Page 6 of Malice
“Puffin,” Remi corrected, his confidence faltering on the tail end of the word as I locked my eyes on him.
“What was that?”
“It’s . . . uh . . . You know what? Penguin is fine.”
Asher snorted. “If you were in wolf form, your tail would be between your legs. You sure you’re an alpha?”
“Fuck you, man. She’s terrifying.”
I smirked. “Thank you.”
Striding across the room, I took a seat on a leather club chair and let my gaze roam the room. The decor seemed very out of place for Asher Henry. Everything in here screamed old money. Old conservative money at that. There was a ship’s wheel mounted over the fireplace, along with taxidermied animals displayed on shelves and hunting trophies staring lifelessly back at us. The bookshelves were filled with tomes about the Alaskan wild and explorers who’d ravaged the land but glamorized it as heroism. History is always written by the victors. Human nature at its finest.
“Sure. Go ahead and make yourself at home. We can wait for you to get comfortable, and then maybe you’ll do us all the courtesy of telling us why the fuck you finally decided to show up.”
I raised a brow at Hades’s tone. “Is that any way to speak to an old friend,Cain?”
“I love it when she gets like this. Her voice goes all...Yes, Mommy,” Remi whispered to Asher.
“My voice is always like this, pet. You just haven’t had the pleasure. Now be a good dog and shut up.” I trained my gaze on Asher, the need to understand exactly how much they’d achieved burning a hole in my belly. “Lucifer is gaining ground. Drystan and I barely escaped with our lives, and you’re all sitting here making ridiculous videos and having a campout. What is going on over here?”
Asher’s chin lifted defiantly. “That’s rich coming from you. You’ve been almost as MIA as Gabriel. I understand you two can’t interfere and all, but the world is fucking ending, lady. It’s a little too late for you to ride in like the cavalry now.”
My temper ignited, and I knew the mortals could tell because they all collectively flinched. “Once again you prove just how little you know, hacker. That’s actually the exact reason I’m able to be here at all. Now that the apocalypse has begun, the rules of engagement have changed.”
“Oh yeah? So where’s leather feathers, then?” Remi challenged.
That was a brilliant question. Alas, it was one I didn’t have the answer to.
“We have bigger fish to fry. I’m sure he’ll make an appearance when it suits him.”
Asher snorted in disgust. “It’s probably never going to suit him. The angels have been so uninvolved if I didn’t know he existed, I’d think they were nothing more than a myth.”
“And, you know, you’re one of them,” Remi pointed out. “Go, go Lavender Lantern!”
“So not the time, Remi,” Asher muttered, squeezing the bridge of his nose.
“What? Every hero needs a name.”
“Lavender Lantern?”
“What’s wrong with that? Your hands get all glowy, and you pew-pew your purple lasers?—”
A heavy sigh came from beside me as Drystan’s hand found purchase on the small of my back. “This is already exhausting. Someone gag him so the grown-ups can get this conversation over with.”
Remi ha the good sense to blush. “Sorry. The higher the stress of a situation, the worse my ADHD gets. I’ll be on mybest behavior. Scout’s honor.” He gave us a little three-fingered salute and then sat on the edge of the sofa.
“Humor is his defense mechanism,” Asher grumbled. “Have you seen the videos? That should tell you everything we know so far. We’ve kept them really up to date.”
Disappointment settled inside me. I’d hoped they knew more and were prepared for a fight sooner rather than later. “Well then, you’d better make yourselves comfortable because if all you know is in those videos, then you are woefully uninformed.”
Asher raised a brow but did as I asked. Hades, the insufferable arse, purposefully ignored me. He was lucky I was in a hurry, or I would have forced the issue. With the heel of my stiletto.
“Go on, then. We’re listening,” Asher said when I hadn’t looked away from Hades’s challenging stare.
“Oh bloody hell, where do I even begin?” My thoughts were scattered in a way I wasn’t used to. I always had it together. I was strong and composed even on my worst days, but seeing Lucifer and nearly being caught by him had put me off balance.
“Where do we have it wrong?” Hades asked, gentler than I’ve ever heard him. Hmm, it seemed being a mated man had softened the god of the underworld. I’d have to keep that in my pocket and use it to my advantage at a later date.
