Page 1 of Eternal Mate

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REVELATION AND RETALIATION

SARIEL

It took two days for us to root out the traitors in our midst.

It was easier than anticipated, between Barimuz’s impeccable instincts and Zuzanna and Jack rifling through people’s thoughts. Honestly, we should have done this sooner, before they could get their claws into everything. Maybe we could have stopped the attack before it even happened.

There was a small upset about what to do with them, but since Auren was more or less out of commission and Kiyomasa was dead, my brother’s inner circle seemed content to follow my lead.

I was not a fan of this development, if I was being honest.

Being in control was definitely something I enjoyed, but not like this. Auren should be with us, and the fact that he wasn’t didn’t sit right with me—especially for moments like this. I rolled my neck, trying to come up with an answer.

“This is the one who set off the bomb?” Aria asked, lips pursed in a frown. She was still aching from whatever had been thrown at her that day, so we’d put it together quickly that it was magical in nature.

Thankfully, there wasn’t any other lingering damage. I wasn’t sure how much more stress my angel could take before he started shoving to the forefront to protect her.

“That’s the one,” Barimuz purred in response, tail flicking as he took in the scene.

I grimaced, doing my best to pretend he wasn’t there. The Archdemon had been adamant about staying nearby for the time being, though he did pop in and out pretty regularly. I had to assume it was to handle Lucifer's seat on the Upper Council, because the thought of him relaying anything to Lucifer at all threatened to send me into a rage.

Luckily, Aria had convinced me that it would be counterproductive for him to do that.

It didn’t mean I wasn’t watching him like a hawk, though.

“I’ll handle it,” Atlan cut in swiftly, red eyes glowing as he stalked forward. Nobody stopped him when he hauled the witch up by the neck, his glamor shifting and flickering, but Reese looked uneasy when his eyes darted back to us for confirmation. My chest ached a bit at the wild look on his face, shocking me with the sympathy that swelled in my chest for him.

“That’s your right,” I said.

If we’d found them sooner, Kiran would still be alive. Kiyomasa, too. Auren would still be okay.

I breathed through the wave of pain, only barely resisting the urge to rub at my chest.

Atlan nodded sharply at my agreement, and I was grateful that Zuzanna had the foresight to use a silencing spell when the witch’s mouth opened on a silent scream.

Reese shuffled uncomfortably. I couldn’t blame her; she’d been on the receiving end of Atlan’s ire, and even though he hadn’t been in control at the time, I was sure it had scarred her to some degree. Even the supernatural had problems standing up to him.

Our half-fae friend dragged the witch out like something from a horror movie, kicking the door shut behind him with a bit too much force. The dark cloud that had been lingering over him since Barimuz brought him and Reese back to us chased after him.

“Are we sure that was a good idea?” Reese waited until Atlan was gone to whisper.

Aria shrugged, though I could feel her discomfort in the bond. “He needs something to keep him going,” she reassured our skittish friend, “and, honestly, why should we even care at this point? They’re slaughtering everyone we love left and right. Let him direct that rage at someone who deserves it.”

This was a far cry from her previous stance. I let out a soft sigh at how far we’d come since she’d begged for the Paras’ lives.

“The others are locked up,” Jack said, gesturing towards the large concrete building across the street. I’d wanted to wait for Auren to snap out of his spiral before we delved into dishing out punishments, but it seemed he wasn’t going to be getting better any time soon. Even though Ashe had been spending a lot of time with him, trying to coax him into joining us for this meeting, it hadn’t worked. He wanted no part in any of this.

I didn’t even blame him for it.

“Zuzanna,” I continued. The witch gave me a brittle smile like she already knew what I was going to say. “Let’s just handle them how Auren would.”

Aria stiffened beside me, and Barimuz outright laughed. “That’s one way to clean house,” the Archdemon mused.

I rolled my neck, taking another steadying breath. Casually sentencing people to death wasn’t really my thing, but I’d do what needed to be done since nobody else was jumping to make the call. They’d helped destroy our safe haven, cutting through innocent people we’d been helping in their zealousness.

Death was honestly the kindest thing I could offer them, considering how many people wanted to get their hands on them now.

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