Page 43 of Left Hand of the Divine
Lazarra hit the pair of them with a flat look. “If you could leave the sarcasm at the door, I’d appreciate it.”
“They’ll behave,” I said, giving the twins a death stare.
Daire laughed softly, the sound of it low and seductive. It made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up as a shiver crept down my spine. The man himself sat there watching me, a long finger tracing his cupid’s bow while amusement danced in his eyes. He knew exactly what he was doing to me, so I scowled at him, but the asshat justsmiled back.
“So, I bet you’re all wondering why you’re here?” Lazarra said as she flicked through the first file, ignoring the incubus at her side. “We received notification of the expungement of Mr Drake’s debt through death, and yet the man is still walking around. Explain.”
Atticus cleared his throat and sat up straighter. “I did die, and I am dead.”
“This is correct,” Thane added. “He is tied to me by his soul and my Death Magic, which now gives him life.”
“But he’s dead?” Rory asked, his expression confused.
“As a doornail,” I clarified.
“Must have made quite the impression,” Daire posed, his eyebrow quirked suggestively.
“He did,” Thane replied. “I saw him and instantly knew he was mine.”
“Aww,” Avery said with a sweet smile and her hands clasped under her chin. “I love it when that happens.”
Jefferson gave a grumpy huff. “It’s Fate.”
Avery playfully backhanded Jefferson in the chest. “Doesn’t make it any less special.”
I had expected some sort of retaliation from Jefferson, but he merely curled his lip in a hint of a smile. Maybe the ghost wasn’t as grumpy as he made out to be.
“If it makes any difference, I’m also bonded to Roux,” Atticus added, a wide grin plastered on his face.
I rolled my eyes at him. Now he was just showing off.
Lazarra quirked an eyebrow. “A Metus demon with two mates?”
Daire looked at the five of us, his gaze assessing. “I think there is more to this unit than meets the eye.”
“What do you mean?” Lazarra asked as she turned to face the incubus.
Daire must be a powerful incubus if he could sense the love lines that linked us all. The ones that were and the ones that could be. It was a power found only in the highest-ranking incubi, the Royals. Jeepers, was this guy a prince? His dark eyes shimmered silver as he called his ether sight to him and looked at all of us in turn. “They are all connected to one another. Their love lines are all entangled, but some are incomplete. Interesting.”
His eyes snapped back to the dark sapphire blue, and a knowing smirk curled his lips. What did he mean by ‘interesting’? I wanted to ask, but now definitely wasn’t the time. Dammit, I’d have to collar him later.
“What happens to me now?” Atticus asked the Guild, his thumbs turning over each other as he looked at Lazarra. He’d been forced to work for the Guild as punishment for attacking one of the other high-ranking officials. He’d literally trapped the man’s mind inside a living nightmare, holding it prisoner until the day the man died. That high-ranking official had forced himself on Atticus’ little sister and sexually abused her which made it a fitting punishment if you ask me. It was just unfortunate that even attacking scumbags like that will earn you a sentence to serve.
“There isn’t exactly a protocol for this,” Lazarra said to him, a pinched frown making her face look severe. “You still have eight years left to serve.”
“But he’s dead,” I said.
“Wouldn’t he actually beundead?”Avery asked as she peered closer at Atticus over the table, her nose scrunched up.
Jefferson gave her a sideways glance. “He’s not a vampire, Avery.”
“But if he’s not alive, and he’s not dead, what does that make him?” She looked down the line of the Guild members from her spot at the end of the row. She had a point; not even I knew what Atticus was, and I dealt with the dead for a living.
“Death,” Thane said simply. “He is a part of me, and that makes him Death.”
“How ominous,” Rory quipped, his smile easy.
“Agreed,” Lazarra said dubiously. “But it does leave us somewhat unsure as to the sentence you are serving, Atticus.”
