A muscle nearly pops in my jaw as I remind myself we might need him alive, for now.
“Mind how you speak about her or I’ll feed your dismembered prick to your hellhound while the other tidbits of you rot here.”
The redhead has the good sense to step back as he realizes I’m no longer the passive, numb phantom drifting in and out of Limbo that he previously witnessed.
“She said nothing,” Crane mutters, flinching away from something in his mind before focusing on us again. “I’m the one saying it. If you can unseal the doors, perhaps we can unleash Bael on those waiting outside.”
“No dice,” Frost shakes his head. “Only Maven can remove his collar. Besides, there’s no way in hell I’m about to watch that asshole dragon snatch her away again. He’s staying exactly like that until we snap him out of it.”
He snatched her away as a fuckingdragon?
Gods above, it’s a good thing they have me back. That would never have happened on my watch.
Douglas stretches one of his arms. “Fine. I’ll open the fucking door, but it’s up to you three to have a game plan once they’re open. Last I saw, there were thirty, maybe forty seasoned legacies ready for a fight.”
We’re all quiet in the chilled silence for a moment, considering our options for getting our keeper far away from Frost’s family.
“I heard that, too,” Crane suddenly snaps, glaring at the nearby pulpit.
I fight back an unexpected laugh, egging him on. “You tell them, Crane.”
“Scratch that. It’s up to ustwo,since he’s not playing with a full deck,” Frost mutters, brushing frost off his hands.
The fae rubs his forehead. “Quid a tha tem’ah chehn?”
None of us knows what that means, but I finally get to my feet, still cradling Maven. It’s mortifying to realize just how weak I am right now when I stumble slightly on the way to get her to Frost’s arms.
“Your one andonlyjob is to make sure she doesn’t come to harm when we step outside. Don’t dare fuck it up like you did last time.”
The elemental flinches, grief crossing his scarred face, and for the first time in my entire life, I decide I should have tempered my tongue.
Whatever or whomever caused Maven’s purpose to be fulfilled—thatcarries the blame. Not him. Considering that Frost kicked me out on my ass the one time I came to him asking to put me out of my misery, and the fact that he kept the rest of us alive against all odds…
In a bizarre twist of fate, I owe him my thanks.
Later. I’ll thank him later, when our miraculous keeper is safely out of harm’s way.
“I’ll unleash as much mania as I can. That should eliminate most of them, and then we’ll pick off the stragglers. Have a transportation spell ready, bounty hunter,” I say, looking at the double doors.
But I can’t seem to make myself move. I look back at Maven. Leaving my darling muse’s side after just barely getting her back feels impossible.
When Frost catches my eye, there’s an understanding on his scarred face. He nods, appearingsympathetic.
How utterly unaccountable.
“I won’t fuck it up this time,” he promises quietly. “I’ve got her.”
I believe him.
Taking one step away is laborious, but I force myself to keep moving until I stand at the double doors, rolling my shoulders back and preparing for the pain that will come from slipping into Limbo, which is something I can’t do inside the walls of a temple. The mercenary stops beside me, resting his hands on the door and concentrating.
“Damn it. This was a hell of a lot easier with Oakley helping,” he grits.
“Amato.”
Glowing light washes over the now-unsealed doors before he drops his hands, puzzled. “What did you just say?”
“My keeper’s real surname is Amato.”
