Page 85 of Dark Shadow of Guilt

“You’ve always been a prick, Ely. Don’t imagine what you don’t see.”

“And don’t be an asshole, Luce. Ohngel, Remi, Dom, what do you think?”

Ohngel shrugged while Dom stroked his chin with a thumb and forefinger.

With a toothy grin, Remi leaned forward. “I think Luce doesn’t want his head lobbed off again, but he looks bulked up from what I remember. Do you lift weights, O fallen one?”

Dom agreed. Lucian’s shoulders were broader and his arms thicker, exposed by a sleeveless leather vest.

“Nothing else to do around here. I’ve never been much of a reader. We have a gym in one of the tents, and you can see the sparring rings over there.” Luce pointed toward a fenced-in arena.

Dom scanned the encampment where Luce claimed to be lying low and being a good guy on the road to redemption. But Ely had a point. The assembled Scourges didn’t look like lightweights. Without proof, it was best to keep an eye on the once-golden boy and his assembled army.

The Blood Leech that Lucian had sent on a mission raced back to his side, panting for air.

Lucian flicked a hand through the air. “Well?”

“Nobody knows anything about Praevus, Ike, or Serita.”

Big surprise. Dom snarled. They were grabbing at clouds, getting only a handful of mist. No leads. No results. His frustration roared to the surface.

Chapter Twenty-Four

Maddy waved goodbye. It was all she could do. Dom had returned home after a visit with Lucian to announce he was off again. A get-together with Michael in Vast. Without answering her questions, he shot out his wings and thundered into the air. No so-long-see-ya. No I’ll-be-back-soon to tell you how things went. No why-don’t-you-make-my-life-easy-and-plunge-off-the-edge-of-the-cliff.

She watched Dom pick up speed until he was a disappearing black dot, blending into the low, dark storm clouds.

Maddy glanced around the salon. Pulling a pillow close to the lighted fireplace, she flopped onto it, bent her knees, and hugged them.

Alone.

She was facing the worst crisis of her life. Alone.Yep. Worse than being a Sycophant. She had no way to reach out to her sisters and Dom had deserted her.

Her birth parents had abandoned her. Her father had deserted his family. Her mother preferred alcohol to caring for her. And even though she suspected the reasons for Dom’s escape had to do with his friend Gareth, he had left her.

Maddy descended into the negative thoughts that had plagued her when she was young. Why didn’t those she loved stay with her. Was she really so bad? So unlovable? What could she change about herself?

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