Page 9 of Absolved In Death

He leaned forward, as if he was telling me a secret. “About eight centuries ago, I was dating the Prince of my commonwealth, Georgier. I was from the lower rungs of the aristocracy, so we saw each other in private, mostly at his vacation home. He promised he’d do everything in his power to be with me, even abdicate the throne.”

Oh no. I read enough romantasy books to know where this was going…

“Turns out he never intended to do any of that. He was betrothed the whole time to some guy named Lance from a neighboring kingdom. So I burnt his whole fucking vacation home to the ground because I’m petty as fuck and he deserved it.”

“Do you regret it?” I asked.

“Fuck no. I sank his boats, let all his prize winning stallions out of their stables, sliced up all his perfectly tailored clothes, and threw them on his lawn. He had nothing by the time I was done,” he bragged.

“Good. I need someone who’s certified badass to deal with my crazy schedule, the million and one meetings it takes to run a war, and my…boyfriends?” The word boyfriends seemed to juvenile a term, but it would have to do for now.

“Diana, if you take me with you, I’ll be your adorable, badass sidekick for the rest of my days.” He balanced his tablet on his lap, stretching it to magically double its size. He pulled a stylus pen that magically appeared from behind his ears and got to work.

“First order of business is tearing your schedule apart and rebuilding it so it works for you.” He wrote it down on a to-do list. “The second is setting up some boundaries so you can keep those men in your psyche–I’m assuming they’re theboyfriendsin question—in check. I’m going to make things happen for you, Head Bitch In Charge.”

“Go for it, Old Man. Make all of my professional problems go away.”

“Old Man? I’m 1900 years old, a young man in Fae-years. You’re practically a baby. I should get you a pacifier and some of those cute little bows humans put on their girl babies’ heads.”

So Quelier has a sense of humor?Good. He’d need it when he arrived at the compound.

I offered him my hand to shake. “We have a deal, Quelier.” Sparks erupted from our joined hands, and a weird magic blanketed us for a moment. It felt ancient, like something from a time long forgotten.

“Call me Q, if you prefer. That magic you’re feeling is the Fae deal. It’s the same thing as your dealmaking, basically,” he stood, pulling me up with him.

He snapped his fingers, magicking me into a perfect fitting black tactical suit complete with combat boots. He wore something similar, with a custom made pocket for his tablet, which was now palm-sized. With a wave of his hand, my boyfriends, fathers, brother, Judas, and Bain all appear in the center of the room. They split their attention from me to Quelier with varying looks of confusion on their faces.

“Is this another torture scene? You’re going to have to up your game,” Michael huffed, rolling his eyes at Quelier.

Mal wrapped his arms around me, squeezing so tightly I almost couldn't breathe. Tears blurred his eyes as his lips pressed against my forehead in a tender kiss. “I’m so glad to see you alive.”

“The Pit used the same scene on me,” I commiserated with him. “We’re alive and well.”

“Torture time is over, folks. You’re looking at Diana’s new personal assistant. Get ready for synergy all day every day!” Quelier shout-sang the news.

“The fuck you are,” Lucifer growled. “You’re not allowed near my family, you Gods-damned lunatic!” He extended his arms, slashing them downward out of habit. He forgot our magic didn’t work in The Pit.

“We need to get over our issues for your daughter’s sake, Lucifer. I don’t want you like that. I just want to get out of here. You have no clue how awful it’s been being trapped down here for centuries…because you never came to visit me.”

Yeah, he’s a brat, one hundred percent.

Lucifer lunged at Quelier, knocking him onto the floor. Bash moved to join in, but Zaz held him back. Michael laughed, no doubt relishing in the karma that came to bite Lucifer in the ass. A crackling sound shot off, and Lucifer sat up, grabbing his hand as his face contorted in pain.

“With that attitude, I’m never turning the magic back on. You’re all going to see me every day, so learn to deal with it. Diana and I already made the deal,” Quelier informed everyone. His gaze swung to me, and I noticed his eyes were now a light violet. “What’s next, boss?”

You just started some shit. Good luck, sis,Oisín linked me.

I know what I’m doing, O.There’s no way we were getting out of here without Quelier’s cooperation.

“First order of business is giving us our magic back. Then we need to brainstorm a way out,” I decided.

I knew the second the magic was turned back on. Hot, crackling energy sizzled through my veins, lighting me up from the inside. I felt alive, ready to conquer the world in a way I never had when I was human. It was insane to me that I had gone so long without magic before meeting the guys. Now I couldn’t live without it.

Bash threw an indigo wave of magic in Quelier’s direction. My PA literally laughed, waiting until it came inches from his face before he raised his hand, turned it around, and hurled it back at Bash with a quickness that gave me whiplash. It struck him in the center of his chest, toppling him over.

“If you’re done acting out, we have work to do,” Quelier admonished, giving him the same expression an exasperated mother gave her child after a tantrum.

Bash grumbled, his eyes connecting with Zaz in what was most likely a silent conversation between them.

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