I grab the gloves from her, assuming she’ll turn around and leave, but she surprises me yet again by staying. We do this a lot nowadays—sharing silence. I think it’s comforting for her to know someone understands the ache she carries without her having to talk about it.
Harvey rounds back from scanning the area to confirm it’s not a trap. Our time crunch is an issue, but the main problem is our lack of knowledge.
We have no idea what kind of creature might be stuck in this realm and for what reason. Being quiet and quick will ensure weget out of here without being found by some ancient species that was trapped here thousands of years ago and wants food, i.e.,us.
Instead of spreading around the house, we march inside like it’s our cousin’s vacation house. I’m about to kick the door down when Harvey pushes me aside to crouch in front of the handle.
A quiet click echoes through the air, and I discover my best friend—even if a complete dumbass—picked up a few things from those sly humans.
Hazel’s eyebrows shoot to her hairline, “And here I thought you were nothing but muscles.”
“Can we leave her in the water before going home?” Harvey pleads with Angel, who shakes his head with a sympathetic smile.
Hazel picking on people is my favorite thing. Especially when I’m not the target. The soul siblings start fighting over who will win in some random ass scenarios that have nothing to do with our current reality. I want to go home sooner rather than never, so I push them apart and stride in.
“Come out, come out wherever you are!” my voice sings through the house, followed by a crash.
Turning back, I hiss at Seiji as he carefully steps over the mess on the floor with a sheepish smile. In the split second, I walked in, he managed to crash into the door— don’t ask me how—and broke the vase sitting on a table by the door.
Why? Because he was busy enjoying his milkshake, that’s why.
Angel breathes through his annoyance and inhales his anger. The nerve near his hairline twitches and I’m afraid one day it will explode, judging by the people he is surrounded with, especially after he marries me.
Asking for Hazel’s bag, Angel pulls out a thick cloth and throws it over the mess so no one would slip and break their neck.
We take turns swatting Seiji on his head before Harvey pulls him up the stairs. They are as quiet as August on nights he sneaks into our room to climb between Angel and me after something spooked him.
I wonder why he chose this place out of the numerous allies who would’ve helped him simply because they hated the Horsemen. It’s not long before Micah is dragged down kicking and screaming.
His efforts are useless in a realm of no magic. At least we have our strength and senses; this guy istoast.
Where I would’ve loved a chase, Harvey binds him to a chair and doesn’t resist the urge to pull the first few punches. When Micah lifts his head with blood dripping from his cracked lips to scan his captors, his gaze locks on me. Struggling to form words, he pales like a man who knows his time is limited.
“Don’t look into her eyes, or that’s where she’ll start.” Seiji shivers at the thought and plops down on the white leather sofa.
Micah made the mistake of making this place look like the pearly gates of Heaven with all the white furniture. Once I’m done with him, this entire place will be covered in red.
“You seem familiar. Oh, I remember. Aren’t you the warlock who dragged my son into that disgusting dungeon by his hair?” I don’t stop the punch that cracks his nose. His broken wail soothes my soul.This has been a long time coming.
“Use your words, sweetheart,” Angel interrupts my next punch.
“Why? My fists are much more capable.”
A dagger appears before me, and my head snaps to Hazel. She’s giving me one of her sharpest weapons—her favorite too. The haunted look in my eyes reflects in hers. It’s hard to tell which one of us is mirroring the other’s pain.
Flipping the dagger in my hand, I relish in the fear swirling in the coward’s eyes, but once again, Angel poops on my party.
“You promised information,” he reminds me before I slip and give in to my intense need to carve this man from the inside out.
“Fine… only light stabbing. Don’t worry, Micah, we’ll takeexcellentcare of you.” I wink before diving the dagger into his thigh. His scream echoes around us, and I wait for him to calm down so I can drag the information Anxo needs out of him before actually enjoying my prey.
In times like this, I am forced to admit how comfortable I am with causing so much hurt. Sometimes I worry about what I’ve become, but they did this to me. Every torture technique I know is their gift. Whatever I am today is what they made me.
They expected me to be a monster, so they turned me into one.
About half an hour later, Micah has a few broken bones and I’ve retrieved everything Angel needs from this man. We have what we came here for. Locations of other high-ranking warriors—all except the queen herself. She remains hidden even when her people are falling like flies.What a leader.
I know what the witch is capable of more than anyone, and I have this gut-twisting hunch that she’s up to something—something I can’t see even when it’s right in front of me.
