Page 108 of Malice
“But—”
“Non,Merri. I will be fine. You’ve taken care of me and worried about me enough. You focus on yourself now. I will deal with whatever fallout comes my way. I’m not completely helpless, you know.”
I attempted to smile, but I don’t think it was very effective because Christian’s eyes swam with concern. Shit. I think I was crying again.
“Do you have a safe place to go?” he prompted.
Lilith andIniquityflitted to my mind first, but I wasn’t even sure it was still standing. Besides, that was the first place people would look for me. I couldn’t go to Blackwood. It was decimated. I had no idea where Andi was, and now I wished I’d been more receptive to her offer of shelter. But Cole had given me everything I needed. He wouldn’t turn me away, and no one would think to look for me with him because hardly anyone knew about him. They certainly didn’t know the depth of our friendship.
It may not be a long-term solution, but it was a place for me to get my bearings and figure out my next step. That’s all I needed to worry about right now.
What was that saying? How did you eat an elephant?
One bite at a time.
I didn’t need to have everything figured out; I just needed to focus on my first bite.
“Yeah. I have a place in mind.”
“Parfait.”
He turned back to the kitchen and rummaged in a cupboard, muttering to himself the whole time as he searched for what he needed. After a few minutes, he turned around with a bright green orb in his hand. It looked a lot like a bath bomb, if I was being honest.
“What am I supposed to do with that? Drop it in the tub?”
He grinned. “Non.Take this, and when you are ready, think of where you wish to go. Throw it on the ground and step through the portal, which will open immediately.Et voilà!”
“That sounds surprisingly easy.”
“The best magic always is. Complicated does not mean better. It just means more things can go wrong with far greater cost.”
I accepted the little ball from him, the weight of it on my palm making all of this feel far more real. I looked back atChristian, my lower lip quivering when I realized it might be the last time I’d ever see him.
“One more thing before you leave. The magic will only work outside of the wards on the property. You will have to cross the property line before you can activate the spell.”
“They’ll know.”
“Oui,but they’re going to figure it out soon enough anyway.”
I released a breath before nodding. “You’re right. So I guess it doesn’t matter. This means so much to me.” Rushing forward, I enveloped him in an embrace. “Thank you, Christian.” The words didn’t feel like enough, but they were all I had.
He let out a little huff of surprise, but his arms wrapped around me momentarily. “Go. Be safe,petite fille.”
The sentiment was laughable. If only because safe was probably the very last thing I’d ever be again. Especially once they came for me. And they would. I had no doubt.
But it wouldn’t be for love. No, all my silly notions about them loving me were barely more than smoking embers. If I could see my heart, hold it in my hands, all it would be now was a pile of ash waiting to blow away.
The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse were nothing if not dedicated to their calling. I had become that very thing. This time when they came for me, it would be to finish the job they started.
Chapter
Thirty-One
SIN
"What the hell was that? Seriously, what is wrong with you? I know you're emotionally stunted, butthat”—I gestured dramatically to Grim—“is not the way you respond to someone who tells you that you are their soulmate.”
Grim, the snooty fuck, looked completely unruffled. He had the emotional range of a mealworm. No, you know what, that was offensive to mealworms. He had the emotional capacity of a thimble... for ants. The guy could be doing bookkeeping or suffering from anal fissures, and no one would ever be able to tell the difference.
