Total pages in book: 153
Estimated words: 144404 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 722(@200wpm)___ 578(@250wpm)___ 481(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 144404 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 722(@200wpm)___ 578(@250wpm)___ 481(@300wpm)
They were still looking for my soul, still thinking if they could force that pain back into me I would be the weak, vulnerable Liv they enjoyed.
I turned away and heard the door close.
I didn’t want her to leave and yet I couldn’t stand her being here.
And then I yawned.
Stupid weakness. I took the blood she’d so casually left behind. Like she wasn’t worried it would make me strong. Like she wasn’t worried about me at all.
Maybe it wouldn’t be so terrible to have some coffee. Eddie’s blood wasn’t as powerful as what Myrddin gave me, and it was obvious I had to compensate.
I tried the croissant, too, and I had to admit, it was delicious. I sat on the balcony of my prison cell, looking out at the moonrise.
It was nice.
* * * *
Kelsey
It was almost noon when I found myself pacing in what Tix called the salon.
“Baby, I can handle whatever I need to handle.” Gray sat behind his desk, leaning back as he watched me. “I know it makes you nervous, but if I have to work for Lucifer for a little while longer, it will be worth it to save Dean.”
We’d been arguing about this for almost an hour. After I’d left Liv’s room, I’d checked on Dean.
He seemed weaker than before, and I knew Lee felt it.
“We don’t have much time left.” Lee sat in a wingback chair, one leg folded across the other. He was wearing his normal uniform of jeans and a black T. “I can hear his heartbeat slowing. And his breathing. Sometimes I think I feel his mind trying to brush against mine, but even that’s weaker now. He can’t hold out forever.”
“I won’t let him die,” Gray promised Lee.
“You can’t sell yourself to do it,” I argued stubbornly, knowing I didn’t have another solution. My hand went to the slight curve of my belly. This kiddo couldn’t have one dad who spent all his time letting the Lord of Hell filter the possible worlds through his soul. I had no idea what it would do to him long term, but I knew he was so much more comfortable with himself and the rest of us since I’d come back. He was getting along with Fenrir. He was excited about the new baby.
“I also cannot allow our shot at taking out Myrddin to die,” Gray pointed out. “This isn’t a choice, Kelsey mine. Lee can’t do it by himself. It requires both Lee and Dean and the weapon the royals are searching for.”
“Mia.” Lee sounded so certain. “It requires Mia. She has the weapon. She’s the final piece of the puzzle, but it won’t work if Dean dies.”
We were walking a knife’s edge, but I had a bit of optimism. “As long as he doesn’t have Gladys, he can’t do shit, and I don’t intend to hand her over.”
“He has the grimoire back, and there are ways he could make you give Gladys to him,” Gray said solemnly. “Tell me you wouldn’t do anything if Myrddin got his hands on Trent or one of the kids.”
“Well, I’d love the fucker to get his hands on me.” Lee’s fangs were out, his eyes shining in a way that let me know he was thinking of how he would handle the situation.
“If the prophecy is correct, he can kill you.” I couldn’t stand the thought of Lee’s life ending so soon after his turn. Becoming a vampire—with king powers—hadn’t exactly fixed Lee’s recklessness. One of the reasons I wanted him here with me instead of on the Earth plane had been to keep him from trying to solve the problem on his own. “We need Dean alive and well, but I can’t stand the thought of what Lucifer is going to ask.”
“Then I steal it.” He said the words casually. No biggie. “I have the Mantle of Arthur in the bag of holding. I know we’re all worried that Lucifer will know when I take a feather, but that bag is damn fine at hiding what it holds. If we can’t get what we need through negotiation, I’ll take it, and when we leave his realm the bag will be in my pocket with him none the wiser.”
“I don’t think you understand how jealously Lucifer guards his body. All you’ve met is an aspect of him.” Gray’s fingers tapped along the desk as he spoke. “That aspect, while not physically real, can do a lot of damage. It isn’t vulnerable.”
I wasn’t quite getting it. “Okay. So we saw a projection of Lucifer?”
“In a way,” Gray allowed. “If you touch him, he feels real. He can do a lot of physical things like kill or fuck. What you have to understand is that Lucifer’s physical body is far too large to deal with. But he also guards it, hence sending out aspects of himself to deal with anything he needs. Long ago, he wasn’t as careful and pieces of himself were stolen. Weapons were created. Dangerous weapons.”