He stiffened, every inch ramrod straight, and Rune whimpered.
“This conversation isdone. Have Alexei take you back, and don’t seek me out again.”
His wings gave a sharp flap, and he shot into the rising dawn, his shadows swarming around him.
Chapter
Forty-One
LUCILLE
Iwove through the dimming trunks, the soothing scent of the lavender flowers lost on me. Up ahead, Alexei leaned against a tree, flipping a dagger, not a care in the world while mine was thoroughly fucked.
When he spotted me, he flipped the dagger back into its sheath and tilted his head. “How’d it go?”
“Terrible.”
Alexei grimaced. “Care to elaborate?”
I shook my head. “Not really.”
He pulled me in for a hug, and I let him, my arms hanging limp at my sides.
“Don’t worry, I’ll bring in the big guns next.”
“The big guns?”
“MJ. The redhead you see around us. She’s Ronen’s third and knows all the tricks for getting under his barriers. She also knows more about his past.”
I sighed, leaning more of my weight into Alexei, exhausted. That might help Ronen, which I wanted, but it wouldn’t help me or Oliver.
“Let’s just go, Alexei.”
He leaned back, looking down at me with concern in his warm eyes. “He’ll come around, beautiful. He just—” He paused. “He’s just haunted right now. The last time this happened, Lucifer managed to infiltrate his mind, and that was another ordeal MJ and I will never forget. For some reason, I thought it’d be different with you.”
“Why?”
Alexei picked me up and manifested his dappled wings.
“The fact that you have to ask means Ronen needs MJ to knock some sense into him more than I realized.”
“That doesn’t answer my question.”
“It’s not my answer to give.”
Oliver and Alexeinoticed my volatile mood during our morning run, but surprisingly, they refrained from commenting on it.
I didn’t think my mood could possibly get any worse—until Ronen showed up. After all histime away, he finally decided to grace his military with his presence. Oh, and Moira was right next to him, practically petting his chest.
My Infernus came alive at the sight, its whispers more like hisses in my ear. I ignored them. Before he could spot me walking through the arena’s doors, I turned and veered toward our squad.
“Hey, Ronen’s back,” Oliver commented with enthusiasm.
I hadn’t told him about my early morning failure. “I can see that.”
He raised a brow.
“Let’s just get this day over with.”
