Page 28 of Shadowed Spirits

Isabel eyes me skeptically but eventually shrugs. “If you say so. What do you want me to do with the sorry excuse of a hellhound?”

There’s only one option. “Let her go.”

“Let her go?” Isabel gapes at me. “I don’t think you understand this whole vengeance thing. She hurt you, so she suffers. It’s as simple as that.”

I shake my head. “She’s not worth it, angel. You don’t need another death on your hands.” I remember how shaken she was at the diner when I stupidly asked if she had killed anyone, assuming she’d say no. While I don’t necessarily care what happens to Mira, I don’t want to be the reason Isabel is tormented by another death.

Isabel clenches her jaw and looks away from me. After a long moment, she swings her haunting gray gaze back to me. “I don’t have a problem killing bad people. It’s the good ones who keep me up at night.”

Tilting her chin up to make sure she sees the sincerity on my face, I wait until she’s focused on me. “It doesn’t make you a bad person to make mistakes.”

My mate closes her eyes, pain and grief pinching the corners of them. “How do you know it was a mistake?”

“Because I know you.” Even the short time I’ve gotten with my mate, I know how intrinsically good she is. There’s no chance she purposely killed someone who didn’t deserve it.

“Some mistakes don’t deserve to be forgiven,” she whispers so softly I can barely hear her. My heart cracks at the visceral agony in her voice. I open my mouth to reassure her more, but she shakes her head. “I don’t wanna talk about it right now, quietboy. Later, if you really want to hear the story, I’ll tell you, but not now. I’ll release her, but if she tries to hurt you again, she’s dead.”

“I don’t think she’ll try anything, but that is a reasonable compromise, angel,” I agree.

Isabel lets her magic go, dropping Mira six feet onto the hard stone floor. Mira cries out when she lands on her wrist with an audible snap. Cradling her arm to her side, she glares mostly at Isabel but occasionally flicks her hate-filled gaze to me. “You’ll regret this when I tell the conclave what you did.”

Isabel’s face twists in disgust as she stares down at Mira. She takes a threatening step toward the hellhound, but I grab one of her hands in mine to hold her back. She stops moving forward but snarls at Mira. “Fucking do it. You know what? Let’s call your conclave here, and I’ll tell them about it myself. Hades, be a dear and summon the conclave.”

Hades barks out a laugh. “Already on it.” He sobers as he makes eye contact with me. “For what it’s worth, earth hound, I didn’t know she was going to act like this. I wouldn’t have let her talk to you if I did.”

I wave my hand in the air dismissively. “It’s fine.”

“It’s not fine,” Isabel grumbles.

“Hades?” a booming voice calls from the entrance, interrupting whatever Isabel was going to say. “More of the conclave will be here shortly, but they sent me ahead.” When I turn around to look at the newcomer, I stop in my tracks. The blond hair, hazel eyes, strong jaw, and towering height are so familiar that I think I’m seeing things. He looks exactly like Pops. Blinking a few times, I’m sure he’s going to disappear, but he doesn’t.

When we lock eyes, the large man freezes. “Si?” he breathes, and I, for a moment, think it could be my dad. My legs threaten to give out under me. That hope is dashed when he comes closer,and I see that his eyes are definitively the wrong shade of hazel, and his face is too angular. “What are you doing here?”

His rough voice sounds so familiar, but I can’t place where I know it from. It feels like a memory long since buried is trying to surface, but I can’t shake it loose. I tilt my head in confusion. “Do I know you?”

The man’s face falls when he realizes I don’t recognize him. He scrubs a hand over his face before giving me a sad smile. “You do know me, Si. At least, you did. I’m your grandfather.”

CHAPTER 15

IZZY

“It’s a fucking family reunion down here,” I mutter to myself. Archer snorts behind me, but I keep my focus on Cain and the man claiming to be his grandfather.

While I’m no longer shaking with rage, I’m still having a hard time keeping myself from murdering Mira slowly and painfully. Seeing my kind, strong, and stoic mate flinch away from her had my vision turning red, and all rational thought went out the window. Before I knew what was happening, I had her plastered against the column, six feet in the air, with purple magic because my magic just casually changed colors on me.

A few guards tried to come to her rescue, but my magic unleashed a can of whoop ass on them. It was super badass, if I do say so myself. Hades ordered the rest of the guards to stand down and told me not to make too much of a mess when I killed Mira. Cain doesn’t want me to slaughter her, so here she is. Since I don’t trust her, she is still encased in my magic where she’s kneeling on the floor, unable to hurt Cain.

My magic didn’t work in this realm when Levi brought me here after I passed out, but it’s working now without a problem. I’m guessing drinking water from the River Styx is why, sincethat’s supposed to determine if I’mcuraor not. That’s also probably why my magic color changed. At least, I hope so. Otherwise, there’s something very wrong with my magic.

The man claiming to be Cain’s grandpa reaches out a hand to Cain before letting it drop, seeming unsure if Cain would welcome the contact. “My name is Adriel, and your pops was my son. My mate, your other grandfathers, and I spent a lot of time with you when you were a pup. When your fathers died, your mother wouldn’t let us see you.”

Cain looks shell-shocked at this information. “Why—” He breaks off, his voice catching in his throat. After swallowing roughly, Cain continues. “Why can’t I remember you? I thought Prue and I had no family, other than our parents.”

Adriel rubs his chin thoughtfully. “I don’t know, Si. That’s something I want to help you figure out, though. How is your baby sister?”

“A freaking menace is how she is,” I grumble before Cain gets a chance to answer. He chuckles softly, knowing I’m telling the truth about Prue. I’m still unsure about his chaotic sibling, even though Cain says we’re pretty similar.

“Who’s this?” Adriel asks as his intense hazel eyes look me up and down, not in a completely unfriendly way. He looks more confused than offended.

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