Page 13 of Absolved In Death

“Quick, sit in a circle!” I screamed. Everyone hauled ass, plopping down in the most lopsided, misshapen circle I’d ever seen.

This time, everyone’s power was frantic, beyond chaotic. I felt their nerves as I channeled our magic and mentally picked a destination.

Present day, the Costa Coven Compound in California, USA.

The earth vibrated, shaking around us as the cliff slowly crumbled away. Right before everything went black, three small, scaly trespassers jumped into the middle of the circle, claws raised at me as they shrieked a shrill battle cry.

4

DESMOND

Brainstorming our missing crew’s whereabouts felt like running in a circle. We were mentally exhausted, no closer to finding them than we were a few days ago. Ares and I barely slept and spent most of our nights awake in bed, doom spiraling about all the awful things that could have happened to them.

There was no guarantee they made it to Hell—Red could have easily stashed them in the Fourth Realm. Even if they did make it to Pandemonium, Hell was vast with hundreds of places to hide people. Or they could be trapped somewhere obscure on Earth.

They could beanywhere.

Angela sighed, leaning her head on Charlie’s shoulder. “You don’t think Red is hiding them somewhere in the compound as a sick joke, do you? Or in our old house in Brooklyn? I feel like that fucker would.”

“I have soldiers searching every inch of the compound, and the wards Feathers weaved around your old house would have let me know if anyone entered it,” Ares responds, his head in hishands. He had been on edge since Diana left, vacillating between agitated and flat out wrecked.

“Holy shit.” August’s head snapped to the door, his jaw dropping to the floor. The Costa vampires shared a consciousness, and news traveled fast around the compound. “They’re back, and they’re not alone. We need to get down there. I’m calling in some of the soldiers as backup.”

He used his magic to transport all of us back to the training gym, which was in complete chaos. A band of twenty soldiers were chasing three small, scaly dinosaurs around the far side of the gym. One of the dinosaurs has a finger gripped in his claws, which left a trail of blood behind him. That explained why one of Judas’ guards held his hand against his chest, cradling it as his agonizing screams tore through the room.

I’d deal with that issue at another time, but I had to see Diana first. After a quick scan of the room, I found her and Oisín naked on the floor, covered in blood and grass. There was some sort of fanged tooth embedded into her back. The wound was rapidly healing, but I could tell it was painful and deep.

What was more concerning was the unknown man standing next to her. He was definitely paranormal—his power signature was a brash slap across the face, powerful and chaotic. He had bright strawberry blond hair, a solid build, and stood tall as he offered her his hand to help her off the floor. When his fingers touched her skin, I envisioned smashing his fucking face in. Or ripping his head clean off and hanging it outside the training gym as a warning to every man in this compound not to touch what didn’t belong to them.

A snap of his fingers made a black robe wrap around her body. When he turned to the side, I saw the arch of his ears and the unmistakable pointy tips.A Faerie.

Fae were here when time began, and they would still be here if it ever ended. There was a reason they were rarely seen outsidetheir own realm. Only the worst—the ones labeled irredeemable by their kind and unfit to be in society—were punished to live their immortal lives on Earth, a subpar realm as far as they were concerned. Their magic was archaic and deadly—world changing. Controlling them wasn’t possible

Only Diana could manage to cross paths with one of the deadliest types of paranormal beings in the midst of whatever the fuck happened to them.

Who the fuck is that Fae touching our woman?!Ares shouted through our mindlink.I’m going to wring his neck and add those giant pointy ears to my new trophy room.

Calm down, A-Bomb. We don’t want to start something while he’s so close to Diana.

Diana wasn’t stupid, but sometimes she could be impulsive. Did she even know what he was? Or why he was sentenced to spending his days on earth?

I had to separate them, at least until we could determine he wasn’t a threat. “Step away from Diana Morningstar and?—”

Ares used his super speed to attack him before I finished my sentence. Within seconds, he had the faerie pinned down on his back with his forearm and his other hand wrapped around his neck.

“Don’t touch what isn’t yours,” Ares growled, his Greek accent so thick, his voice purred. “State your business here.”

He smiled at Ares, batting his eyelashes. “It’s hard to focus with you pinning me down like this with your big, strong hand around my throat. Diana, you never said he was this hairy.I like it.” He winked at Ares, which only made him tighten his hold on the Fae’s neck.

“Ares, meet Quelier, my new Personal Assistant. He helped us get out of Pit 13,” she winced as she pulled the tooth out of herback. How the fuck did they end up in Pit 13? The Princeps shut that place down centuries ago.

Two of the three dinosaurs raced toward Ares. They screeched loudly, their shrill calls a warning to everyone around them. He laughed as he plucked one of the little monsters right off the ground by the back of the neck, then glared at the other one, freezing it in place. The dinosaur wiggled in his hold, trying to snap at him.

A wicked smirk curled his full lips. Ares was a sick, bloodthirsty god. He tried to be on his best behavior around Diana, but I’ve seen him level entire battlefields and destroy armies because he felt like it. Quelier was no match for him.

“You brought me dinosaurs, Little Goddess? What a beautiful gift, I love them. Especially their razor sharp teeth…” He froze the dinosaur in his hand while its mouth was wide open, exposing dozens of little dagger teeth. He held them up to Quelier’s throat. “Youthinkyou’re immortal, but my uncle will plunge your forsaken soul right into the River Styx if you even think about our woman the wrong way. I’m watching you, Pointy Ears. Every fucking breath you take is because I let you take it.”

Quelier didn’t even flinch at Ares’ threat. His smile and ease under imminent death were unnatural. He almost seemed…pleased, like he wanted that reaction. He looked Ares straight in the eye as he said, “Threats are practically a declaration of love to the Fae, Greek Daddy. Take my breath away—Ilovebreath play.Make my day.”

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