Page 25 of To Hell and Back
Seneca had been hoping it would be easy to convince Killian to help her strike back at the people who had hurt her during her last life, but she hadn’t considered he would just go out and kill them for her. She knew she should have been horrified by that thought, but she couldn’t help feeling a little flattered that he would do something so extreme for her.
“But she didn’t do anything to me in this timeline,” she pointed out, more as a reminder for herself. “Not yet, anyway. How can he just—?”
“Don’t worry about that,” Gunner said dismissively before shoving a forkful of brisket into his mouth. “He’s kind of a pro at this sort of thing.”
Her brows winged up at that. “What does that mean?”
Gunner sighed and shot her a sympathetic look. “You really don’t understand exactly who your mate is, do you?”
“He’s not a serial killer or anything like that,” Celine assured as she patted her shoulder. “But Killian Black isn’t just a powerful supernatural. He is a dark god, one of the very last remaining ancient reapers, and the boss of the Guardians of the Underworld.”
“Oh, and he also used to be some sort of royalty, but he doesn’t really care much about that title these days,” Arson added breezily.
Seneca felt like her head was going to explode. That was a whole lot to digest. She had never attended a magical academy during her previous life so she didn’t know much about the supernatural hierarchy beyond what she’d learned from her friends. She knew reapers were the most powerful beings in the Hell Realm, but hearing her mate being called a dark god put a whole new spin on things.
She really was mated to a magical badass.
Unconsciously, she reached for the relic she had gotten from her mate. She liked thinking of it as his first gift to her, although the way he had spoken about it made it seem like the magical parasol had chosen her. As soon as she touched the crystal handle, she was instantly flooded with a sense of warmth and comfort. That startled her enough that she let go of it. She wasn’t used to inanimate objects being able to do something like that.
Taking a big gulp of champagne, she tried to calm her nerves a bit. “What are the Guardians of the Underworld? Is that like the supernatural mafia or something?”
“Sort of, but we mostly use our power and influence to make sure supernaturals don’t cause problems here in the Human Realm,” Arson explained.
“You’re one of these Guardians as well?”
“We all are,” Celine confirmed. “It’s why Arson set up The Manor in the first place. To make it easier for us to monitor the supernatural community in this area.”
“So, are you guys sort of like the Supernatural Council?”
Arson snorted. “Hell, no. Those assholes are almost as useless as human politicians. We, on the other hand, maintain balance and order so the majority of the human population remain unaware of the supernatural world.”
“The Supernatural Council only deals with bigger issues that affect the six realms, while we strictly handle things here in the Human Realm,” Celine explained.
“The Council is totally useless,” Gunner muttered before shoving more food in his mouth.
“Well, if it makes you feel any better, a year from now most of the Council is going to be replaced with better people, or so I heard.”
“What else can you tell us about the future?” Arson asked, leaning forward.
Gunner grinned. “Do you remember any lotto numbers?”
Seneca chuckled and shook her head. “Sorry, no.”
“Damn. How about who won the World Series? Super Bowl?”
“Didn’t really pay attention to that either.”
She wanted to laugh at the disappointed look on his face, but a wave of apprehension swept through her. She really didn’t pay attention to most sports, but she had always been a big supporter of Thane and his snowboarding career. She really hoped Shadow and her brother were now safe at home, and pulled her cell phone out of her pocket, hoping that she might have a text from them.
Unfortunately, the phone wouldn’t even turn on.
“That won’t work here,” Arson confirmed. “We’ve got a landline if you need to make a call out.”
“I just wanted to make sure Shadow and Thane were okay.”
“I can go check on them for you,” Celine offered.
Before she could respond, the dark angel disappeared from her seat. Teleporting really did come in handy. That was definitely a skill she wished she had, but it wasn’t something most witches were capable of. Since Celine was good friends with Thane, Seneca had no doubt she would track them down to make sure they were okay.
