Page 96 of The Magic of Revenge
"What do you mean?" Faris asked, his voice dropping several octaves to a calm and steady tone that promised violence.
"Something's wrong," Kai said, and I glanced in the rearview mirror to see him closing his eyes.
“Sloane says to get back to the house immediately,” Fish spoke a moment later, having used his telepathic powers.
"Go," I barked at Bram and he was gone in the blink of an eye. My foot hit the accelerator and we flew down the country road that led to the cottage. The tires squealed as I took the right turn with speed and barreled down the bumpy driveway. Fischer sucked in a breath as the headlights illuminated the yard, revealing a shirtless Sloane and Saige who was wearing his ripped up shirt and no pants. Bram had Saige in his arms and I inhaled sharply when I saw the dirt and blood covering both of them.
Slamming the brakes and throwing the car in park, we all hopped out and raced over to our people—our family.
"What the fuck happened?" I snapped and immediately regretted it when my little witch flinched.
"It's a long story. Can we please go inside? Red and I need to shower. You guys too. You stink," Sloane said and I knew that whatever happened had been big. Taking a deep breath, I needed to remind myself that they were here so it was over now. I nodded and tromped to the door, holding it open so everyone could get inside. Maven came sprinting from the woods and slipped in right behind Bram.
Kai had Saige now wrapped up in his arms as he nuzzled her neck and then he froze. I swear to the gods if the man had hackles they'd have been raised to the roof.
"Where. Is. He?" he snarled, throwing a look at Sloane that basically said speak now or I'm going to maul your ass.
"Where's who?" Faris asked, clearly reading the room and sensing a fight coming from the way Kai's eyes were flashing yellow and his fists were clenched tightly against her back.
Sloane opened his mouth but Saige spoke up before he had the chance.
"Dead. Bryce is dead. Sloane ripped his cock off, shoved it down his throat, threw him off a cliff, and then lit his body on fire as he fell to the earth."
Six pairs of eyes darted to her and I'm sure all of our mouths were open.
"That miscreant was here?" Bram thundered, wings exploding, horns popping, and tail swishing. For the second time tonight, I got to see a true demon who was letting anger fuel the beast inside.
"I just— I just need to shower. I don't want to talk about it anymore. I'm exhausted," Saige sighed, her body deflating.
"Okay, baby, whatever you need." I pulled her to me and kissed her head.
‘Keep your voices down. I don't know what happened but every time one of us gets loud, fear rolls off of her in waves.’Fischer's voice floated through my head and I looked around, knowing that he was able to reach each of us by the varying degrees of sheepish looks on the others’ faces. Bram chilled out on the display of demonic dominance and leaned back against the wall.
"Is Miranda okay? Annie?" she asked, looking around at us for answers.
Fischer cleared his throat. "Miranda is with your father. Annie is missing."
My heart broke at the gasp from my little witch. "No..."
"I'm so sorry, sweetheart. There was no sign of her in the house. All we know right now is she didn't perish in the flames," Fish said gently and then winced. I'd seen that expression before and it was usually when he was getting slammed with strong emotions from others.
Faris stepped up behind our girl and rubbed her shoulders. Tears ran down her dirty face, streaking the smears of red and brown.
"Miranda's with Khol?" she asked, wiping her face with her palms.
"Yeah, Sprout. She's safe. She's not okay, but she's safe. We'll do everything we can to get Annie back," Kai promised and Saige released a shuddering breath.
"Sloane, I know you want a shower, but I was hoping maybe you could catch everyone up? I'm sorry, I just... can't do it," she whispered and he nodded. The softness of his gaze on her was something I wasn't used to seeing. Whatever happened out there had brought them together, their dynamic had shifted and it seemed to be for the better.
"Of course, Red. Go shower and then get straight into bed." It was an order, but it was said in a way that showed his desire to make sure she was taking care of herself. I didn't miss the way her shoulders relaxed. It was as if Sloane's directive had given her a sense of calm. I shifted my eyes to look over at a confused Fischer, his eyes darting back and forth between Sloane and Saige.
Without another word, she headed for the stairs and we all stared after her like lovesick pups.
"Are we really letting her go up there alone?" Faris snapped.
"Course not, we're not idiots," Kai replied and made a little tsking sound with his tongue. Napoleon scurried his chunky body from the pocket of Kai's basketball shorts and plopped his mouse ass down on his upturned hand.
"Your mission for the night is to keep guard over yourlionne féroce.Report back to me immediately if anything is amiss. And avert your eyes while she showers. I'll know if you don't, Napoleon," he said sternly and the mouse chattered back animatedly, seemingly offended at Kai's last statement.
