He leaped nimbly over the retaining wall and came at Ares from behind. Blade and Scotty joined forces to distract the Horseman while Mace landed a devastating kick to the kidney. His brief moment of surprise left an opening, and as a unit, they swarmed him, giving no quarter. Once, a sword-blow to the legs took Ares down to his knees.
They fought hard, and three hours, multiple broken bones, and lots of blood later, they lost the battle but still won the war. The outcome was expected, but what made it a victory was that losing took three hours instead of twenty minutes like last time. Yes, Ares had held back—he could have killed them all in a matter of minutes if he’d wanted to—but he’d been forced to fight harder than he likely expected, and after they all collapsed to the ground, their lungs burning and their cuts stinging, Ares congratulated them.
“I’m releasing you from training,” he said. “You never told me what got you sent here, but you seem to have fixed it. Did you?”
They exchanged looks. There was no doubt in anyone’s expressions. Just determination.
Mace turned back to Ares.
“We did,” they said in unison.
Team. Fucking. Up.
Chapter 24
So? Did you and Mace do it?
Scotty nearly choked on her moussaka as she read the missive from her sister, who was sitting across the family dinner table from her. Thursday dinner had been a thing in her family since she was born, and if you missed it, you’d better have a good reason.
Having sex with Mace wasn’t a good reason.
Not that it would happen anytime soon. They hadn’t talked about it since they, well, talked about it. And after their workout with her father this morning, they were too tired—and too thrilled—to discuss it. Mace and Blade had gone home to rest and heal, and she’d done the same. A two-hour nap and a relaxing swim in the crystal sea surrounding the island had her right as rain again.
Just in time for dinner.
No, Scotty sent back. And to keep her sister from prying more, Scotty asked her a question. Out loud, not in an annoying holo-missive.
“What time is the ritual tomorrow?”
Aleka looked over at her. As usual, she was elegant and classy in dress pants, heels, and a white silk blouse. A jeweled band held her hair in a shiny cascade of rose gold to the middle of her back. Meanwhile, Scotty’s was up in a tangled, frizzy ponytail, her tank top was inside out, her denim shorts were ratty, and she’d kicked off her flip-flops half an hour ago.
Sometimes, you just had to not give a shit.
“One p.m.,” Aleka said. “Greenland time. We’ll do the ritual at Uncle Thanatos’s.”
Scotty both dreaded it and couldn’t wait. What if it didn’t work? No. She couldn’t think that way. Not after scolding her father for the same thing. “How much more prep do you have?”
“Not much. If Eva worsens, we can do it earlier. Mainly, I just want to make sure we get this right, because we’ve only got one shot.”
Dinner grew quiet as the brutal reality sank in.
Cara quickly changed the topic. “Did you girls hear the big news?” she asked as she reached up to pet the massive hellhound lying next to her.
Hal didn’t usually hang out in the house, but a member of his pack had recently been slaughtered by a fallen angel, and he was “feeling vulnerable.” Scotty had no idea how a hellhound could feel vulnerable, but for the millionth time, she gave thanks that she hadn’t inherited her mother’s gift for either healing the beasts or communicating with them as Aleka had.
“Is it about Gabriel?” Aleka asked. “An Archangel losing their wings is news that travels at light speed.”
“He’ll need to watch his back.” Scotty put down her fork and took a piece of pita bread from the pile in the center of the table. “Demons will want to drag him to Sheoul, and everyone else will want him in their possession. Can you imagine what could happen to him if The Aegis got hold of him?”
“No one is getting hold of him,” Ares said. “I’ve granted him asylum. He’s under my protection so long as he stays on the island.”
“So,” Scotty said with a wry smile, “wegot hold of him.”
Her father gave her a proud wink. “He’s a treasure trove of information. Even disgraced, his value is immeasurable. He’s already given us some good intel on Lilith and the fallen angel we’ve been after.”
“Fearr?” Scotty gave a satisfied nod. “Uncle Thanatos has been obsessed with killing her for years.”
As Wraith’s BFF, Thanatos held a grudge against the fallen angel for her part in killing Wraith. Didn’t matter that Azagoth brought him back. Fearr was on borrowed time.
