“And you should haveneverallowed yourself to be used by the Adoni. You know the laws of magick the same as I. For this… some debt will be collected.”
Falcyn winced at another truth he didn’t want to face. “I was to protect him from it. Now…” He gestured at the veil that separated this world from the one where Igraine had taken their child to raise him out of his reach and care. There was nothing he could do for his son. So long as Maddor lived in his mother’s fey realm, Falcyn couldn’t get to him. Not even his powers were that great. “Never,everspeak to me again, Maxis. I’m done with you.”
Returning to his dragon’s body, he spread his wings, intending to fly.
“Careful of your ultimatums, brother. Like magick, they come with a terrible bite.”
Falcyn shot a burst of flame toward him. “And so do I, Max! So do I!”
1
“Remi! You can’t kill Daimons at the front door!” Dev Peltier shot across the main bar floor of Sanctuary at a dead run, with his wolfwere brother-in-law Fang Kattalakis hot on his heels.
“Sure I can,” his identical brother snarled in his earpiece. “Watch me!”
Dreading the scene of his shapeshifting lookalike ripping the heart out of a demon on the busy streets of New Orleans underneath a closed-circuit police camera, Dev considered teleporting to stop the coming disaster, but that would only worsen this fiasco.
And guarantee them both some special quality time in a high-security government lab someplace where they’d never be seen or heard from again.
He and Fang barely reached the open front door in time to grab the tall, muscled mountain that sometimes passed as a human being before Remi ate the petite blonde standing nonchalantly under the outside streetlight.
And that bastard fought them with everything he had as they pulled him back from his would-be victim. A victim who didn’t appear the least bit concerned that she’d narrowly escaped certain death at the hands of a savage bear-human-beast.
Remi even bit Dev in the shoulder as he struggled against them.
“Dammit!” Dev snarled. “You better have had your rabies shot, boy!”
Growling in that unique way that only a shapeshifting bear could, Remi continued to try and throw them off so that he could reach the woman, who still hadn’t moved.
In fact, the Daimon yawned. Then checked her watch and manicure as if the entire event left her bored out of her mind. “Can I go in now? You two have him leashed, right?”
Fang’s jaw dropped at her nonchalant tone. “You know, Medea, given what happened the last time a bunch of you showed up here, you’ve got a lot of nerve.”
“’Course I do. It’s what makes me the bad guy. And I’m told my half brother’s upstairs, playing poker with your little brother. So if you don’t mind…” She headed inside as if she didn’t have a bar full of shapeshifters who’d love to make her their late-night snack.
Remi continued to curse them both. “They killed Maman and Papa! How could you let her waltz into our bar like that?”
Dev kept his brother in place with his forearm across Remi’s throat. “Because if you harm one hair on her head, we’ll lose our sanctuary license again. Think of your nieces and nephews and the danger you’d be putting them in!”
The last time they’d lost their license, Sanctuary had been razed and they’d lost their parents and several good friends.
Remi’s gaze fell to Fang, and Dev knewthathad finally reached through his brother’s temporary insanity and need for blood vengeance. Their sister—Fang’s wife—had just given birth to a son and daughter. And Dev’s own wife was pregnant after having given up her immortality so that they could start a family of their own. Last thing any of them wanted was to risk enemies crashing the gate and burning Sanctuary to the ground.
Again.
Above all, they had to maintain their limani standing so that no shapeshifter or demon could war here. They’d all lost too much during the last battle that had shattered their family. Now, they had even more to lose.
Finally, the fire went out in Remi’s eyes as he stopped struggling against them.
“We good?”
Remi nodded.
Releasing him, Dev stepped back to eye Fang. “So what idiot put hothead on the door tonight?”
Fang cast him a disgruntled glare. “I be said idiot. Thank you very much. Thought he was you. Could one of your bastards cut your hair so that I can tell you apart?”
Dev rolled his eyes. Then pointed to the double bow-and-arrow tattoo on his biceps. “I do have one mark that distinguishes me from the other idiots I’m blood related to, you know?”
