“Good to know.” Xev stepped back toward Caleb. “We arenotwatching porn.”
Caleb screwed his face up. “I don’t watch porn.”
“What do you call that weird anime you’re addicted to?”
“Anime. I don’t watch hentai.”
“I don’t see a difference.”
“Well, I’d show you the difference, but I don’t watch hentai.”
Ambrose covered his ears. “God, I forgot how frustrating it was when all y’all got together.”
Nick tsked. “Now, now,grand-père, they just gonna pass a good time. What say we slide on out of here and chase thegrande fifolet, n’est pas?”
Ambrose gave him a stern glower. “Don’t even try that with me,Bouki. I’m the one person who won’t fall for your Cajun charm. And we’re not chasing a ghost light. We’re about to aggravate a god I’d rather not bother. While we’re not on bad terms, we’re not exactly friends, either.”
Kody wrapped her arm around Nick’s. “I’m coming, too.”
Ambrose started to argue, but she, unlike the others, shouldn’t aggravate Madoc simply by being in his presence. “Fine.”
He teleported them to the Hall of Mirrors on the Vanishing Isle outside of Olympus, where the Dream-Hunters still made their divine home far away from the human world.
Nick stumbled as they appeared there. It was a regal hall that reflected hundreds, if not thousands, of portals. Portals that led not only to the world of man and other dimensions, but also to the dreams of unprotected humans.
Back in the day, the sleep gods had used the portals to prey on hapless humans just so that they could feel some sort of emotion, as Zeus had banned all emotions from them after one of their brethren played a prank on him. The king of the Greek gods wasn’t exactly known for his sense of humor.
Rather for his vindictive nature.
Instead of just punishing the idiot who’d tricked him, he’d gone after every one of the sleep gods to ensure none of them ever decided to play a trick again.
“Shouldn’t Madoc be here?” Nick asked.
Ambrose shook his head. “He’ll be in the Onethalamus.”
There was one of those words Nick hated. “The who-what?”
“Their meeting hall. Once word reaches him—aand I’m sure it already has reached him that someone arrived through the portal—he’ll be there to greet us. They’re not exactly thrilled with unannounced visitors.”
Nick hesitated at one important word. “They?”
“Delphine, Zeth, and Madoc. The Dream-Hunter High Council.”
“Ah.” The Dream-Hunters had been created centuries ago to go after the Skoti who preyed on sleeping humans. If no one stopped the Skoti, they would drive their human prey to insanity and even death.
Too bad the Dream-Hunters missed the succubus who’d abused Nick/Ambrose so that she could conceive Cyprian.
Nick passed a glance to Kody before he met Ambrose’s gaze. “When did we meet the council?”
Ambrose shrugged. “A long time ago for me. Not too far in your future.”
Nick scoffed. That settled nothing.
But he could tell that his future self was getting aggravated, so he followed Ambrose down a brightly lit marble hallway unlike anything he’d ever seen before. It was so bright, it reminded him of standing on a beach with the sun directly overhead. Really, he should have brought sunglasses. He couldn’t imagine how Ambrose stood it, given he had the light-sensitive eyes of a Dark-Hunter. It had to be excruciating for him.
There was only one door for them to enter. Ambrose opened it and allowed them to go in first.
Nick drew up short as he saw a man who was actually taller than them. Rare to find, given that at almost six and a half feet tall, they towered over most people.
