She raised her head higher, not showing any sign of ease. Just expressing something serene, but so much so that he was sure it was overcompensating for her true emotion.
“Well, that didn’t make me feel as good as I thought it would. So interesting. Here I was, hoping hearing he cared would set me at ease, but it doesn’t change everything else that has transpired between us, does it? Never mind that. I suppose he would not be even that impressed with my being alive after having survived and crawled from the wilderness, the adventures I have had, the things I have seen, to be taken in by such incredible company, who has been so hospitable to me. Loved me as I have been loved, deserved love since genesis. But we can set all that aside because you have come for some reason, to see not me, but this alias I have donned for my safety. Come with me to my chamber, and we will discuss your business in private.”
“May I bring one of my friends and leave the other?” Kinzer asked.
“Do what pleases you,” she said.
Kinzer took Quintz’s hand and followed behind Eilee, who led them up the steps, through several hallways. Daddy followed behind with his two right-hand fallens, surely to ensure Eilee’s safety.
It was a lengthy journey, and the way Eilee moved, it was as though she had all the patience in the world—as if she didn’t realize the heavens were being ripped to shreds by the Morarkes while they took such an extravagant amount of time to get somewhere to discuss their important business.
She finally led them into a wide chamber made from stone, unlike the crystals that most of the building was built into. She approached a pool of water in the middle of the room and sat on the ledge of the stone wall that encircled it. Stretching her body out, she lay on her side, as if she wanted to put herself on display for them.
Kinzer’s dick grew hard. He couldn’t help himself, not in her presence.
He stopped before the fountain and tugged gently on Quintz’s hand to stop him, since he still wore the blindfold that prevented him from seeing anything around them.
“Would you both get on your knees so I may be at eye level with you?” Eilee asked.
They obeyed, and she glanced between them, her aquamarine-blue eyes similar to those of Treycore, sparkling with what light pushed through a window on the side of the room.
“It is kind of arousing having him in that blindfold,” Eilee told Kinzer. “If your face were more appealing, I would consider stripping him so we could play with him like this. I doubt he would object.”
“I definitely would not,” Quintz said.
Kinzer elbowed him in his rib cage. “Now is not the time.”
“It’s the end of the world, and she’s fucking Eilee.”
Kinzer rolled his eyes. Under any other circumstances, he wouldn’t have denied her request, but they had more important matters to tend to.
“You’ll have to excuse my manners, Kinzer,” Eilee said. “I have not had much company for some time. I was surviving on my own for several days before I ended up stumbling upon these kind souls. They call themselves Europaclese. They are scavengers, and I was hunting not far from here for food. I’d found a krascore, a monster of sorts, and I had taken it down myself. When these fallens discovered me, I was biting into its jugular to finish it off. Obviously, my reputation doesn’t have much to do with my hunting abilities, and they were so impressed that they offered the nickname the Hunter and invited me to stay with them. In exchange, I have offered my own intel, which I’m guessing is why you even know of the Hunter.”
“We need to get to the portals that lead to Earth, and we were informed you would know where they are.”
Eilee chuckled. “This knowledge of portals seems to be fairly important. I don’t think I realized it until just recently. It’s actually very valuable to the Europaclese, who work with some less than scrupulous creatures on transporting illegal materials between the realms.”
“That is who told us to come to you. A fallen by the name of Myor.”
“Yes, that’s the one,” Eilee said. “So interesting that this is my only value these days. Makes one feel rather insignificant when their worth is simply in what they can provide for others.”
“Now you know how the rest of us have felt all these eons.”
She raised her head high and tilted it slightly. “I’m not particularly interested in your thoughts on my situation, Kinzer. Let’s keep to business. Yes, I’m aware of where portals are that lead back to Earth. So you need to get through this portal? And you will be meeting with my Trey to help him once again? To fight Janka?”
“You know about Janka?” he asked, surprised, considering Myor still believed they were amid the Almighty’s apocalypse.
“Indeed,” she replied. “Word has crept rather quickly through the grapevine. So you plan to fight Janka?”
“That’s correct,” Kinzer replied.
“Then I do have one request I will make, and it is the only way I’m willing to provide you with this information. I must go with you to see my Treycore.”
“I’m not sure that’s a very good idea.”
“What?” Quintz asked.
Kinzer turned to his ally, who faced him, his mouth hanging open.
