grinned and continued to shovel food into his mouth. She ran her tongue over her top teeth before saying, “You have the confidence of a much taller man. Would you like to talk about that?”

Now it was Mercy’s turn to gasp as everyone around them laughed, including Mikhail. He gave her a gentle nudge with his shoulder before moving away to talk with some soldiers. Jinx forced her eyes away from his very fine butt, accepting more well wishes. She’d had little time to contemplate Mikhail’s declaration from the day before, the one about them finding a way to be together. Though it was a big deal, what they, Brax and Sabre, had discovered eclipsed her love life.

Along with the missing pedigrees, the journal Brax found behind his mother’s painting revealed the truth behindalllegacies. It was written by Ruari, the youngest triplet of King Drune. He was the grandson of Cerberus and the only triplet to survive a massacre. A bunch of other direct relatives werealso killed on the same day, and Ruari documented a series of new powers over the following weeks. Powers he quickly became consumed by. It seemed Loki was right again: history was on repeat.

Ruari’s entry had stopped abruptly after a particularly wild tirade about weakness infiltrating the bloodlines of the Forefathers. After that, there was nothing. And no records of his abilities, nor his descent into madness, were ever recorded in any history books or archives that they could find. It was like the whole thing was simply swept under the rug.

Before Jinx could get too lost in the depressing thoughts, a perfect, ice-blue, long-stemmed rose was presented over her shoulder with a flourish. “Happy birthday, lovely Jinx,” was murmured into her ear.

Jinx took hold of the stem, noting it had been thoughtfully stripped of thorns. Smiling, she said, “Thank you, Lucifer.”

“Didn’t we talk about this?” Lucifer asked, appearing in front of her. “Call me Luca.”

She made the effort to roll her eyes even though he was successfully charming her. “Whatever you say … Luca.”

The handsome devil grinned at her, his white irises shining like marbles. “Hmm, I like the way my name sounds on your lips.”

“Say that a little louder. I don’t think Sabre heard you. Or better yet, Brax,” Jinx said.

“The demon prince is very protective of you,” Lucifer allowed, looping his elbow through hers and leading her to a seat at the table. “Not that I blame him. But I hear you have another demon lined up to take his place?”

Jinx pursed her lips. “You and Sabre have been gossiping again.”

“I do love gossip,” the King of Hell admitted. “There’s certainly plenty of it around at the moment.”

“You’re not wrong,” Jinx said, twirling the rose between her thumb and finger. “Mikhail and I are just friends. Don’t push, please. And I could do without any further jokes, too,” she added sternly.

Luca bowed his head respectfully. “Your wish is my command.” He gazed at her intently, and she fought the urge to fidget. “Are you okay? Sabre told me what happened with Zagan.”

Her current situation was so far removed from where she had been two nights ago that she’d forgotten all about her kidnapping for a moment. “I’m fine. Nothing I couldn’t handle.”

Luca raised his fist. “Badarse, babe.”

She dutifully bumped his knuckles with her own. “That’s me. Now, tell me about what’s going on with you. I understand Hell is a little more Hellish than usual?”

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