Ignoring their banter, she turned her thoughts back to Mildred. They were halfway home now.
“What of the curse?” she asked them. “Can we break it now?”
Thorn sighed. “That’s still the crux, isn’t it?”
Ariel gestured in the direction Mildred had gone. “If she doesn’t want vengeance anymore—”
“It doesn’t change the fact that she made a blood pact with Belial and he still wants you.”
Shadow snorted. “More to the point, he wants Valteri.”
She cringed inwardly. “So, what do we do?”
Shrugging, Shadow gave her a wicked smirk. “Kill the bitch. Problem solved.”
Ariel screwed her face up at his solution. “Shadow! We can’t do that! She’s asked for forgiveness!”
Again, he shrugged. “No, you, daughter of two Arelim, are a good guy and can’t do that.” He turned his gray gaze to Thorn. “The son of the king of all darkness would normally not have a problem with it, either, but his blood is corrupted by a human mother who long regretted her bargain and now, he wants to be a good guy, too, and won’t kill an innocent. Dumbass that he is. I, on the other hand, am the spawn of the queen of all shadows, and an Arel father who isn’t exactly known for following rules and who has no feelings or sympathy for anyone. That gives me a predilection for a certain moral ambiguity that the two of you, and most others, lack. I’ve got no problem gutting her for this reason, or any other. So I say kill her and be done with it.”
She rolled her eyes.
“I’ll remind you of that expression when you regret not listening to me. After all, the simplest solution is usually the right one.”
Thorn snorted. “And as I recall, shedding needless blood was what got all of us into this, wasn’t it?”
“Which is why shedding blood is what will get us out of it.”
“Would you two stop?” Ariel pressed her hand to her temple to alleviate the ache that was beginning. “We can’t kill someone who just asked for forgiveness.”
Thorn struck Shadow in the center of his chest. “Yeah, you insensitive ass.”
“Better that than a dumbass.”
She ignored his quip. “Should we tell Jaden of this? Ask for his help?”
They laughed at her question, then sobered when they realized she was serious.
“Would he not help?” she asked.
Shadow shook his head. “Not bloody likely.”
Thorn sighed in frustration. “Sadly, I’m with Shadow on this. Jaden doesn’t normally involve himself unless he has something to gain from it. However…”
His hesitation gave her hope. “However, what?”
He grabbed Shadow by his hauberk. “Let us see about something. Arel, keep your wings crossed. We’ll be back.”
She watched them step back into the shadows so that no one could see them and vanish.
As they did so, her anger rose. “Beware, Belial. I will finish this.” She wasn’t a useless pawn.
For centuries, she’d fought against him and his ilk. While she didn’t have the experience Thorn did when it came to blood curses, she wasn’t without her own knowledge and resources.
And Belial was about to see just how much of her own father she had in her blood.
CHAPTER21
Ariel sat in the library of the chapel, waiting for word from Thorn and Shadow as she tried to find a way to break the curse.
