Page 104 of When Shadows Dream: Shadow Hounds

Jezzie had roused from her sleep at the smell of fresh cooked bacon and maple syrup covered pancakes. Nithe and Athon had both laughed as she’d zombie-walked her way over to the coffee table and plopped down in one of two armchairs, immediately grabbed a strip of crispy bacon and moaned loudly as she shoved it in her mouth. She’d glared at them, but Nithe saw the smile she barely hid and the happiness she felt at making Athon laugh. It did funny things to his insides, so he too stuffed his mouth full of the delicious breakfast and contemplated what they were going to do in silence, save for the occasional crunch of bacon and sensual, food-induced moan.

When Jezzie let out a sigh of full stomached contentment, he and Athon both put aside their plates. Noting her gaze shifting to the pile of clothing he’d placed on the floor beside the couch earlier, he reached down and gathered it up before passing it to her.

“Your clothes, milady.”

It was then she seemed to notice both males were already fully dressed, showered, and ready for the day.

“How? When?” she asked incredulously. “I barely closed my eyes.”

“Sorry, a stór, but it’s closer to brunch than breakfast. That Mrs Briars lady is one amazing cook. She was a sweet lass to make us food between the allotted times, too. Said we deserved a lovely home cooked meal, before she tutted under her breath about faithless idiots.”

“Okay, I’m just going to jump in the shower real quick and then we need to come up with a game plan to get that idiot mate of ours back.” She winked at Athon before adding, “and we will get him back, my love. I promise you that. Even if I have to drag him kicking and screaming. We will get answers, at the very least.”

She emerged twenty minutes later from a cloud of steam backlit by dim lighting, the very image of the warrior he knew her to be. Albeit one dressed for comfort instead of war.

She grabbed Athon’s hand as she passed his armchair and dragged him over to the couch. Nithe shifted over as far as the armrest would allow, knowing it would still be a tight squeeze. She guided him to a seated position, looked at the small gap between them, shrugged her shoulders, and lay herself down across their legs. Her head on one low armrest, her legs hanging over the other as she looked up at the jewel toned ceiling with its intricate plaster work. She took a deep breath and looked first at Nithe, then directly into Athon’s mesmerizing, unique eyes.

“We might not know each other very well yet, Athon, but I want us to. I want you to know everything about me, about my life, my past, everything. I want you, all three of you, to be my future. Even Roth. I can’t reveal everything right now, but I can share my truths with you. We have forever to learn the rest, because I want to learn everything about each of one you, too.”

“As do I,” Nithe added, his gaze locking with Athon’s as the male turned his head to look at him. “I offer you the same honesty and trust I hope to earn from you. This is not an easy thing. In fact, it can be bloody brutal. I might fuck up. I’m prone to PTSD reactions on occasion. But I promise I’ll always try my best.”

Athon reached out and put his arm behind Nithe’s neck and pulled him in for a quick side-hug before retracting it and wiping at an imaginary tear.

“Aw, Nithe, I didn’t know you felt that way,” he simpered, batting his lashes with comedic exaggeration.

“Idiot.” Nithe laughed as he ruffled Athon’s hair roughly. “Good to see that grin back though.” Before said grin had a chance to drop from Athon’s face Jezzie sat up and shifted onto the male’s lap.

“So, first thing first. Balthazar. Yes I did have sex with him. No, I did not have sex with him more than once. Do I like him like that? No. Did he try to have sex with me again? Absolutely. Did he put me in, and see me in compromising situations after we had sex? Yes. I was a restricted visitor who was unable to leave after all. After a while I think he just wanted to get a rise out of me. He wanted to know who and what I was, but I couldn’t have told him then, even if I’d wanted to. By the time Nithe arrived it felt more like we teetered closer to friends than enemies. Especially when we found out his true mission, and that’s he was undercover or something.” Jezzie spoke quickly as if she feared interruption. It was good they both had exceptional hearing, or they might have missed it all.

She filled Athon in on the backstory about the alley, Roth, Demon’s Den, her bargain with Balthazar, and all the juicy bits she hadn’t mentioned in front of her father. All things Nithe already knew. Still, he watched Athon’s face intently, gauging his reaction to each new piece of information.

“Wait, do you mean the Balthazar. As in the Angel of fucking Vengeance, that Balthazar is ‘The Tzar’ of Demon’s Den? Really? How did I not catch that earlier?” Athon uttered incredulously.

“So I’ve been told.” Jezzie shifted uncomfortably on Athon’s lap and shrugged her shoulders.

“Holy shit!”

“Do you know him?” she queried, obviously curious.

“Most angels do. By title if not name. Very early on in our creation it was decided it would be better for humans, angels, and every other species if they didn’t have a name or face to match to the righteous avenger should he come to call. Thus, only a few of us know who he really is. Lucifer, Michael, Ramiel, and Leraie, of course, were all created before or at the same time as him, so they are all friends. Were all friends, anyway. By extension, every one of The Devil’s 13, and probably the higher up in Ram and Mike’s hierarchy as well, but don’t quote me. We all took vows to keep his identity secret. He wasn’t much of a people person, so most angels never saw him to question his designation. Preferred to spend most of his time away from the Heavenly Planes. The Earth Realm was a particular fave of his. Until one day he resigned his position and left forever. No one could find him, and we were ordered to stop looking. Everyone was surprised the Almighty just let him go, we all thought for certain he’d end up Fallen, or worse . . . mortal. But nope. Don’t get me wrong, there is beauty in mortality, but none of us could imagine Balthazar growing old and dying. It was unfathomable.” Athon hurried to halt his runaway mouth.

“Yeah, well he’s definitely not a wrinkly old man. And Ramiel definitely knows what he’s been up to at Demon’s Den, I think,” Nithe pointed out.

“He really owns that place?” Athon asked.

“Yeah, suits him though.” Jezzie chuckled.

“Damn.” He seemed to be having trouble processing that little tidbit.

Nithe took a deep breath and centered himself. Jezzie noticed and reached out to take hold of his hand. Athon tensed as if awaiting a blow.

“So, um, just to put it out there . . . I know we talked about how I grew up thinking my dad was someone he wasn’t. That I’m a hybrid, like Jezzie but different. I know you noticed the color of my wings and their appearance. After I left the dragon realm I was secretly recruited for what I now know was nothing short of a suicide torture mission. The Praesidium was going to track me as I put myself out there for Raum to find.” At Athon’s gasp Nithe paused and nodded.

“I see you’ve heard of the fallen asshole and his sadistic tendencies. Well they insisted they’d find us before anything happened to me. I had nothing to lose, or so I thought. Long story short, they didn’t. Raum took me to Demon’s Den to try to break Jezzie for his boss. Not Balthazar by the way. But before Jezzie incapacitated him, and we left Demon’s Den, he couldn’t resist adding fuel to my misery. See. . . apparently he knew everything about me before he found me, even the things buried deep down inside me, things I didn’t even know. Like who my father is. Mindfuck central right there. The guy who signed off on my mission is apparently my sperm donor. The head of the Praesidium himself . . . Ramiel.”

“Oh for love of fucking ducks!” Jezzie snorted and burst into giggles at Athon’s exclamation. “Not literally, of course. Jezzie’s mind meet gutter.” He playfully swatted her firm, round butt.

“Yeah, not the reaction I was expecting.” Nithe laughed.

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