Page 103 of Mystique of the Fallen
“You think she wanted to summon Mother,” Death responded.
“Why?” Fate asked. “Mother would be furious.”
“A question only Folly can answer,” Life said. “I thought once we tracked her down, we would know peace. But now our task is larger than we could’ve imagined.”
“We have to find anyone who has aided her,” Death said. “And accept that Folly’s capture was far too easy. She hasn’t avoided us for untold centuries to suddenly pop into the middle of a street without a plan. We must stay on our toes. This is far from over.”
“Agreed,” Eternity remarked. “But for now, we need to bend some rules to save our people. And rewind time so they have no memory of today’s events. We will take them back to the moments before the parade started.”
“Good, because we missed it,” Fate said. “Bending the rules in this case is no issue either, so spare me any lectures. Folly started this; we will finish it no matter how long it takes. Then we will wait to discover what is next for Folly and her allies.”
“Do not save the meddling wizards who threw the potions,” Eternity ordered. “They have little power and no connection to the higher-level wizards responsible for the attacks on our Council. They were seduced into joining the group with empty promises of grander things coming to them, but their destiny was to die today. Without Folly’s intervention, the fallen knights and sentinels would’ve arrested them and handed them death sentences for their crimes.”
“Good point. Once our task is done, we will present ourselves in theTier’llomento have our punishment decided,” Death stated.
Fate sighed. “Iknewyou were going to say that. You really can’t stand a bent rule. Ihatepunishments.”
“The important thing is that we stand together and ensure that Death’s punishment requires no time away from theebirlloba,” Life said. “She has souls to care for, and they are more important than any other task we share among us. In fact, they need reassurance immediately. Theebirllobastill trembles with your anger.”
Death bit her lip, then pulled herself together enough to give her sister a wobbly smile. “Thank you, I would worry for them.”
Life walked over and kissed her cheek. “They need you. And these poor people need us, so we can tackle punishment later. And we have a grand mystery to solve. None of our sisters can get away with what Folly has done or how they have aided her. Folly is also far from done with her mischief. She is far too intelligent to have not considered how any of us would react to her appearance today. We have much to do, but our sleuthing cannot begin today. Let’s fix this.”
Nodding, Death threw a bolt of power out and waited for her sister’s magic to twist around it so they would cause each other no pain as they undid Folly’s latest heinous act.
Chapter 35
Grant had an odd sense of déjà vu as he stood in the sun sweating, waiting for the start of the long-anticipated parade. It was unclear why his brain thought he’d experienced anything like it, but minds were complicated things. A pair of hands landed on his shoulders and squeezed in a way that nearly had a grateful moan slipping out of his mouth. All his muscles were tight with stress, and Roman was damn good at finding the knots.
“Everything is off to a great start,” Roman assured him quietly. Grant nearly snapped that the parade had yet to begin, but he reined in his nervousness because the last thing he wanted to do was treat his mate poorly.
“The most genius thing I did today was putting you on my team so you’re next to me all day. People probably think it’s weird to have two of the four Venerable Knights in one spot, but I don’t give a fuck.”
“No one has any doubts about any decision you’ve made.”
Grant snorted. “I appreciate your confidence, but that’s impossible.”
“Okay, you have a point. I’m pretty sure you had popcorn for dinner last night, which wasn’t the wisest choice.”
Turning to face his smiling other half, Grant rolled his eyes. “No, I stuffed a few slices of pizza in my face at some point. Pretty sure I didn’t sleep though.”
“Trust me, I know. We sleep together, remember? You tossed and turned so much, I nearly kicked you out of the bed.”
“True love is a beautiful thing.”
“The important thing is we’re going to bed before the sun goes down tonight and we’ll sleep like logs.”
Grant reached out and gave Roman’s hand an affectionate squeeze. “That is the most perfect plan ever.” He sucked in a deep breath as he glanced at his watch. “The parade should start any second now.”
“Your teams are in place, and we’ll handle whatever issues crop up, okay?”
“Any chance I can disappear for a few seconds to change my shirt?” Grant asked. “Pretty sure this one is dripping wet.”
“You’re changing your clothes after the last float has finished their circuit around the parade route. We share an office, and at some point, you’re going to start to stink.”
“Honestly, I’m going to pop home and grab a shower.”
“Don’t put that visual in my head, I need to stay focused so the VK in charge of this parade doesn’t chew me out for daydreaming on the job.”
