Page 18 of Beltane

“You’re mine, Lucifer,” I told him. “You’re all mine, and I’ll have you because I want to. Promise me you’ll help me defeat him. Promise me you love me. Promise me this is real.”

Lex and I had gotten primal in our time together, discovering a side of each other that had always been there but never made itself known. I’d never spoken to him like this, never claimed him so blatantly and dominantly. Maybe I wanted him to recognize the connection between us again, maybe I wanted him to come to terms with how I’d forgiven Miri, maybe I just needed to hear him say it.

“I’m yours,” he said, moving my body against his own faster. “I’m yours until the end, X. I love you. I love you. This is real.” He buried his head in my neck and groaned, release coming from deep inside him.

It echoed through our connection, seizing my molecules and thrusting me into outer space with him. This was how Lex and I found each other, through sweat and tears and come. We were equals, codependent and intertwined forever.

When we came back down to earth, he wrapped his arms around my torso and pulled me back against the couch, humming a deep sigh of approval. “We’ll defeat him,” he said. “We’ll fix the queen and we’ll find Siobhan.”

“I know.” I kissed him one more time before delivering my final blow. “One more thing.”

He narrowed his eyes, clearly seeing my ulterior motive regardless of the amazing sex.

“Apologize to Miri,” I said. “Whatever he did to her, it wasn’t nice.”

“It killed me to be without her…to watch you be without her.” Lex cleared his throat and nodded, looking between us. “I was fucking pissed.”

“Was…” The hope echoed in my tone.

“Well”—Lex met my gaze again and gave me one of those killer smiles—“she’s a little terrifying, isn’t she?”

More than a little.

6

Carter

“Now that everyone’s reacquainted”—Lex stood at the head of the breakfast table, his hands splayed out in front of him—“anyone have any ideas how to end this fucker?”

Ivy told us about commanding the king to get off Mount Vernon. “That had just been Lex and me. With the four of us?” She shrugged. “We’re a lot more powerful.”

“Remember when I tried to compel the queen at Samhain?” Lex told our spouses the same thing he’d said earlier that day about her claim to be the Great Source. “I wonder how many mysteries are waiting to be unearthed in that noggin of hers.”

“You think if we fix her, we can get rid of the king?” Ivy pursed her lips, considering it.

“Maybe she knows how it was done the first time, how they banned him from our realm at the beginning.” Lex shrugged, indicating he thought it was a good idea. “She might even know a better option—something more than sacrifices and blood oaths.”

“Siobhan said they were equals, that one could not exist without the other. They create a balance.” Ivy pinched her bottom lip while she paced and thought out loud. “At the wedding, Alberich looked wrecked, barely a version of his former self.” She closed her eyes and squinted, like something was coming to her out of nowhere. “He tried to open the car door by the handle.”

Lex furrowed his eyebrows, and I waited for her to continue.

“But he couldn’t because it was locked.” She looked up when she realized we were staring at her. “Why didn’t he use magic to open it? Why was it just him and not his goons?”

“Are you saying he can’t use his magic?” Lex asked.

She shrugged. “Siobhan’s sister, Ashley, said they couldn’t be apart from each other without consequences. What if they’re like us?”

“Well, shit,” I said, rubbing at the back of my head as all this information fell into place. “If they’re like us, does that mean we’re like them?” Three sets of eyes turned to me, as if that had just uncovered something profound. “What?”

“Siobhan said the magic mutated when we took the vow in those ruins.” Ivy glanced at Lex. “She said when this all ends, it’s the four of us left standing.”

“What is that supposed to mean?” Miri scrubbed her face, clearly exhausted by everything that had happened and everything left to come.

I understood. My agent had to cut my tour short because of this family emergency, but both back to back had turned me into a zombie. I’d need to sleep for ten years after this was over.

“It means we defeat him,” I said. “It means we were always supposed to do this.”

“Alright, Mr. Toxic Positivity,” Lex said. “We’re still trying to figure that out.”

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