Page 21 of A Surrender Of Hope

“Yes. Or that’s the hope. I’m not sure what we can do with Inanis’ mark. I’m hoping the priestesses will know how to block the magic and destroy the mark without injury to her,” he murmurs, running his hands through his hair as he stops directly in front of us and growls under his breath. “Fuck this. Scoot over,” he demands, grabbing the blankets and nodding for Creed to slide to the edge of the bed. I almost crack a smile at the complete look of bafflement on Nox’s face as he climbs in the bedbeside me and reaches over, grabbing Mi Sol’s hand and lacing his fingers with hers.

“Damn,” Creed whistles low under his breath, propping himself up on his shoulder so he can see Nox. “I thought her hand was tiny in mine. You dwarf it in comparison,” he says with a chuckle.

Nox only squeezes Mi Sol’s hand tighter in response as he lets his head fall on the pillow next to mine, reminding me of a time not so long ago when he was a young child and would climb into my bed and wake me up with sticky hands and a toothy grin. Being so much older than Nox has been an adventure that has had its ups and downs, but I wouldn't change a moment of it. Besides Creed, the rest of us were fully grown adult Demons when Nox was born. Having a little babe running around the castle tagging after us is one of my favorite memories.

“Have you told her?” Creed asks, looking from Nox and Meyer’s twined hands up to our brother.

“Yes,” Nox grumbles, then winces. “No… uh… kind of?” he offers with a shrug, guilt flashing in his eyes. I raise an unimpressed brow at his stuttering and briefly wonder if I can kick his ass without moving off this bed.

“How the hell did you kind of tell her she’s a princess? It's kind of a big deal, man. What the hell?” Creed's amused face falters into annoyance as he glares at Nox. “You did not move your relationship to the next level without telling her she’s essentially your wife, Lennox!”

“I told her! Not in so many words, but I told her she was mine and that there’s no going back. She knows I bound her to me in order to save her.” Creed scoffs and shakes his head.

“You should’ve done more than that, Nox. She’s going to murder you, and I’m going to take great pleasure in watching it.”

“The mating frenzy took over. I could barely get her to keep her damn clothes on long enough to make sure she really wantedit, and it wasn't her Demon’s primal needs taking over,” Nox tries to defend himself, but the guilt in his eyes tells me he’s still concerned about everything.

“How did you manage that?” I ask, needing to make sure he actually did the right thing and ensure Meyer wanted to physically be with him.

“I asked how long she had been wanting to be with me. Made her tell me the exact day. If it had only been since I brought her back, I would have stopped,” Nox rasps, and I nod. I would have still preferred him tell her in full detail about everything between them, but as long as Meyer truly wanted Nox, then he hasn’t broken her trust. It wouldn't have mattered if they had sex now or in fifty years. Meyer is Lennox’s mate. There is no way around that. But if he had forced something she would have regretted after the frenzy wore off, I would have killed him.

“You will tell her everything before we get home,” I command, making him glower at me, his magic straining at the need to put me in my place. He would have every right to magically demand submission from me. I am technically lower in our Legion dynamic, but he won’t. He knows as much as I do that he needs to tell Mi Sol what belonging to him will entail.

“I will,” he says, looking from me to Creed and nodding in agreement. “I already planned to tell her so that Father wouldn't freak her out. He’s going to be pissed, and I’m worried he might take it out on her.” I frown, not having thought of that problem before now. Shit, he’s right. Father is going to be furious, and I could see him testing Meyer to ensure she’s a strong enough match for his heir.

“Fuck!” Creed whispers, eyes widening as he, too, realizes the shit storm Meyer is about to walk into. And there is nothing we can do about it. There is no talking Father down from this. He will have every right to test Meyer. To push her and make sure she will be a strong enough future Queen for his people.

“If I can pull him to the side and explain,” Nox starts to say, and I shake my head.

“No. You need Mum. She’ll get him to calm down enough before he hurts either of you,” I whisper, pressing my lips to my girl’s hair while running my thumb over Inanis’ mark on her wrist, watching it light up a vivid red that makes my stomach plummet in response. I hear Creed exhale sharply and Nox growl at my side, their eyes locked on Meyer's wrist. Fear rolls off of them in waves, and I sigh, knowing I need to set my issues aside for now and help my brothers and the woman I love. “We are going to fix this. It will work,” I say with a confidence I don't feel.

