Page 15 of Shadowed Spirits

“How long are you planning to stay, Leviathan?” Seph inquires.

Levi shrugs. “I’m not sure. I didn’t have a concrete plan.”

“You have to stay at least the night! We can have a family dinner and get to know your mate and her other mates better.” Seph’s voice has a note of pleading in it that tugs at my shriveled heart.

Levi looks at me, leaving the choice of whether we stay to me. Seeing the hope on Seph’s face, I sigh. “Sure. We can spend the night and have dinner.”

“Yay! I’ll go get started on the preparations. Does seven work for dinner for everyone?” Once Seph gets nods from all of us, she claps excitedly before hurrying off, presumably to get ready for dinner. Hopefully, it won’t be too awkward. If it is, I can always insult Hades to get the conversation going.

Hades watches her leave like a lovesick puppy. As soon as she’s out of the throne room, Hades plasters a glower back on his face. “I assume you’ll be staying in your suite?”

“Yes. We’ll head there now.” Levi turns on his heel and starts striding purposefully out of the room. I have to jog to keep up with his long legs and fast pace. Grumbling under my breath about his freakish height, I manage to keep up with him.

When we’re almost at the doorway, Hades calls, “Leviathan?”

Levi pauses and looks at his brother over his shoulder. “Yes?”

“Come see me once you’re settled. I have a few things to discuss with you.” Craning my neck to look, I see Hades standing on the steps with one of his hands shoved in his pocket. His expression is concerned, which makes worry churn in my gut.

Levi dips his chin in acknowledgement before leading us out of the impressive throne room. He walks at a brisk pace through the castle. We wind through a maze of glowing obsidian and go through both populated and empty areas of the building. Other people in the castle give us curious looks as we pass, but none of them bother us.

It’s only a few minutes before we come to a stop in front of a plain wooden door at the end of one of the more secluded hallways. Levi outstretches one hand toward the door, and a black mist swirls inside the keyhole. The door unlatches with a soft snick, and Levi pulls it open. He gestures for us to enter ahead of him.

The large space contains a living room, kitchen, and dining room all in one space. Something about the dark wood floorsand navy walls are familiar, but I can’t put my finger on it until we head into his bedroom to set down our stuff.

A large bed with a fluffy navy comforter, a thick oriental rug, and dark wood floors are the same as I remember them from the day I passed out while running laps. “This is where you took me when you kidnapped me?”

Levi groans. “I didn’t kidnap you, little raven. And, no, this isn’t the same place I took you, since I couldn’t open a rift directly here. But I did take you to another one of my residences in this realm. It’s the only place I knew you would be safe. I have several other homes here, and I took you to my favorite one by the coast. They’re all decorated similarly.”

I grin at him so he knows I’m teasing him. “Is that where you live while you’ve been on Earth?” I didn’t know that this realm had a coastline. I kind of thought it was just all dusty red rock.

After we all set down our stuff at the foot of the bed, Levi leads us back out into the living room. “Yes, I’ve been rotating between my other properties, since I can get to them by rift.” Archer flops down onto the overstuffed gray sectional with a long sigh. Cain and Luca follow him, but Bishop and I remain standing with Levi. “Will you be okay here, little raven? I need to go speak with my brother. I shouldn’t be too long.”

“Yeah. I’ll be fine. Go see what he needs, screech owl.” Levi gives me a quick kiss on top of my hair before he leaves his suite. The door thumps closed behind him.

Aggie blows out a breath of relief now that Levi’s gone. He’s really not that scary. “I’m gonna take that as my cue to leave. Try not to get killed in Hell, kid. I’d rather not have to come back here to find you.”

I snort at her. “I’ll do my best, Aggie. You know where to find me if you need me.” She nods before shimmering out of existence.

“Can I speak to you alone for a moment, Izzy?” While Bishop’s tone is light, his eyes are burning with barely contained anger.

Oh, boy. I’m definitely in trouble now.

CHAPTER 9

IZZY

Iswallow nervously and give him a jerky nod. Staring longingly at the comfy couch and the buffer of other people between me and Bishop, I reluctantly follow him into Levi’s bedroom. He slams the door closed behind us and throws up a silencing dome.

Well, that’s not a good sign.

“What the fuck were you thinking?” he growls as he advances on me. I back up, but he follows me until my back hits the wall next to Levi’s bed. I can see the door across the room, and I have the urge to bolt for safety. But Bishop doesn’t let me as he slaps both of his hands on the wall near my head, caging me in. He leans in until we’re practically nose to nose.

As much as I may not want to face Bishop’s wrath, I’m not scared of him. Him holding me against the wall doesn’t activate my fight-or-flight response, because I trust him, more than anyone. Instead, I just feel inconveniently turned on by his hard body against mine.

“You’ll have to be more specific. I do a lot of shit you don’t approve of,” I snark. A part of me I refuse to acknowledge hurts at constantly disappointing him. I’m trying my best. It neverfeels like it’s enough for him, which kills me. I just want to be what he, and my other mates, want.

Bishop grinds his teeth for a moment, letting the silence stretch until it’s so uncomfortable, I start fidgeting. “Now’s not the time to remind me of all the things I need to spank your ass for, Isabel. Unless that’s what you want.” I stare at him, wide-eyed, but don’t say anything. I’m intrigued at the thought of him spanking me, but I have no idea if I’d like it. “That’s what I thought. I’m talking about you antagonizing Hades. He could’ve fucking killed you for the way you spoke to him!”

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