Page 51 of In Death's Hands
“Do you know where to find them?” I ask, relieved to feel my voice strengthening with each new word.
“Unfortunately, yes.”
He proceeds to lead me down the street. We cross the small city centre and keep walking towards houses that become bigger and fancier the farther we go. My feet are pulsing from exhaustion, and I’m pretty sure the sand lodged there is rubbing them raw, but I focus on the view. I don’t know how long we’ll stay here, and I do not want to miss a single bird song, a single flower petal flying through the gentle air, nor a single laugh coming from the beach that we keep seeing between each perfectly mowed lawn.
When Nathan turns to walk down a beautiful stone path leading to what can only be described as a mansion, I nearly sag in relief. If I ask nicely, maybe the Novensiles will let me swim and sleep on the beach for a few hours without trying to kill me? Now that I think about it, they probably don’t even know where we are, so I might be perfectly safe.
I dismiss the thoughts wanting to remind me that I’ve never been truly safe in my life. They bring me down, and I don’t have time for that kind of negative thinking. In fact, I don’t have time for any sort of thinking whatsoever when, seconds after my companion knocks on the door like hellhounds are after him, Atys opens it. Completely. Naked.
My eyes widen. “Holy shit.”
“Put some trousers on!” barks Nathan, but Atys appears unfazed. If anything, his lips stretch in a shit-eating grin as he eyes us up and down.
“Well, well. Look what the devil dragged in!”
“Is the devil real?” The question flies out of my mouth.
“No,” grinds Nathan. His whole body is tense, vibrating with unspent energy. I could almost imagine him throwing a punch to Atys’ face and then blowing out a breath in relief.
By Atys’ knowing smile, I’m not the only one clocking what Nathan yearns to do, although I’m still unsure of where their animosity comes from. To keep messing with him, I’m sure, Atys steps forward to grab my hand. His sea-foam eyes bore into mine as he slowly bows to leave a kiss on top of it. Huh, I didn’t think anyone did that in real life. It’s not as unpleasant as one might think, but that could simply be because the man—god?—who has taken that liberty is gorgeous and naked. My eyes turn curious, all on their own of course, and take in the large expanse of his tattooed torso. They keep going down and down the smooth skin, noticing the happy trail that leads to—
“Enough.”
I jump slightly at Nathan’s voice. My cheeks redden as I notice both men staring at me. One with utter delight, the other with barely restrained rage. Clearing my throat, I look behind Atys to take in the luscious entrance. It has a very tall foyer with large stairs directly in my line of sight and a beautifully vintage round table that has no other purpose than to hold a huge vase of flowers and fill the space between the various doors. I can hear many voices coming from inside the house, but before I can discern anything specific, Atys moves directly in front of me. “Careful, precious, I don’t think that’s your scene,” he says with a mysterious smile but a strangely serious look in his eyes.
“Why not?”
“Because you are a…” He pauses as if searching for his words. “In a very serious situation. One that many in there might find a little too interesting,” he adds, looking directly at Nathan this time.
I’m not an idiot, I know there is some sort of code or underlying message in his words, but I simply don’t care. Nor, if I’m honest, do I understand it completely. So maybe Iaman idiot after all.
I’m about to push my way into the house, determined to get straight answers for once, when Nathan catches my arms and stops me in my tracks. “He’s right.” The way he says it, you’d think he was asking someone to pull his teeth out. He manhandles me until I’m suddenly facing them both, their hulking bodies guarding the door at their backs.
Simmering with anger, I point a finger at Nathan. “Who the fuck do you think you are to move me like that? I am not a doll for you to play with!”
Nathan looks stricken, but Atys opens his mouth for what I’m sure will be a wildly inappropriate comment, so I turn my finger to him, shutting him up effectively. “And you, if you won’t let me in, go get Thalnus!”
Chuckling, Atys leans against the door frame, his arms crossing over his torso. The movement is so distracting I lose my focus for a second, but I quickly catch myself and get my eyebrows back to the appropriate frowning position. “You look like a lamb, you smell like a lamb, youthinklike a lamb… and yet, when poked, you bite like a wolf.”
My frown deepens without my prompting this time. “What the hell does that mean?”
“Liv,” starts Nathan, but as I look to the foyer behind him with horror, taking a stumbling step backwards, he forgets his own words and whirls around. Atys quickly follows suit.
I don’t give either of them time to grasp the situation and slip between their bodies to shout, “THALNUS!” My voice echoes through the space.
Satisfied, I cross my arms across my chest and turn to the two men now gaping at me. Nathan opens and closes his mouth a few times as Atys’ shoulders shake with laughter. Seeming unable to contain himself any longer, the man guffaws, and Iswear I see a tear run down his cheek. But I can’t be sure because—
“Who thefuckdares to summon me that way?” Thalnus’ voice thunders through the foyer as he enters through a sliding glass door.
“What are you doing here?” Thalnus growls.
Nathan is suddenly at my side, a bow ready to snap. The tension coursing through him could power London for a year if somebody learned how to transfer it and use it with our technology. I can feel all that without looking at him, my own gaze stuck on the ruler of the Blue Depths Crown, who is wearing some sort of fishnet around his private parts. The relief I feel at not seeing more of him is real. He doesn’t seem the kind to want to display everything to everyone. He probably only shows all of himself to the people he’s about to bed. Maybe has them sign a non-disclosure agreement. Or maybe he kills them right after, like a praying mantis.
Thalnus is glowering at Nathan like it’s his job, clearly expecting an answer that is yet to come.
“We need your help,” I answer instead to end the stalemate.
Whatever I was expecting, it wasn’t for him to start laughing. “And here I thought the great, mighty D—”
