Page 135 of Tortured Soul
“They were holding Dimitri and wouldn’t let him through,” I gritted out. “He’s wearing your damn uniform because you said it would prevent him from being attacked by your own people, and it happened anyway. Do you care to explain that?”
“There’s a protocol,” the Divine bitch stammered. “We were—”
“The protocol concerns outsiders or threatening visitors,” Arc interrupted her with a sharp look. “Did he threaten you?”
All of the guards' eyes drifted to each other as the silence stretched.
“Did. He. Threaten. You?”
His eyes were cold as he looked at every single one of them, waiting for an answer.
“He’s covered in Immortal blood,” one of them answered, meeting his gaze for a second before he looked down again.
“That doesn’t answer my question.”
No one spoke again, the sound of the rain hitting the dusty ground of the entrance and cobblestone leading in the streets loud around us.
“You all know why I put you on gate duty,” Arc continued, taking a step closer to Dimitri and I. “What you’re being reprimanded for.” His hand reaching for mine startled me and I looked up at him in surprise. “You stood and watched as she was beaten upon arrival, and now this? You should have sent for Carrie or me the second you saw him approaching. You donothave the authority to restrain someone at the gates. You donothave the authority to do anything here.”
The reality of the situation hit me like a train wreck. They were the ones being punished for letting Carter get away with what he’d done. For not doing anything to stop him when he kicked me as I was helpless on the floor.
The ones who conveniently didn’t mention anything to Arc when I was stashed in that tower for hours.
It explained why Marcus’ anger was directed at them and not Dimitri and I when he arrived to stop the tumble.
“Marcus,” Arc said, not turning his gaze away from the line of guards. “Get their uniform and weapons, I’ll inform Carrie they’re dismissed from their functions.”
The Divine bitch gasped and took a step forward. “But we’re—”
“Fired,” Arc cut her off harshly. Her throat bobbed, her eyes wide. “You obviously have no respect for the tasks asked of you. The guards are meant toprotectbefore they harm. I don’t care how scared youare of Carter, you should have stopped him when he lashed out at an innocent woman when he was sent to welcome her here.”
“But she’s aSuccubus,” the bitch hissed. “Her kind are disgusting traitors! She shouldn’t—”
The impact of Marcus’ fist connecting with her stomach made her fold on herself with a pained grunt. Dimitri’s arm tightened around my waist, pulling me impossibly closer to his front as Arc didn’t let go of my hand.
“She shouldn’t,what?” My friend crouched in front of her, his tone and posture menacing. “You’re the one who shouldn’t be allowed to stay here, but here we are.”
“We’re done here,” Arc said, turning to Dimitri, giving him an apologetic smile. “Sorry for the unwelcoming committee. Let’s meet Carrie in her office.”
The scene must have been kind of hilarious from the outside. Carrie was standing behind her desk, watching the three of us line up in front of her as the water dripped from us onto her wooden floors.
Dimitri, on my left, was covered in various shades of blood, turning him into some sort of wet, macabre canvas. My knuckles were slightly bruised and covered in both dark red and golden blood too, the flimsy material of my white T-shirt sticking to my skin uncomfortably and nearly transparent from the rain. If she opened a window, the draft would make my probably-visible nipples poke holes through the fabric.
“Should I be concerned about the amount of blood covering the both of you?” Carrie asked, one of her eyebrows arched up.
I grunted, dropping my gaze to the various objects littering her desk.
“From what I gathered, Lola handed a few guards their asses at the front gates,” Arc explained, crossing his arms in front of his chest. “Dimitri apparently came back like this.”
“Do I want to know what happenedat the gates?”
“You’ll need to replace the team, I don’t want them in the Guards anymore. Marcus is getting their uniforms and weapons.”
They both exchanged a knowing look.Alright. She either knew it was coming, or they were keeping something from us. Again.
“So, Dimitri.” Carrie looked at him, her eyes scanning him from head to toe. “That’s a hefty amount of blood. And a…colorful mixture.”
“I found the prison you were looking for. And you were right, even if the majority of people patrolling the perimeters were humans, there were Immortals too. I don’t know who rules it, though.”
