Page 111 of Hell On Earth
Oanen sighed, stood, and wrapped Eliana in a hug. It was the first time I’d ever seen the two of them hug like that.
“It’s okay, Eliana. I was due for that.”
I caught Fenris’ gaze and gave him a “What’s going on?” gesture.
“Eliana just pulled a mind control whammy on Oanen,” Fenris said. “My guess is that he’ll stop being as annoyed with Megan over fury stuff. He’ll probably still get mad if she leaves her cereal bowl on the counter, though.”
“Or brushes her teeth like she’s trying to make constellations on the mirror,” Oanen said. “I’ll call it even with you, Eliana, if you can get her to stop doing that.”
Eliana laughed through her tears and shook her head. “I’ll talk to her about it, but that’s it.”
“I’ll take it,” Oanen said with a final pat.
Megan had mentioned Eliana’s unique ability to persuade, but I hadn’t fully understood the extent. Now that I did, I also understood why Eliana had wanted to confront Adira. Too bad she hadn’t reached her in time.
I grabbed my broom to clean up the mess inside while Zotera fixed the front door, replacing it with something much sturdier that wouldn’t succumb to human warfare.
“They’re really leveling up their game, aren’t they?” Fenris asked, holding the dustpan for me. “Who did Adira have with her?”
“I don’t know,” Eliana said.
“Other children of the gods,” Zotera said. “Many different children.”
“Well, at least they weren’t human,” I said. “I was a little worried that’s what they were when they started throwing grenades.”
I tossed away the wood shrapnel rubbish and sat at the table to finish my slice of pizza. It was still good cold. The others joined me.
“Does anyone want dessert?” Zotera asked.
“Pfft. You already know the answer to that. Buffet me,” Fenris said.
Half of the food on the table changed to desserts. Oanen ate a little but mostly watched the clock. I knew he was worried and looked at Zotera.
“Any chance he can have his mate back soon?” I asked.
Zotera’s eyes flickered with a hint of Hades’ flames as she shrugged.
Eliana’s phone started to ring. She frowned and answered with a cautious hello.
“Zayn? Hold on. Let me put you on speaker.”
She did.
“Is Megan there?” he asked.
“No, Hades summoned her,” Eliana said. “Why?”
“There are a dozen people outside of my home, trying to get in.”
“Is one of them a woman wearing a grey and blue tweed jacket with her hair in a bun?” Eliana asked.
“Uh, yeah. How did you know?”
“That’s Adira. She was just here at Ashlyn’s, throwing grenades with a bunch of other people.”
“What a pain in the ass,” he said.
“She is,” Fenris agreed. “Are you going to be all right?”
