Page 125 of Gemini Wicked

“That does seem relevant,” Neo says gently, with an apologetic look at Lucius, who clearly wants to dig into how to find hidden Seelie at Icarus. “We don’t even study demons in our curriculum back home. It would definitely help to know something about their strengths and weaknesses.”

Zephyr gives Vasili a narrow look, then shifts his gaze to meet Neo’s big earnest eyes. “In their realm, they are legion. But a demon’s strengths on this plane depend very much on the demon. This one—Mordred—is both helped and hindered by his Unseelie blood.”

Neo tucks up against our broody Ronin and gives Zephyr an encouraging nod. “How so?”

“Once he’s summoned—unlike a pure demon—no common pentacle can hold him,” Zephyr says grimly. “He can appear in dreams and materialize in the flesh. He can disappear at will. He can travel great distances with a thought. He can bear with him any person or object he happens to be holding at the time. Moreover, he wields the elemental witchcraft of his Dark Fae bloodline in full wicked measure. But to enter this plane, he must first be summoned from the demonical realm—a curse which can only be cast at Samhain. Even so, ’tis no easy witchcraft for my rivals here to accomplish. Suffice it to say, I was… surprised… to find him skulking in Avalon a few weeks ago.”

“Sounds like a fun guy.” I take a hefty swig of the fruity golden wine in my cup to clear out the bad taste all this is leaving in my mouth. “So how do you get rid of him?”

“To the demonical realm,” Zephyr says, “he can also be banished.”

Lucius murmurs with respectful interest. Neo pushes up his glasses and his writing hand twitches like he’s longing for a notebook.

“Guess that’s our play then,” I say casually. “Lure him to appear wherever we need him to be. Then just banish him back to the, uh, demonical realm. You know how to do that, right?”

Zephyr hesitates. “In a manner of speaking.”

“Okay then.” Shit, I’m actually starting to like this idea. “Once he’s gone, sounds like he’ll be stuck there till Halloween at minimum. By then, we can do whatever we need to do so these rivals of yours don’t summon him out again.”

“We will do nothing of the kind.” Vasili homes in on my choice of pronouns and stings like a hornet. “We are already joining the party at Icarus a full day late. We are missing the start of our finals. The Horn of Ceres isn’t going to stay hidden forever, you know. If you want Cleo’s airbrushed ass out of your throne, little queen, we need to keep our priorities straight.”

“He isn’t wrong,” Max mutters around another big bite. He’s already emptied his plate twice and shows no sign of stopping.

Now he and V exchange a sneaky look across the table that gets my Spidey-senses tingling. I swear, those two are in cahoots over something. Probably some kinda anti-Zephyr campaign, and I’m not gonna put up with it.

But V’s right about one thing.

I need to pick my battles.

“Okay, okay, no need to get snarky. We’ll get my crown, head for home, find the Horn, pass our finals, and deal with Cleo.” I tick off the priorities on my glittery fingers, but it’s a growing list. I’m gonna need both hands. “Then we come back here and kick some demon butt. You don’t need to come with, Goblin King, if you don’t wanna.”

“Yeah, some of you kids should probably stay home,” Ash says casually. His silver eyes flick over Ronin, lounging disreputably across the table with his plate shoved away and his face all broody behind a curtain of inky hair. “Fewer backs to watch when we’re hip-deep in demon shit.”

Ronin sweeps his hair back and his tiger eyes turn menacing. Slowly he leans forward. “Hope you’re not implying someone here needs to watch our backs like we’re all lads in nappies.”

“Naw, not implying that at all,” Ash drawls. “But I’d rather focus both eyes on Mordred than keep one eye on you and your loose knife hand, Pendragon.”

“My what?” Ronin pushes back from the table and shoves to his feet with a scowl. “The fuck’s your problem with me, Aurelius? You’ve been giving me the stink-eye all night.”

Ash’s baritone voice drops multiple octaves to a rumbly bass. “Yeah, well I’m the one who patched up Sparrow after you knifed him in the face. Hell, you might as well have knifed him in the chest. You gutted him that night, Pendragon.”

“Ash,” Zephyr says tightly, shoulders hunching. “Don’t.”

Ronin’s fists clench at his sides. “Not that I owe you any explanations, Aurelius. But I was defending my sister, you wing-tailed wanker.”

“Defending your sister?” Now Zephyr shoots to his feet and incinerates Ronin with an incandescent glare. “Now that is absolute rubbish. I meant her no harm. I never in my life laid a finger on Gwendolyn Pendragon and you know it.”

“But you were stealing her!” Ronin’s face convulses in a rictus of pain that makes my chest ache. “That’s what you do, you just said it yourself. Supposed to be an arranged marriage, so she’d no choice, had she? She never wanted you. You scared the piss out of her. Yet you snuck into our home in the middle of the night to steal my fucking sister for a wedding she didn’t want.”

“You pure, asinine, unmitigated fool,” Zephyr breathes into the strained silence. “I did not creep into Pendragon Tower at midnight to steal your frail, fearful, uninteresting nitwit of a sister. I came to steal you.”

Ronin staggers, literally staggers, back a step and almost falls.

Vasili shoots to his feet to support him, but Ronin waves him wildly off.

My Brit’s eyes are riveted on Zephyr with pupils blown wide. “W-what? But I—I thought—”

“For moon’s sake,” Zephyr hisses. “It was you I wanted. It was always you. The same way it was you and not Gwendolyn I chose for a lover at the Beltane fire. Ronin Kilcannon Pendragon, by my own Unseelie word—for you know I cannot lie!—I was coming to steal you.”

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