Page 62 of Total Eclipse of the Moon
Shane frowned over his shoulder at him.
Antonio said, "From ‘time to time’? Try at least once every forty-eight hours."
Roman cocked his head. "What’s he not telling me, Antonio? He faked his death and then claimed he did it to take care of the demon problem. Yet he didn’t take care of it. None of that is something the Shane I knew would do." When Antonio remained mute, Roman focused on Shane. "Mom almost died from grief when we thought you died. None of us were the same."
"I’m sorry. The demon makes me not myself a lot of the time. Us coming to a tenuous agreement is only recent, but it still doesn’t think I should be in charge all the time." Baku was his problem and not one he wanted to discuss with his brothers. It wasn’t something he was proud of. The demon reflected a weakness he hadn’t been able to conquer.
Baku said,"I am not a weakness."
"We fall apart every time you try to take over. Someone could kill us when that happens."
Madeline’s face contorted in concern. She whispered low, "You sure you’re okay?"
"I have a more important question," Shane said to Roman. "Does anyone else have an angel tattoo that spontaneously appeared in the last eighteen months?"
Roman, Ky, and Flynn made eye contact with each other. Roman asked, "Do you?"
Shane worked his jaw. "We all do, huh? Does it mean we’re all chosen to be warriors for God? It has to do with what I saw in Africa, doesn’t it? The three angels together in one place?"
Roman compressed his lips together in silent order: What happened in Africa, stayed in Africa. Three angels of God had appeared to heal the brothers after they got bombed. "Have you seen your angel in person or only as a tattoo?"
Shane straightened. "You’ve each met your angel in person outside of the African event?" A quick glance around. "More than once?"
Roman’s gaze had gone shifty which was a definitive yes on that. But he said, "Our first step before we sort out the angel issue is to get free of the curse. So, let’s do it, witch."
Shane said, "She doesn’t have to—"
Madeline put her hand on Shane’s arm. "I got this. I did cast it. For that, I’m sorry. The reasons I did it are complicated, but aren’t a part of you getting free of it."
Shane set down the empty second soda bottle loud enough to draw attention to himself. "The Crown kidnapped her family and forced her to do it to get them free. Then when she returned to get them after she cursed us, they were dead." When none of the brothers looked impressed, Shane added hoarsely, "They held her four year-old hostage and then killed him. Then they tried to kill her. They still try every bloody day to kill her, you know."
She whispered, "I don’t know for sure the queen intended for him to die."
Shane’s eyebrows hit his hairline. "She sent assassins to kill you. She set up an entire unit inside MI6 exclusively dedicated to hunting you, which they've done for five decades. She wanted you and your whole family dead. Had you died but your son lived, he would’ve probably had your capabilities and been able to reverse this curse in your absence. You think she’d let that happen?"
She nibbled on her lip.
He looked across the table. "They’ve been trying to kill her ever since the curse was cast. If she dies, we’re trapped, and the Crown has an immortal legacy to pass to each generation."
Roman glowered at her. "That may be why Madeline did it—and great for her for not dying—but she had almost fifty years to find us and reverse this. What the hell have you been waiting for? An invitation?"
"Let’s reverse this thing. You’re here. We’re here. Do it," Flynn said.
"I can’t just snap my fingers and utter a few words." She swallowed hard. "There are conditions necessary before we can attempt to undo it."
Shane’s sensitive hearing picked up her fast heartbeat. Something bad was coming that she hadn’t shared with him.
"What conditions?" Roman clasped his hands together tightly on top of the table and thinned his lips.
She swallowed audibly. "First, all those involved in the curse have to be in the same room and only those directly involved. That’s you four, me, and King Frances. The monarch must be there. No human handler. No mates. No bodyguards of the king."
Surprised flared on all faces at the table as the difficulty in achieving that worked through everyone’s mind. Not impossible, but it would require planning to isolate the king.
"There's more. A lot more." She continued, "Second, you three will have to go through a purification cleanse to remove the decades of filth after everything you’ve fought and killed. You have to be reset to where you were before the curse was cast. I just did a cleanse with Shane. It’s why he’s buzzing with life right now and less weighed down. Except for the demon trying to take over. That’s different. That’s a problem, but it’s his issue that he’s working out. I’m not sure how it being present will affect us trying to reverse the curse. It might be a problem."
Everything in Shane rebelled. A cleanse? As in sex?
No.
