Page 18 of Absolved In Death

Diana’s face turned beet red. So did Ares’, but I highly doubted it was from embarrassment. I know he didn’t like another man outside the five of us being so close to her after sex, smelling her blissed out scent.

“How the fuck did you get through our wards?!” Ares growled. “How do you even know what the alarm means?”

“Greek Daddy, wards are for regular magic folk, not Fae. We’re built differently. Be thankful I knocked.” His gaze swung to me and he cleared his throat. “You can’t attend the meeting in boxer briefs, even if it is a good look for you.”

With a snap of his fingers, I was clothed in gray chinos, a white shirt, and a long navy cardigan. I felt my hair tug at the roots as it was lifted into a top knot. I’d actually pick something like this out for myself.

“Thank you, Quelier.” He nodded at me without looking up from his tablet. After a few swipes of his fingers, his gaze focused on Diana.

“If this emergency doesn’t throw us completely off schedule, you’ll have magical combat training this morning after breakfast, followed by another lesson from Tempus. You’ll need to wear something appropriate for that, but also sleek enough for a crisis meeting…”

I was curious what he’d pick, or if Diana would even let him dress her. She was fond of her active wear. Honestly, I was too.

I hope he keeps her in something similar. Her ass was made for spandex and sundresses,I whispered down the mindlink to Ares.

“I like Diana’s outfit,” Ares groused in warning as he took a quick peek at her behind.

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Quelier replied as he realized where Ares’ gaze landed.

He snapped his fingers, changing Diana’s outfit to ankle length burgundy red catsuit with long sleeves and black combat boots. When she turned around, I noticed that two sheer panels draped over her back, revealing a matching low-cut sports bra underneath.

“Comfortable, stylish, and wing friendly in the back. And I made sure the pants were Ares-approved,” he confirmed as he gave Ares a cursory glance. “You’re welcome.”

Diana took in her reflection in the living room mirror, a small smile curling her lips. “I’m starting to get nervous. Let’s get over there and figure out what’s going on.”

We were the last to fade into the room. Everyone in Lucifer’s inner circle was here, even Nonna, Angela, and Charlie. Feta and Diana’s three new pet velociraptors chased each other around the room. They had on sparkly collars in different colors. Feta broke away from the pack and gave me a few good sniffs beforelicking my hand. The gigantic beast of a dog had grown on me since Ares brought him back to the compound. I prayed the velociraptors never did, because those scaly little shits were creepy as fuck.

“Come on, my beasties. Y’all gotta go home,” Quelier said before he snapped his fingers, and they disappeared. Where was their home?I need to know so I never go there…

The Costa coven leadership occupied an entire side of the long table, quietly whispering to themselves, except for August, Judas’ second. He watched everyone at the table, taking everything in. Judas’ usual fun-loving, mischievous expression was gone, replaced by a tense jaw and fear in his eyes. Diana’s fathers sat at the head of the mahogany table with Marilyn, whispering to themselves.

Something is definitely wrong…Ares linked me as we took the only open seats.

Quelier sat next to Diana, his palm extended toward the table, calling forth a field of incandescent light that beamed down from the ceiling to the middle of the table. A slowly rotating 3-D image of a black card with a white star appeared within it.

Lucifer stood. “I’m going to cut right to it. The Princeps Council left that for us overnight. It means we’ve broken one of the laws. They’ll be here within the day to pass judgment.”

6

DIANA

Why did that name sound so familiar? I racked my brain, trying to remember where I heard the words before…Princeps Council…

Bash’s words from our very first magical lesson at the mountain home flooded my mind.

“The Princeps…a magical council…You need to remember three laws until we can educate you on them properly. One, do not let the human population discover the magical community. We stay hidden because as history proves time and time again, they can’t handle us. Two, do not out another person’s magical ability. That’s punishable by death. And three, the magical council is corrupt. The laws are applied and enforced at a whim. It’s very wild west in our world. Be careful and always watch your back.”

I had a feeling which law was broken, but I asked my father anyway. “What law are they accusing us of violating? And what evidence do they have?”

“Spoken like a true pre-law student. The council does not have to provide proof. When they arrive, they’ll ask to meet withrepresentatives from our leadership and will give us a trial of sorts. Then they decide.” Lucifer’s expression was unreadable.

“It’s not a fair system by far, but we will have a chance to argue our case,” Desmond added. I do remember Bash saying he served on the council at some point.

Judas stood. He didn’t wear his normal leather pants and mesh shirt today. No fur coat or boa feathers or jewelry, just jeans and a plain tee shirt. He was a muted, tired version of himself.

“I think I have an idea of why they are coming. Quelier, can you please play the footage my security team sent you?” His sigh echoed through the room as he ran his hands through his chin length hair.

The image of the card was replaced by footage of people on a city street—possibly in New York City—being chased by werewolves in broad daylight past skyscrapers. The sheer terror on their faces was palpable. Then it panned to moon people abducting bystanders off suburban streets and forcing them into sewer drains. The third clip was of a vampire biting a woman in the middle of a department store, right in front of the shoe section. Something was wrong with his eyes–they were wide and bloodshot, with red pupils. A fourth clip showed some kind of water creatures sinking a fishing boat. The amount of blood in the water made me nauseous. The final six clips were of news anchors from outlets all over the country reporting how people were claiming that paranormal monsters were real and the culprits behind attacks all over the country.

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