Page 7 of Eternal Sacrifice
“I have an announcement,” I said, coming to stand once Jace sat down after the morning’s check.
Still part vampire.
I felt all four of their stares as I gained their full attention. It hadn’t mattered that I dressed in leggings and a baggy thin sweatshirt for the meeting or that my hair was piled on top of my head in a mess of tangles. They all looked at me with the same hunger in their eyes. This was why we needed a meeting.
“No more sex,” I announced.
Their faces fell as a visual display of their hopes for the morning, smashing to pieces.
“Did we do something wrong, Princess?” Jasper sat in his chair, back straight, while palpable feelings of worry emanated from him.
I breathed a little easier and smiled at him, attempting to reassure all of them with the gesture before I explained. “No. Nothing like that. Quite the opposite, really. We can’t keep going on like this all the time.”
Jasper’s concern faded, and he settled into a more relaxed pose with a smug smirk. His arms crossed his massive chest showing a handful of runes. He hadn’t worn a suit the entire time we had been here, preferring to run around the island in only a pair of black gym shorts.
“Aren’t we supposed to have nonstop sex on this vacation?” Jasper raised an eyebrow. “That’s what these realms are for. Once we get home, I promise to ravage you often, but I’ll make sure you can get other things done if that’s what this is about.”
“Essentially,” I said, flopping back down in my chair. “Let’s just take a minute to discuss everything we have to look forward to when we return to Hell. Make sure we are all on the same page. And then, I guess, sex can be back on the table.”
“Jace will need to see Aggie for his base runes. She is the best,” Jax said, helping to start the conversation I had wanted.
“Where are we planning on living?” I asked, and finally, the rest of my demons understood.
“We can stay in our wing of the palace,” Jasper said, and I knew everyone felt a pull towards the castle where, for the demons at least, they kept their lifetimes of treasures.
“And we always have the hunting cabin, Fox.” Justice smiled before his face lit as an idea hit him. “Maybe Lucifer started a new hunt, and we can jump back in and kick some ass.”
“We could always look through the rings of Hell and make our own home. Someplace just for us,” Jax offered.
“I think I like all those ideas,” I said, feeling my chest lighten. If we weren’t walking into a shitstorm the moment we stepped back into Hell, I had a feeling everything would turn out just fine.
“I had a cabin in mid-realm,” Jace added.
“Maybe we can use it when we go to visit Sheila? Talk with your brother about letting it be your official unbanned part of the realm.” I shrugged. His tone held an edge when he mentioned it, and I felt it was more of an offer for me than for him.
“I like the idea of sneaking into the realm to disappear. With no one else knowing where we could have gone,” Jace answered.
I agreed. That sounded like a lot more fun.
“Guess that just leaves the topic of my mother,” Jax said, addressing the elephant in the room responsible for the pressure in my chest.
Thank fuck, he was the one to do it. We had talked briefly when we first arrived in the realm, but he had said he needed more time. Of course, I had been understanding. But, after months, it was something that we needed to discuss.
“I’m going to need to face my father,” Jax said.
His voice was steady and flat, but it was always like that because of the hand of the very man he needed to speak to. Every word Jax said aloud tore at my heart and made me wish there was some way for him to be whole once more.
“You don’t have to go alone,” Jace said, looking at Jax with his back straightened and ready to go to war.
I wondered how Jax’s childhood would have been different if Jace had been born beside him as a twin. So many problems could have been avoided if they had been together, and I found myself bitter toward the celestials. I still didn’t have a complete answer about who or what they were. It seemed they had a plan that even the gods were mere puppets in.
Right now, I resent what they did to my mates.
Jax nodded his head, accepting help from the group without needing to say a word. This wasn’t about being strong enough to face his past alone. Jax was embracing the pack and all that it meant to be part of one.
“I would imagine Luci will want to have a chat. Throw a few wrenches under the wheels,” Justice muttered, but it looked like he was far away, studying something only he saw.
“He’s been our biggest supporter,” I said, causing Justice to come back and look directly into my eyes as if he could transfer his thoughts into my mind. Only Jax and Jace could do that.
