Page 36 of Immortal Sins
“She freed Flynn. She’s on our side,” Cole growls.
Celeste tugs on the ends of her ballroom glove and rolls it off her arm. “Your silly infatuation is not important. Jessa is still stuck out there, and the mortal’s presence in Faerie creates an opportunity to get her back. She needs our help. She needsyou. Do I need to remind you how important her family is to our reign? How influential her father has become? Do what you will with your night, but the mortal leaves in the morning.”
“No.”
Celeste’s monstrously cold eyes flash with power. “Colden Alaric Desirys, you will swear to do everything in your power to bring this girl to the throne room tomorrow at ten o’clock sharp, or I will take hernow.” Magic zaps in blue bolts over her one bare arm.
Cole cries out in pain, struck by an invisible fist. Tremors rock his body from head to toe before he offers his mother a stiff bow. “By the Dark Gods, I swear it,” he grits through his teeth, his dark voice dripping with pain.
Celeste smiles. “Enjoy your night, mortal. You will never see the likes of Faerie—or my son—ever again.”
An icy burst ripples through the air. Frost pinches my nose and dries up my throat in an instant. My teeth chatter at the sudden change in temperature, my entire body numb.
Celeste doesn’t bother to close the door behind her.
Cole’s lips turn blue, and his arms shake at his sides. Icicles frost over his lashes before he drapes an arm around me. “Breathe. Ride the wave out. Her magic can’t take root inside you if you don’t let it.”
I force myself to breathe despite the ice, the despair. Finally, after a few long inhales and exhales, life returns to my limbs.
Cole presses his lips to mine softly. “That leaves us precious few hours to figure out how I’m going to break that promise.”
15
DON'T FEAR THE REAPER
Amountain of books sprawls over the duvet when Flynn waltzes into the room. He stops cold at the sight of the mad librarian set-up. His powdery blue gaze travels from the borrowed undershirt I’m wearing to a half-naked Cole.
“I figured you guys would be done with the reunion sex by now, but these aren’t post-coital faces.” He points to each of us in turn. “What did I miss?”
“My mother.” Cole dumps another book on the pile. He’s searching his library for a way to thwart Celeste’s plans.
I play with the hem of the oversized shirt. If only I was wearing underpants for this conversation. “Could Flynn smuggle me out of the palace?”
Cole shakes his head. “Ha! My mother probably posted guards at every door and turret.” He throws a glance in my direction. “Even if you could, would you want to spend the rest of your life as a fugitive in Faerie?”
My throat tightens. Probably not. “I can’t just greet Oz tomorrow morning and say, ‘Hey, how you doin’ buddy? Want to take me home and forget that I stole from you?’”
Flynn paces the room. “If Oz collects you in the morning… We all know what happens after that. It was stupid of us to come here. It’s the perfect opportunity to get rid of you. A silly mortal girl runs away to Faerie and dies—it’s too cliché.”
The gruff, uncensored comment rubs me the wrong way. “My insignificance is noted.”
Cole flips through the pages of a thick, leather-bound encyclopedia. “Flynn’s got a point. You won’t make it home, and he’ll blame it on me.”
I cross my arms. Adrenaline and fear run through my blood. “Are you saying there’s nothing to be done? I can kick Oz’s ass if needed.” My jaw clenches. I might have squished the peeling hag, but I should probably not hurl infernal magic at Oz’s head to see if it remains attached to his body. Killing Dark Falls’ headmaster with forbidden magic means exile, and I’m no murderer. “There must be a way to resolve this withouttoomuch violence.”
“If we trick him into staying in Faerie for a few days, we could enchant him,” Flynn says.
Cole scoffs. “Oz will not be so naive as to hang out in Faerie. At best, he might be willing to make a deal. If he swears not to harm her, we could give the horn back—”
“No! He will not get Beth’s soul. We have to free whatever magic is attached to it so that she can rest,” I say quickly.
Cole cocks a brow. “Beth’s soul?”
Flynn crawls over the book pile and lies down on the bed. Arms braced behind his neck, he stares at the ceiling. “You missed an episode. Beth’s soul is still in the horn.”
What if all this was for nothing? “Even if Oz promises to take me home in one piece, he’ll be all too keen to enslave me with angel dust, so he can fuck meandmy sister.” I comb my hair back, dragging my fingers along my scalp like it’ll somehow revive my dead brain. “I’m not giving the horn back to him. There must be something you can do.”
“I need time. I can’tthink.” Cole slams the last volume from the shelves on top of the others.
