Page 45 of Queen of Darkness
“Sorry about this place,” Dani said. “Your real estate investments have really taken a hit since you met Jo and me.”
I snickered, briefly reminded of how demons had trashed his penthouse loft and mountainside chalet in their pursuit of Dani. To the best of my knowledge, repairs on both were still underway.
“I should bill you for it,” he grumped as something else exploded inside the building, shattering glass.
“Probably,” I agreed.
A moment later, sirens sounded in the distance.
“We should go,” Dani suggested, motioning to the car. “Get out of here.”
“Yeah,” I said, not looking forward to what would come next.
“Then you can tell me why you need my help.”
I licked my lips, heading for the car’s backseat. “Yeah. About that.”
Vir got in and revved the engine while Dani sat next to him, and I climbed in behind her. I didn’t want to have to face the glare I knew would be directed my way once I told her what was up.
“Can you move your seat up?” Aaron asked as he squished into his seat behind Vir.
“No,” the shifter god said, putting the car in drive.
Dani cackled quietly to herself, something about revenge, but as we pulled out of the parking lot, her attention swiftly returned to me.
“Okay, spill,” she said, turning her head as far as it could go. “What’s so bad that you finally had to call me in?”
“Well, truthfully,” I said, only wincing once, “we really only needed Vir.”
Dani’s face scrunched up. “What?”
“You told me already when you tried to cure my mother with your magic that he was the one who was good with the fine stuff. That you just didn’t have the experience yet to really be great at it, right?”
“I suppose. But what do you need him for, then? What sort of fine magic are we talking about?”
I hesitated.
“Just tell her,” Aaron said. “It’s going to come out sooner or later. It’s like a bandage. Ripping it off is always easier.”
“Fine,” I said, giving him a look, then glancing at Dani. “I need him to keep me alive while I get rid of this Blood Letter.”
“How does fine magic work for that? If you wanted stuff blown up, sure. But this?”
“I found a way to get rid of the Blood Letter,” I explained. “Which needs to go. If I’m going after Elenia, I can’t constantly be dealing with others getting in my way at the worst time. It needs to go.”
“A Blood Letter can only be revoked by the person who wrote it,” Vir said, stating it like an absolute fact.
“True,” I said. “But, then again, I’m not revoking it. I’m fulfilling it.”
“You’re going to kill yourself?” Dani asked dryly. “Doesn’t seem very efficient.”
“Just about,” I said in a completely serious voice. “I found a loophole, one that will, if I survive it, allow me tofulfillthe Blood Letter.”
“Ifyou survive?” Dani asked. “Warning bells are going off in my head at that.”
“Yeah, they should,” I said heavily, sighing.
“How do you do this?” she asked warily.
