Page 95 of Claim the Twilight
“Calm down, boy. I’m not going to kill you…not yet. You see, you’re not like the others. Not here for glory or power. You came for love, and Franny and I, we understand that, so you need to understand that I can’t simply let your life slip from me grasp. I got a debt to pay.”
“I don’t understand…”
“Let me explain it simple for ya.” He leans forward, bracing his hands on his thighs. “I’ll get you to your gal, and you can tell her what she needs to know, but then I take your soul.”
“You…kill me?”
“Yes, boy. Got a debt to pay. So is it a deal?”
My heart sinks. I’d hoped…It didn’t matter what I’d hoped. I lift my chin. “How long will I have with her?”
“Can’t give you more than a few moments, boy. You’ll have to make ‘em count. I need an answer. Need it now. Your word.”
I take a breath and nod. “You have a deal, and you have my word.”
Chapter 39
ORINA
We had a new arrival in the library. Ramiel stood by the hearth talking to Sin. Dressed in tailored slacks and a shirt, caramel hair windblown, he looked expensive.
“Ramiel arrived a few minutes ago,” Nyx said to me, her voice low. “I’m sorry, he was all that I could get. The others are busy prepping to bring down the bridge.”
I nodded mutely. “It’s fine. We’ll take what we can get.”
Holly, Lorenzo, and Ordell were clustered around the table that was now laid out with a map of Dracul. There was no sign of Kaster or the Faoladh.
My step faltered as I was suddenly assaulted by a cacophony of beating hearts and competing scents.
“Orina?” Nyx grabbed my arm, and I focused on the pinch of her grip, allowing it to ground me until the sudden influx of senses abated. “Hey?” Nyx frowned, her concerned gaze sweeping over my face.
I shook my head. “Need to feed after this, I think.” She opened her mouth, to berate me, no doubt, but I cut in. “Where are the others?” She pressed her lips together, eyes narrowed as if contemplating whether to allow me to distract her. “I’m fine.” I patted the hand she still had wrapped around my arm. “Promise.”
She reluctantly released me. “Bryce and Emmit asked to be taken to the breach in preparation for…well, just in case.”
I nodded, heart thudding hard in my throat as I walked farther into the room. What kind of war council would this be? Us against Loviator’s hordes?
Breathe, Orina. Padma would come back soon. We’d have a solution. Until then, we just had to hold the fort.
Dammit, everyone was looking at me. I missed Ezekiel. “Okay, so let’s go over what we know. The faith warriors are ghosts, so we can’t remove the mark off them, so that plan is a bust. Weakening her isn’t going to be possible. Hemlock is…well, the bitch has him, so Plan B is off the table, although I’m not gonna lie, not a fan of that plan.” A nervous laugh escaped my lips, and I clamped them closed, breathing through my nose. “Right now, all we have left is Padma and Harald. We need whatever information he has that can bring Loviator down. We have to hope they return in time to deliver it to us.”
“And if they don’t?” Sin asked.
“Then we fight,” Ordell said. “We fight for as long as we can, as hard as we’re able, and we save as many people as possible.”
“The white wings have evacuated as many people as they can,” Lorenzo said.
“Godor and the batlings are helping to gather supernaturals at the border of Old Town for pickup,” Ordell explained. “He checked in an hour ago to say they’ve shuttled as many as are willing to leave. There are some who want to stay and fight, and they’ve been taken to one of the two breaches.”
But I’d been thinking hard about this. About our odds and about the people I loved. Fighting was one thing when there was hope of success or survival. But this…fighting a goddess and her horde with no way of hurting or killing her…It was suicide.
A bright light beamed into the library, depositing Kaster into our midst. His dark gaze zeroed in on me. “What did I miss?”
I shook my head. “Nothing you don’t already know. But there is something I need you to do.”
“Anything.”
“Call everyone back from the breaches.”
