Page 18 of The World Undone

Jace tilted his head back and forth, his smile flattening a bit. “As okay as can be expected. She was stuck down there for nearly six months—very few succubi are lucky enough to survive protector—” he grunted, “what do they like to call them? Tests? Well, whatever the semantics, very few survive their particular brand of torture that long. But she’s strong and somehow managed it. We are eternally grateful to you.”

Max straightened up, her eyes brightening. “You’re an incubus?”

I noticed Wade lean forward a bit as well, unable to hide his own intrigue. Incubi were rare. Other than Wade, I’d never encountered one. Not knowingly anyway.

But that definitely explained why the man was so pretty, the charisma nearly dripping from him.

He nodded. “Yes. We grew up in the hell realm but spent most of our lives on our own. Easier to survive that way—to blend in.”

The woman on his right arched her brow. “And I’m Haley. Vampire.”

So, Charlie and Bishop weren’t kidding when they said that this place was a large mix of supernaturals from all corners of the world.

We rattled off our names, and while Jace gave each of us a jovial nod, Haley hadn’t taken her eyes off of Max. Not even to blink.

“You bear the start of a bond mark.” Her eyes narrowed on the small iridescent curve that had grown up the smooth column of Max’s neck, where few shirts could cover it completely. “So the rumors are more than rumors then? You are a true bond pack. Like the kind of the old days?”

Max shifted uncomfortably, eyeing me out of the corner of her eye.

I could almost feel the outline of my own mark pulse under my shirt from the heavy intrigue on the woman’s face. We all had them now. They were growing more solid, more undeniable with every day that passed.

The collective weight of everyone’s gaze was heavy, like they were all trying to find the marks that weren’t on display, like they could see beneath our clothes if they stared hard enough.

“Yes,” Max said, offering them nothing else. She was hesitant, careful, and I could feel her desire to protect us flare against my skin—bright and hot like the sun. For once, I understood Icarus’s temptation. What a way to go.

“Yes,” Jace nodded, “I can feel it, emanating from you all. Such a large group, too.”

I cleared my throat, uncomfortable discussing our bonds—it was a sacred connection between us, the only thing anchoring us through the chaos of this new world. That we were casually chatting about them in front of my mother, who’d deliberately and knowingly broken her own, albeit fabricated bond, made my skin itch with disgust.

“And your powers.” Haley’s sentence hung in the air, not a question but more an invitation to elaborate.

“Not important.” Darius’s voice was clipped. I’d almost forgotten that he was hovering behind us.

Jace nudged Haley’s arm as her stare focused on Darius, curiosity evident even in the blankness of her stare.

“And you,” she said to him, “are more than you seem as well.”

Darius offered her nothing but a scathing glare in response.

“Right,” Jace started, the word layered with a tense chuckle, “let’s establish some trust here first, we’re all on the same team. It’s paramount that we learn to trust each other if we’re all going to be working together. At the risk of sounding like a narrator from a fairytale, dangerous shit is afoot. There’s a lot of uncertainty, uncharted water in our future, and it’s best we go in knowing who the true enemy is—The Guild Council.” He arched a brow, his focus turning to each of us. “Sound fair?”

“We’ll see,” Dec responded. She was sitting on my other side, and I’d caught the several death glares she’d shot my mother. Dec liked to pretend that she didn’t give a shit about anyone, but she was protective as fuck—and she’d seen firsthand the damage that Evelyn had done to both me and my father when she’d left us.

And Seamus had been like a second father to her too over the years.

I felt unexpectedly warm with the support system surrounding me. I always knew my team had my back, but things had shifted lately, grown stronger—unshakeable.

We’d literally been to hell and back for each other. That kind of shit changed things.

My mother abandoned me, and I’d been unknowingly terrified that the family I’d chosen, my team, might one day do the same.

But I wasn’t anymore.

They’d be with me to the end. It was the only thing I was sure of these days and, honestly, it was a pretty fucking magical feeling.

“Obviously things are going to shit,” Jace continued with a soft chuckle. “The world, I mean. It’s very clear that something big is changing and The Guild has been in denial of it for years. Or deliberately hiding it from their own. The magic is changing, I can feel it. Taste it, almost. There was a reason my sister and I took our shot and escaped the hell realm when we did. But things aren't necessarily better here, and they’re about to get worse, aren’t they?” He nodded to Max, then Wade. “You’re tied to the same magic, so I’m sure you can feel it too. The magic that separates the realms is starving.”

Max leaned forward slightly. “What do you mean, starving?”

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