“Fine. I’ll go next so Liam can go back and check on the bear,” Iggy finally grumbles. He walks over to stand behind the demon and our siren as I did, rolling his shoulders and cracking his neck like an athlete about to take the field.
It’s a bit funny, but his kind are always odd about how they approach their craft.
When I look at the others, Anton, Salem, and Jasper are smirking at his back. They definitely know that whatever Iggy is doing doesn’t require a showy approach, and his very typical pomposity is amusing the shit out of them. I cough, letting them know it won’t help to snark at him. He is who he is, and poking at him will only distract from the task at hand.
“Aufer quod non pertinet. Da mihi aditum ad fontem tuum.?1”Iggy chants softly as he raises his hands, his gaze intense as he stares at the mechanism. “Haec macula evanescet, et incantationes revelabuntur.?2”
The demons look away, and I dip my chin to hide my smile. I assume they don’t always need to use spoken spells outside of rituals, and Ignatius does—like all witches, wizards, mages, and such do. It doesn’t make them less powerful, but when they are alongside magical supes like Fae or demons, it can seem silly.
“If you yell at it, will it go faster?” Angelo chuckles as he watches the professor do his thing, but luckily, Iggy pays no attention.
There’s a funny sound and a trail of smoke that makes us all stand at the ready, but once it disappears, Iggy sighs. “Whatever the shitthatwas, it was coating the mage magic. I’ve never seen anything like it, and I have to admit, I wasn’t sure I’d get through it. If it had been even a little more powerful, I wouldn’t have been able to.”
I frown. “Not Fae or demon or magic user?”
“No, and I don’t know what. I will need to research it.”
That’s never a good sign, and everyone in this hallway knows it.
1 Take away what does not belong. Give me access to your source.
2 This taint will disappear, and the spells will be revealed.
Thirty-Five
MORGANA
Irealize I’m still tipsy, but I’m also worried about my young, fearless polar bear. Lucas has all the brash bravado of his age and still hasn’t quite figured out that he can’t just rush into things without considering how devastating it would be to Liam and me if he gets killed.
Not that this time was his fault, but I am tired of shit trying to harm my cuddly mate.
Settling on the edge of the couch with a little wobble, I glare as Rogue cackles at me. Kat cringes, both at the near-miss and at my frustrated expression.
Luckily for all of them, the men haven’t deigned to pause their argument about what holiday movies we should watch. The demons of Discordia obviously know little beyond what Kat has discussed with them, while the surface dwellers have a more extensive catalog in mind. I don’t care what they pick; however, I’m definitely interested in what we get to eat. It needs to happen soon for a multitude of reasons, and I’ll weigh in when that comes up.
Inside the prince’s suite, the air has gotten hotter than it was in the corridor. Seven men—a veritable menagerie—cluster around the suite’s coffee table and the fancy seating. They’re all exuding ‘alpha’ dude energy except for my injured bear and the lion carrying the baby phoenix. I think that’s simply a function of what they’re doing rightnow. I chide myself immediately for thinking ‘alpha’ means a damn thing about how men behave despite my knowledge of how real men behave.
Taking care of yourself or a baby doesn’t make a guy less manly—it makes him more because he’s not toxic and gross.
“I think we need to deal with dinner now that our ladies are among us,” Damon says as he looks at me, Rogue, and Kat. “The others will be starving if they’re using a lot of magic to do whatever.”
“There’s a smart one,” I murmur as I wink at him. “Rogue picks them well. But I agree, even if we have to go back to Kat’s room to make the food.”
“Babe, you hate cooking,” Lucas rumbles. The polar bear is running on half empty, yet he still looks at me like I invented gravity while trying to ensure I don’t have to do things I don’t enjoy.
It’s not hard to see why I fell into his trap so easily, nor why I didn’t fight being mated to him.
“No way.” Oriel looks at us as he pauses in picking at his black nails. He’s perched on the edge of a chair, tapping his feet on the cushion. “I amnotcrowding in that kitchen to start things when KK is worn out and tipsy. Plus, Salem’s off with the others. He’ll lose his mind when we fuck his shit up.”
Xerxes arches a brow and then they smirk at the crow demon, as if they know a secret the rest of us do not. “Interesting that you are certain Kat can’t help us figure it out.”
Oriel rolls his eyes. “The girls have been drinking, dipshit. KK doesn’t have a big tolerance, as we all know, and Salem left them crunkle-food. Don’t be a pain in the ass.”
I watch them do a little dance of eyebrows at one another, and it piques my curiosity. There’s definitely something going on with her, and those two know about it. I can’t figure out if one or both were involved, but they’re knowledgeable about certain things.
Archie is sitting cross-legged on the floor holding the baby sling with the phoenix hatchling in it. Javi is watching us all, golden eyes like two amber jewels, as he chews on Archie’s index finger. I make eye contact with the lion shifter, and he grins before he tosses his opinion into the ring.
“I’m definitely hungry. I bet Javi and the little ass-kicking rodent are, too. We have too many shifters in this room not to get this shit done soon. Let’s try to stay on target, hmm?”
