Page 97 of Which Witch is Willing?
War, enormous and stone-faced, planted his boots on the left ledge. His awe-inspiring sword rested across the span of his shoulders, one hand grasping the hilt, the other hooked over the blade. His eyes blazed with the kind of wrath that had ended entire civilizations.
Pestilence stood two windows to the right, leaving a space in between them. Tall, dark, and impeccable, his expression was so mild as to be enigmatic as he pulled at the tips of his gloves one by one, sliding them from his graceful, masculine hands.
Conquest, Aerin assumed, would be found at Moira’s side, ushering her to safety.
There was no sign of Death.
Her heart surged at the sight of Julian, and her eyes drank in every lovely line and sinew of him. She wanted to call to him, to reach for him, but she’d barely the strength to keep her eyes open.
And he barely spared her a glance.
Instead, he addressed the assembly, though the daggers in his gaze were aimed directly at the Devil. “If any of you persist with any part of this endeavor, then I’d caution you not to have plans to leave this Inn alive. For it will become your prison and your graveyard. You’d better trust that Lucifer is a devil of her word and will keep the wards intact. Because the moment you fall into our hands, you will learn every meaning, every dark and terrible facet of the wordsuffering.”
Anxious glances and quiet murmurs thrummed through the coven as they took in the awe-inspiring sight that were these astonishingly masculine immortals.
Lucifer scoffed, yanking on the dark chain still imprisoning one of Aerin’s wrists, tumbling her to her hands and knees on the hard marble floors. “If you’re here to offer yourself as trade, you needn’t bother. You’ll belong to me soon enough.”
“I wouldn’t dream of it,” Julian said blithely. “We’re here to offer you something you crave far more than any of us. Something you covet more than victory, revenge, or even power.”
“And what might that be?” she scoffed.
“Yourself.”
Death descended from the sky, strong and majestic. He landed in the middle window, his eyes burning holy condemnation and his onyx wings drawing in like an arch angel.
The limp body of a lithe woman draped over his arms.
Aerin felt the spell draining her slightly abate, as if its attention had gone elsewhere.
“We always knew this would be a last resort, but here we are,” Julian motioned to the remains, kept in a strange torpor of shadow. “I sent Bane on a quest to find your body. The only one that will not be rotted by the decay in your soul.”
Hunger gleamed in the abysmal wells of Lucifer’s eyes, even as her skin began to putrefy. “Why would I trade, when I can kill one of the four and thereby win the day?”
Claire stepped forward, the fire in her palms catching on her hair, in her eyes, igniting her with a beauty so fantastic, even Aerin wanted to cower before the heat.
“You don’t have the power to fight us all as you are,” she said, the carpets at her feet catching as she began to lose control of her temper. “And if Aerin dies here, so does everyone who watched it happen, including Gwen’s body.”
“Damn straight.” Tierra agreed, plaster pouring from the ceiling as the building shook with her rage. “Try finding a witch to possessthen. And if you do, we’ll keep forcing you out until we figure a way to vanquish you for good.”
Whispers and murmurs intensified behind Lucifer as the witches processed what she had done to them. The proof of their pilfered magic. One of them snatched up the Grimoire.
Julian, held in check by the wards, ran his finger across a shard of glass still in the pane. “Tell me, would you rather wither again and again in a shell that will not contain the entirety of your power? Or would you prefer to have an immortal body back?”
Aerin scowled up at him. “Does this… seem like… a shit… idea to anyone else?” she managed.
“Done.” Lucifer released Aerin from the spell and lifted her hands to her sides prompting the darkness to levitate her upward toward Killian. “Give it over.”
Dru sliced through the air with his sword, creating a barrier. “Lower the wards first.”
Aerin felt the magic imprisoning them into the Raven Rook loosen and then fall.
“I’ve done my part.” Lucy reached for the body in Death’s hands. “Now keep your end of the bargain.”
“Have you guys lost your mind?” Aerin screeched. They were handing Lucifer exactly what she wanted to grow stronger. They might as well be handing her victory.
Death drew Lucifer away through the window, and out of their sight.
“Come on.” Claire said, wrapping one of Aerin’s arms around the back of her neck so she could stand. “Let’s get you out of here.”
