Page 88 of Hex
“I resent that. My brother was—”
Des is up and out of his chair faster than a demon in heat. With his elbow pressed tightly against Reilly’s throat and his teeth elongated to long, sharp canines, he looks ready to destroy.
“Your brother was a rapist and a disgrace to the very sanctity of this body of rule. Do not give me a reason to have you join him in the Great Library.” Desdemon doesn’t back down. Not even when Atlantis’s booming voice gives him the order.
“Dei Desdemon, you will regain your seat. Now!”
When my eyes search out Sage, she’s whispering to Sylvaris, who’s laugh-crying at something. I feel like an intruder, watching what I feel is a special moment between the two, but this fucking thing needs to end before I lose my fucking mind.
Des pushes—slams—Reilly back against the wall, clapping his teeth at him as though he’s about to bite before he goes back to his chair. There’s no fear on his face. He knows nothing can touch him because defending the honor of his sister is not surprising. On the contrary, it’s expected.
“I think we have enough here to make a well-advised decision.” Grandei slams the gavel onto the wooden table andeveryone goes back to their places. Well, except Sage who, still bound by whatever magic Atlantis wrapped around her, can’t move an inch.
“If I may?” Apollo cocks his head to the side and narrows his eyes, speaking to his equals, yet looking straight at Sage. “There is still the matter of this kyn. What is she and how does she even exist?”
“The birds and the bees comes to mind.” At Sage’s quip—albeit under her breath—a few of the Dei chuckle, but Reilly, who is back at his seat, sneers up at her.
“The disrespect alone earns her an execution.” I will fucking kill that bastard.
“Nonsense.” The Dei of Gods has a sense of humor at least. “I understand, Miss Bayley, and we do have quite a few hybrids among us in The Shade and elsewhere, but my question is more about the third kyn in you.”
“If I may?” It’s Hekate’s turn to speak, and I have a feeling her truth won’t go over too well with the rest of the Dei. Without a conscious thought, I inch closer to the door, as if it’ll save me time if I need to run out.
“Speak.” For someone who’s about to get the surprise of his life, Atlantis is sounding way too nonchalant.
“Sage is my daughter.” Only a few gasps around the table, but they’re fake. Everyone, by now, has heard the news about Hekate’s child. That kind of rumor spreads like wildfire in The Shade. “What you may not know is that her angel side is from none other than Atlantis.”
This time, the gasps are real, and when I turn my gaze to Atlantis, all I see is disdain. It shouldn’t shock me, he’s always been a purist.
“I demand proof of this.” With Atlantis’s words, the brief contemplation of ripping his head off flits through my mind, wondering if I could even get away with it.
Hekate rolls her eyes and doesn’t regale him with an answer. “The witch in her is from Baba Yaga, who carried her as her own after betraying me and telling me I’d lost my baby kyn.”
“She’s an abomination. A threat to the balance created by the Moirai,” Lyka cries out, his face exactly what I’d expect if he were sucking on a lemon. “Off with her head.”
Fuck this.
Before any of my brothers can hold me back—thank fuck their eyes are glued to the television—I rush out of the room and reach the stately wooden double doors, slamming them open.
All eyes are on me as I reach Sage and wrap her in my arms, my voice low, growly, and utterly deadly.
“She. Will. Live.”
Chapter Thirty
Sage
“How dare you.” Atlantis stands to his full height, all at least seven feet of it, and waves his hand in the same way he did to freeze me in place.
It doesn’t take a genius to figure out what he’s done because Hack is now frozen too. Only, his mouth is also being held shut because I can see his eyes practically bulging as he tries to talk.
“I thought Slash was the dramatic one.” Dei Samhain barely turns his head to look in our direction.
“Just kill them both and be done with it.” This comes from the one they’ve been calling Zhang.
The Dei start talking over each other, their voices getting louder and louder as they try to be the one that is heard. It’s near-deafening.
You would think that a group of the most powerful kyn to ever exist would act less like animals.
