He leaned back in his huge throne as he seemed to contemplate his answer. It was a ruse. He called me here because he already knew I would give anything to stop her. This war couldn’t happen; the loss of life was inconceivable.
A small vial of blood appeared in his hand. Hudson and Lucifer cursed as I froze, every molecule in my body humming in warning. “Why do you have that?” I asked. “I won’t be bloodbound to you. I can’t, as I’m mated.”
I had checked this carefully. Nothing in this life could override the bond between mates.
Donn swirled the blood around and sighed. “This was the answer to a very important question.”
“Which was?” It was not a closely guarded secret these days that Abaddon was my father. He didn’t need my DNA for that.
“Your heritage.”
“Easy. Elemental and archangel. Now you can give me my blood back, withdraw your power from my grandmother, and we can be on our way, leaving you in peace to do whatever it is you do with all your unbotheredness and whatnot.”
Bah, faking it was easy. Fingers crossed for the making it part.
Donn’s silver eyes swirled as they assessed me. “You truly have no idea who you are.”
“I know exactly who I am.”
Donn’s inky eyebrow lifted on his pale face. “Mate.” He pointed the vial of my blood at Hudson. “Angel.” He smirked at Lucifer, then raised his arms. I felt his intention and yanked on my power as the force holding the ocean back disappeared. My hands flung out, and I forced the water to hold its position. “Elemental.”
“You’ve made your point,” I ground out, sweat beading on my brow at the effort it took to hold back such a monumental force.
“Stop this,” Lucifer snapped.
Donn ignored him as I gritted my teeth, refusing to let him win. “And yet, you still don’t know who you are.”
Pissed and murderous, that was what I was. “If you mean my angelic half, then her name is Indigo.” Who was mysteriously fucking quiet. Great time for her to take a vacation. Donn’s power flooded the room, and the pressure of the water eased. My shoulders sagged, and black spots danced in my vision.
Donn’s eyes flicked to Hudson. “You know, don’t you?”
He knew what? I glanced at Hudson, who gave a sharp nod. I squinted at my mate as Indigo allowed her power free to support me not blacking out on the floor. “What do you know?” He wouldn’t look at me.Oh my God. Weren’t we done with a lifetime of secrets and revelations yet?
Swirling shadows unfurled from behind Donn, whipping toward me before wrapping themselves around my arms and dragging me toward him. A scream caught in my throat as my heart thundered. Why weren’t Hudson and Lucifer trying to stop him? I forced a glance over my shoulder, finding both men frozen in place. Frozen, or unwilling? Bile raced up my throat as my gut twisted.
Donn chuckled. “They’re not abandoning you, sweet Cora. I’m holding them there.”
Relief rushed through me, making my head spin. Donn’s shadows dissipated, leaving me at the foot of the raised throne. I swallowed down the knot in my throat and tipped my head back, meeting his gaze. Close up, he was ethereal. Terrifying, but also wondrous. My heart skipped a beat at being in close quarters to such a being.
Get a grip, Cora.I pushed down my anxiety and narrowed my eyes at the vial of blood. He followed my gaze and crushed the glass in his hand, my blood evaporating into a shimmering mist.
“I have no need of your blood now that you are here.”
“What do you want?” I growled.
Those pools of mercury swirled with knowledge I couldn’t hope to understand in this lifetime. His lips twitched. “Where is this being you call Indigo?”
Hudson released another string of curses. “This is not the time,” he shouted.
Donn’s eyes flicked over my shoulder. “Oh, Principal, it’s the perfect time to explain how you’ve been lying to your mate.”
Hudson knew about the Serpents of the Dawn? How?
“Cora, this is what I was going to tell you.”
I glanced over my shoulder with a frown. What he was going to tell me? Oh, that was right. Couldn’t this wait until after the god of death wasn’t around?
Donn’s shadows reappeared, unraveling my braid and teasing it apart so it cascaded down my back. He was rearranging my hair now. Wonderful. He stepped down from the platform and skimmed his fingers over my bare shoulder, the pure energy within them heating my flesh. “You’re digging around for an alter ego that doesn’t exist, Cora,” Donn said.