“How?” Nox asks, voice husky and rough with emotion, as he shakes his head and stares at the ceiling above. “The Seniorem has Inanis’ tomb; Arch is alive and, for some reason, working with them. The Devil himself has somehow targeted my mate, and she now holds his mark. Someone other than Father and I is commanding the Wraiths, and the Umbra Hunters are in complete shambles. How do we fix this shit?” he asks as I bite my tongue not to yell at him for the ‘my mate’ comment. It honestly rubs me the wrong way that he gets to claim Mi Sol that way, and I can't yet.

“Um, I hate to butt in here, but wouldn't that be Arch commanding them?” Creed asks, and I shake my head as Nox answers.

“No. Arch never had enough magic to control the Wraiths. He has their protection as one of the Royal family and can typically order them to do specific tasks, but he couldn't sway their magical allegiance to Father. Razar was the twin with the magic; Arch was spared from that burden.”

“Shit, you're right. I totally forgot about that,” Creed mutters, looking slightly frustrated. “I mean, I’m glad it’s not Arch, but it would have at least given us an answer to one of our issues.” The sound of the door opening makes Nox lunge for one of thethree knives on the side table as Jesthren waltzes into the room, his dark brows shooting up in surprise when he spots all of us in bed. The large black cape on his shoulders still has tiny flakes of snow, the tip of his nose red as he tilts his head and takes the four of us in.

“Well, this looks cozy,” he says with a smirk as he walks over, yanking the cape from his shoulders and shoving Creed on the shoulders. “Scooch over,” he whispers, looking at Meyer with a slight frown. Creed laughs as Jesthren somehow wiggles his enormous frame on the bed with us, patting his arm as he wiggles even closer to our girl. “Is she alright?” Jesthren asks, nodding at Meyer, who has started to snore softly.

“Yeah. Just a little worn out,” I answer and look at Nox, who blushes at my words and then scowls.

“You shouldn't be in here,” Nox hisses, sitting up and glaring at Jesthren as he reaches over and makes sure Meyer is completely covered with the blanket.

“Why not??” Jes asks in confusion.

“This is not a war council or a royal meeting. It's a family one,” Nox grumbles.

“The last time I checked, my last name was Darakh. I am your family,” he teases, and Nox huffs in annoyance. “Come on, Nox. At least let me try to make amends. I’m not asking to be your favorite; that will come later,” Jesthren adds, and I snort in amusement, making Meyer startle in my arms, and all four of us freeze, staring at her as we hold our breaths. After she settles back down, a snore signaling she’s still asleep, Nox glares at me, and I wince and mouth ‘sorry’ as Creed whacks my arm with a scowl.

“Fine, but you’re not a part of this Legion and are nothing to Meyer, so get the hell out of this bed before I skin you alive,” Nox finally says, voice a deadly cold tone, letting us know he’s not messing around. He will literally skin Jesthren if he doesn’tmove quickly. Jesthren must sense the dark magic that has started to swirl protectively around Meyer and springs out of bed, eyes wide as he looks from Meyer to Nox, then at me and raises a brow.

“Mating frenzy setting in nice and hard, isn't it?” he grumbles, crossing his tree trunk-sized arms over his chest as he pouts in the corner of the room. The shadows shift behind him, and a dark-cloaked figure steps to his side, making our oldest brother jump back. A slew of demonic curses spill from his lips, and his blade suddenly appears in his hand.

“Your senses are dulled in this realm. You need more practice,” Razar mutters, stepping closer to the bed, his face shrouded in darkness, wild black hair falling from the cloak of the hood with blood dripping from the ends. He leans over us, looking down at Meyer before he nods and steps back, turning to Jesthren. “Killing you would have been pathetically easy. Do better,” he snaps as he walks toward the door. “Be ready in an hour. I have cleared the path to the rift on the North Ridge. Make sure she dresses warmly,” he growls as he opens the door and leaves without another look back at us.

Jesthren blinks at the door and then looks at Nox, shock and surprise apparent on his face. “The hell was that? How has he gotten that quiet? I’ve never been snuck up on like that before.” He sheaths his knife, and Nox sighs, sitting up and standing from the bed.

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