“I have a message. If you’d like to hear it, I’ll oblige, but I’m not leaving until I know it’s been passed on and someone from the council comes to meet me.”
Hollis’s lips pressed together in a tight line. “I don’t want to hear it. That’s not my job. I can’t let you in, and nothing you say will change that.” He scrubbed a hand over his face like he was tired. “I have to report this regardless of your message. The council will know you’re here. We have a special spell for you and everything.”
“Oh?” Luc snorted. He wasn’t surprised.
Hollis shrugged, seeming to relax a fraction. “Your arrival constitutes an emergency, but what the council does once I sound the alarm is out of my hands.” He snapped his fingers. A red puff of smoke appeared and popped with an echoing boom.
Hollis glanced over his shoulder into the mist obscuring what lay beyond the archway. There seemed to be no immediate reaction.
Luc’s pulse thrummed. This was it. His confidence threatened to waver. “You don’t seem too upset to see me,” he ventured, hoping to distract himself from his growing unease.
Hollis scowled. “What you did was wrong, but I can’t pretend seeing you isn’t a welcome break in the monotony. No one believed we’d see the Fallen again.”
Onyx stepped forward. “So, in other words, you missed us. How sweet.”
Hollis cocked his head, brow furrowing deeply as he inspected Onyx. “I’m sure there are more than a few Eternals who’ve missed you.”
Onyx’s tone turned unreadable. “My absence has been a great loss, I’m sure.”
“I wasn’t being sarcastic.” Hollis stepped closer. “Are you all right? What happened to your horns?”
Onyx sniffed. “Nothing. You can retract them, you know.”
Hollis’s eyes widened. “Why?” He touched one of his horns protectively.
“Hollis!” a voice boomed, and he flinched, whipping around. “Get back from there!”
Hollis launched into the air and flew through the gateway, into the mist.
“Think he’ll be on our side?” Onyx muttered under his breath, barely audible over the ambient melody filling the half-realm.
Luc stroked his chin. “He might be swayed. This was a warmer welcome than I anticipated.”
“Isn’t that because you’ve slept with him?” Ash asked. He’d moved closer on silent feet, Dante too.
Luc arched a brow. He had, but that was beside the point. “Haven’t you?”
“Probably.” Ash’s brow furrowed. “I honestly can’t remember.”
“Who cares?” Dante hissed. “This isn’t Earth.”
That was a good point. Shame around sex wasn’t normalized in the Eternal Realm. No one believed sex was immoral in any form, as long as consent was freely given. Who slept with whom wasn’t of much concern. Each Eternal had at least one mate, and many mated pairs were monogamous, but many more weren’t, and unmated Eternals didn’t date like humans.
The mist around the gate hung thick, making it impossibleto see more than the vague impression of Hollis’s green wings. Shadows loomed beyond, but who they belonged to, Luc couldn’t say.
He turned his back on the gate. “Are we ready?”
“Yes, though I’d love to know more about who’s slept with who.” Rowan gave them an amused, fang-sharpened grin.
“You wish, vamp.” Onyx huffed.
“What? I can’t be amused while I risk my immortal life?” Rowan waved a hand. “I can’t imagine orgies of winged beings to get me through?”
Ren snorted, trying and failing to contain her laugh. “Maybe we should tell the council that banning witches and vampires holds back their sex parties. They might roll over easier if they knew treasures like Rowan were being wasted on Earth and the Realm of the Damned.”
“That”—Onyx pointed at her—“is our new plan B.”
Rowan’s face lit up. “So you think I’m a treasure, Onyx?”
