“That’s better,” Roman says, seeming to sense the surge of my power as he stands and pulls me with him.
“How did it go with Jareth?” I ask, working hard on keeping my demon energy strong. The sun here is deceptive. It had felt so perfect on my skin, but the wobble in my legs confirms that it sapped my strength.
Roman’s brow furrows as he lets out a long breath. “He’s more interested in making threats than offering any insight into how to free him. He assures us that freeing him will mean our deaths.”
“Considering he almost took a legion of angels out, that’s probably not far-fetched.”
Roman doesn’t argue with me.
“So, what do we do now?” I ask. “And where’s Koda? Did he come back with you?”
I don’t want my brother being verbally tortured by our father at all, let alone longer than necessary. Words can hurt worse than blades, and there’s a fragility that lies beneath Koda’s toughness that makes me want to wrap him up and protect him from the shittier aspects of the world. He’s already weathered the sort of life that would have destroyed many. It almost did destroy him. But that’s why I feel so strongly about giving him a slice of peace now.
“He’s in his cabin,” Roman tells me. “We returned together, and he decided to escape the light and rest inside.”
Giving Roman a closer look, I don’t detect any fatigue in his face or slump to his shoulders. He appears the same, larger than life. Gorgeous, but also as scary as he’s always been. But the closer I look, the more I suspect he might be hiding the effects of this world better than the rest of us.
“Do you need to sleep as well?” I ask.
He leans close, and my breaths grow shallower. The things this demon does to me should be illegal.
“I could rest,” he murmurs.
There’s so muchextrameaning behind what he said that I smile. “Same,” I say. “All the rest.”
Even though the sun is setting, we can’t do much else until Malia returns, and considering how little time I’ve had with Roman when we weren’t running or fighting for our lives, I’m going to take this opportunity. We need it.
Rest, that is.
CHAPTERTWENTY-FOUR
Resting happens well after Roman loves me into a near coma. By the time we drag ourselves from the cabin, night has fallen. The moonlight shines nearly as brightly as the sun, but it gives us a reprieve from the daylight, and it creates excellent visibility around the cabins without the need for lamps.
We find Taniya and Koda at the table with my wolves lounging around them, and I blink to see Ruby and Ace curled up together under the spreading oak tree.
Ace never lets the pack sleep on top of him like that. The other three will pile in together, sure, but Ace is fiercely independent. He always has our backs—but don’t touch his.
Ruby, clearly, has a different effect on him. I really hope she continues to settle into our pack, because for the first time in years, I don’t feel as if Ace is slipping away from us.
“Evening,” Taniya says when she sees us. “I ended up sleeping the afternoon away. I can’t believe it.”
“Same,” Koda says.
“We did, too,” Roman adds, his brow creasing for a moment before he shakes it off. “We’re all recovering from battle. Combined with the drain of the angel realm on our darker souls, resting was the best option for today.”
Taniya squints up at the night sky. “Even the moonlight is bright. I don’t know how the angels sleep.”
As if she summoned them, two angels appear at the edge of the clearing, approaching from the bamboo path. I’ve never seen or met either of them before. They both have long, platinum-blond hair and androgynous faces that give no indication of their genders. Their wings are hidden away, their expressions neutral, and they’re both carrying large trays.
“We’ve brought more food,” the first one says, and I note the deep grey color to their eyes, while the angel standing behind them has brown irises.
When they deposit the trays and spread the food out across the table, I’m surprised by the sheer volume of dishes that seem to appear as they work. Magic must be involved to allow them to carry so many dishes and seemingly make them multiply the more they spread them out.
“If you need anything else, send a message to Lux,” the brown-eyed angel says, and then they both turn on their heels and disappear back through the trees.
I’m not sure how we’re supposed to send a message when we aren’t allowed near the city, but before I can call them back, Malia appears on the path.
Her arms are full of books and her face is flushed. She looks far more flustered than she sounded earlier—and way more exasperated than her normal calm demeanor—and thewhyof that appears behind her with a scowl on his face.
