“Fuck off,”I shot back, before returning to my earlier point. “We can’t keep sitting here waiting to be found. If enough of them find us at once, we’ll be cooked. We have the numbers to start patrolling, to get ready for the big fight ahead and keep watch so we’ll know if they do get close to our hideout. And it’s a way to get our own info about what’s happening in real time.”
“You’re suggesting strategic strikes?” Gavin asked.
“Yes. We find them before they find us.”
Lilith nodded, a smirk playing on her lips. “Look at you, Asher. Coming into your own. Who shall lead the army of our resistance?”
“Alek and Tor, along with Jensen and Finbar. They’re all fighters. The fae are commanders of the Shadow Court’s army. They can work together and train our people to be real warriors. Give us a chance to survive.”
“Why the twins instead of their father?” Pan asked. “Wasn’t he Odin’s warrior? Seems like he would be an obvious choice.”
I nodded. “Yeah, but he’s busy doing magic shit with Crombie. And he trained his sons, so they’re basically the same thing.”
“Fair enough,” Pan murmured.
“Go on, then. Gather your warriors, Asher. I’ll keep you abreast of any further intel I’m given.” Lilith took her pet’s hand and the two of them vanished from the room, leaving me looking from Caleb, to Gavin, to Pan.
“Well, clearly we’re done here,” Pan said before turning on his heel, tail swishing behind him. “I’ve got a date with a vampire queen in desperate need of a good choking.”
“Pan!” I shouted behind him. “She’s pregnant. You can’t play the same games you... Goddammit, why do I even bother?” I asked the room as he stalked out, ignoring me and my warnings completely.
Seconds later, shouts rang out as our allies clearly came face-to-face with his demon form.
“God grant me the serenity,” I intoned, knowing I was going to have to deal with the fallout of Pan’s little stroll.
Caleb chuckled behind me. “Ah, one of my favorites.”
Chapter
Four
CHAOS
“Merri is gone.”
Malice’s words hung in the air like a fucking grenade in the seconds before hell rained down on all of us. A range of emotions flooded me all at once: fury, disbelief, shame, and above all, fear. She couldn’t be gone. If she were, that meant I’d failed her in every sense of the word.
“What do you mean, she’s gone?” Grim asked, voice low and measured.
“Exactly what I said. Just beyond the gate, I found evidence of heavy magic use.”
“What kind of evidence?” I asked.
“Residue on the ground. It was a portal.”
Jaw clenching tight enough to send a spike of pain through my temples, I took a long, slow breath. “Where to?”
“How the hell should I know?” Malice snarled.
“So there’s no way to track her?” Grim asked.
Malice shook his head, a slight feathering of a muscle in his jaw the only outward sign of his agitation. Sin was unusually quiet, but I was too consumed by my growing fury to care.
“Don’t just fucking shake your head. Do something useful.” I stepped forward, getting in his face as I confronted my brother.
“What else would you have me do?”
My vision turned red. “The words of a true coward. Giving up at the first roadblock.”
