In reality it hadn’t taken Alorathatlong, but Lucien had bet under a minute, with Elwin betting two minutes.
Alora’s combat boots stomping against the wood floors alerted us to her oncoming arrival well before she appeared in my open doorway, lips pinched and fists curled at her side.
“My mom said she will take you to Divinus and introduce you to Zurie,” she huffed before shaking her hands out and crossing her arms across her chest.
As if that made her look any less upset.
I let out a massive mental breath I’d been holding while waiting for the answer from her mom. Now I was left with a real choice to make, and with so many lives on the line, it couldn’t be the wrong one. No pressure or anything.
“Why the long face then, Alora?” Lucien prodded, faux concern coating his words. “That’s great news.”
Elwin snorted from the corner, the hanging seat creaking slightly as he pushed back and forth. We all knew Lucien was goading her.
I smacked his leg hard, earning a yelp from him. Not a bit of me felt bad for it—he knew exactly what he was doing right now. Though I couldn’t deny that I loved the way the two of them had created this funny brother-sister sort of banter recently.
“Ha, ha,” Alora snickered back in a mocking manner as her nose scrunched up. “Go suck a fart out of someone’s ass, Lucien. You know exactly why I’m upset.”
I choked on my spit, causing Kylo to thump on my back a few times until I was breathing normally again. I had to clear my throat a few times and take a few breaths before I pushed myself to the edge of the bed, dropping my feet onto the floor to stand up.
“I promise we will not stop until we find the perfect replacement dress, bestie boo,” I cooed at my beautiful scowling friend as I approached her with my hands up.
Walking slowly, I knew it was like approaching a wounded animal. I wasn’t sure how she was going to react.
Her doe eyes widened as she nodded at me and dramatically sniffled. “Yes. Once we get done kicking these curses’ ass, I demand a shopping trip.”
“Done,” I quickly agreed, loving the thought of doing something so mundane with a friend without the threat of our lives hanging in the balance during it.
Maybe it was silly, but it honestly was a motivating thought. I could have a normal life—well, as normal as a life gets being part of the supernatural community—if we could just get through this. The life I’d always craved was just on the other side of my fear and uncertainty.
I was ready to take the next step and get this over with.
“Did you tell your mom the urgency of this matter?”
Before she could answer my question, a feeling like all the air was sucked out of the room for a few moments before slamming back into me hit me. I stood stock still, mouth hanging open as a new voice called out, “Alora, honey, I’m here.”
Flies were going to collect in my mouth at how long I stood there gaping at my friend. There was only one person who would ever talk to Alora like that right now.
Chapter 3
ALEXANDRA
She was here already?!We still needed time to talk this over, and I would have maybe made myself a little bit more presentable before meeting the freaking queen of Hell.
“Shit,” I breathed out, blinking furiously as my mind snapped quickly back into working order.
The queen of Hell was here to accompany us to Divinus, and we hadn’t even officially decided if that’s where we were going yet. Cool, super cool. Absolutely nothing to freak out over.
My mind whirled as I quickly brushed my hands over my shirt before running them through my hair. I heard my guys rustling around me at the same time, likely having the same thoughts as me.
Now it was Alora’s turn to have a nice chuckle at us as she watched us all freak out simultaneously. I couldn’t help but flip her off in my haste. She was enjoying this way too much.
How the heck did Queen Ama get here so quickly? From what I knew, all the heads of the sectors here in Praeditus, as well as the heads of Hell and Divinus, had access to a portal to travel between the veils. But there definitely wasn’t a portal in our house for her to come through.
“Be right out, Mom!” Alora called over her shoulder before glancing back to us and grabbing the door handle. “I’ll give you a few minutes to discuss what you’re going to do, but we all know this is the best plan. We’ll be out here when you’re ready.”
With that, she shot me a wink and closed the door softly, leaving us to scramble for an answer.
Whirling around to my three mates, I threw my hands in the air and hissed, “What are we going to do? The freaking queen of Hell is in our living room, ready to meet us and take us to Divinus right now. Once we get there, we’ll be meeting freaking archangels, and who knows what else!”
