“He’s getting too big for his britches.”
“Shh!” his mother snapped. “He’ll hear you.”
“It’s ridiculous. We were riders of the Apocalypse. The chosen ušumgallu! You were the Šarru-Tahazu and I the Šarru-Namuš. Now …”
“We will ride again. My father’s almost dead. All we have to do is ensure the timeline remains as it should and return to our time period. Once Noir is weaker, we can take his blood and use it against Cyprian to bind him to us. Once we do that, we’ll be the ones in control. Have patience, my love.”
Cyprian felt the Malachai surging, wantingtheirblood. But as his mother said …
Patience.
He’d come this far. He could make the distance. And if they thought to overthrow and enslave him as Noir had once done his grandfather, then they were about to learn the truth behind the Malachai.
Only one of his own blood could stop him.
That would be a son, which he didn’t have.
Or his father …
“Not on my watch, old man.” Just as that day in battle when he’d driven his sword through his father’s heart and kicked him away to die, he would emerge victorious again.
It was the Malachai destiny to reign over this world. And while his father might be weakened by the kindness he’d learned from his Seraph mother, he was not.
Forget dancing in the rain. Before all was said and done, Cyprian intended to dance in the blood of every living creature.
And none more so than Ambrose Malachai.
Nick jumped as his phone rang. Stunned, he glanced to Takeshi, then to Simi and Nashira. “Um … anyone haveanyidea how there’s a cell tower in this dimension?”
Takeshi snorted. “It’s magick.”
“Seriously, bruh? You took it there?”
He shrugged nonchalantly. “You asked. That’s the answer. I have to allow it for all the times Acheron comes to visit. Those Dark-Hunters of yours never leave that poor boy alone. I don’t know how he stays sane.”
Simi made a rude noise. “Ain’t that the truthest? Ring. Ring. Ring. That ole phone ring so much, I swear The Simi hears it even in her sleep. I et it once and it made him real unhappy. Didn’t make the Simi as happy as the Simi thought it would either. And no one wants to know what happens when it has to come back out ’cause them phones are not biologically degradeable.”
Not wanting to think about that comment at all, Nick pulled his phone out. “Hey, Ma, sorry I’m—”
“Where are you, Boo?”
Nick winced at her hysterical tone. That was what his mom was most famous for. If he ever got out of her sight, she was like a bloodhound, tracking him down to the farthest reaches of the cosmos. He was surprised she hadn’t tethered them together on his arrival from her womb, and insisted, rather than cut the cord, they find some way to fuse it together permanently so that he could never leave her side.
And while he hated to ever lie to her, telling her that he was in an alternate dimension with a couple of preternatural super beings was just a really bad idea. “I was feeling better, so I went out to grab a bite with friends. Didn’t you see the note I left?”
Something strange was going on in the background. Were those sirens? He wasn’t quite sure.
When his mom spoke again, it was in a low tone that sounded like she had her hand cupped over the mic. “Listen, baby. There’s a situation here. Can you stay away for a while?”
What the heck? His motherneversaid things like that. At least not to him. All he ever heard wasNick get your butt home. Now!
He screwed his face up at the first thought that came to his mind. Especially since she’d gone to dinner with his mentor and best friend, Big Bubba Burdette.
Ah man, what had lunatic Bubba and Mark gotten her into now with their shenanigans? Those two could find trouble in a padded room, with both arms tied behind their backs.
His stomach sank to his feet as an even worse thought hit him.
“Ah, Ma! Please tell me you ain’t doing nothing with Bubba. I swear to God, if I come home to a tie on the doorknob I’ll be scarred for life. I am not ready to deal with the thought of that man as my new daddy.”
