Page 72 of Heavy is the Crown
The room goes quiet. Everything in me slams to a halt. Shadow grips my hand hard. “We need to get her out, now,” he growls.
Astrea shakes her. “Buttercup says to wait. That until the wedding, she needs to stay in hopes she can find the grimoires.”
“Bullshit!” I yell. “We are pulling her now. I don’t give a fuck what she wants. That motherfucker has my gods damn mate and he’s using her in whatever way he sees fit!” A plethora of intrusive thoughts ravage my brain. Image after image of all the things he could do to her play through in a slideshow of horror.
The words are barely out of my mouth before I lose control, then I’m nothing but a mist of shadow and darkness stepping into the bedroom where the king of Hell is lounging as Dios casually sucks his cock.
Ciaran
“Stay here,” I growl, despite knowing Astrea has zero interest in remaining behind.
Throwing myself out of the bedroom, I follow Shadow out into the hallway to come face-to-face with Dios squaring off against a half-shifted Drago. Darkness flows up Drago’s skeletal hands and his face, partially shifted, looks like a macabre drawing. Behind them, Jackson’s wings are flared wide, lightning crackling over his form as his eyes move from silver to black. As Shadow moves to intercept Jax from breaking up Drago and Dios, the entire room halts as I feel my mate’s magic pulse over everyone.
“I’ve had about enough of this,” she grumbles, stepping forward. “Honestly, you are a bunch of children. This isn’thelping Ava. Now, who wants to start talking so we can hurry this along and rescue my friend?”
No one says a word. Silence so thick you could cut it with a sword descends upon the townhome. My mate grumbles something that sounds like, “Fucking alpha asshats,” before she and Onyx walk into the center of it all, Buttercup still tattooed on her body.
“Astrea,” I warn.
She cuts me a withering look that communicates just what she thinks of the caution I want her to embody. “Ava has been placed under some magical hold. They managed to use a spell out of my grimoire so Oisin can siphon her magic and is in complete control of her through a collar,” she says to the room. “That’s what we discovered upon Buttercup’s return, so now, who wants to go next?”
When Jackson doesn’t say anything, I cock an eyebrow at him. “You don’t seem shocked.”
His bravado falters for a moment, and I watch Dios move closer to him, as if drawn in by the emotions he’s casting out. He tucks his wings back into whatever invisible place they normally are and runs his hands through his hair. “She asked me to help her get in.” A low rumble from Drago has me eyeing him in the corner. “I said no at first. I didn’t want her anywhere near this, particularly given she was what he was looking for. But she told me what she saw, and it was enough to change my mind.”
Shadow crosses his arms over his chest. “What did she see?”
“The same thing my mother showed Kallen, I would imagine,” I respond.
Astrea closes her eyes and sighs heavily. “I knew she was hiding something, but she wouldn’t tell me. Most who have visions don’t share them with anyone for fear of it either coming true or changing drastically. But fuck, I wish she had given ussomething.” She looks to Jackson again. “She also said Oisin is searching for something called the Well.”
Jackson goes deathly still, his power freezing on his body for a split second before he takes a shuddering breath to pull it back in. His tan face pales as if all the blood has drained from it.
“What is it?” I ask.
He casts a glance at Dios, the two seeming to communicate something silently before he looks back to us. “I’ll get in touch with my contact, get us into one of the parties tonight. At least to get eyes on her. We can’t just rush the palace; even with the considerable magic we hold in this room, that wouldn’t go well.” He looks toward Shadow and Drago. “It can’t be you two going in to see her. I’m not having you do something idiotic and getting my sister killed. It’s got to be Astrea, and just Astrea. He’ll recognize the rest of us.”
“We are getting her out tonight,” Drago growls at the same time I yell, “Fuck that.”
Astrea steps forward into Drago’s space. “Look, I know you want your mate out. I get it. But if we do this wrong, we won’t just be losing the opportunity to rescue her, we’ll loseeverything.Oisin will win, there is no question. I may not know the vision, but I know that much.” She turns toward me. “And you can’t go with me because he’ll know you. If I go in, there is no way he’ll have any idea who I am if I’m alone.”
“That’s a huge risk. He could know what you look like; plenty of witches do. Or what if Ava recognizes you and says something to him? You don’t know how much control she has over herself at this point,” I counter. Fear weaves through my body at the idea of sending her in alone, not because she isn’t powerful enough to level that whole palace, but because I know if push comes to shove, she’ll trade places with Ava in a heartbeat.
Shadow steps in, shoulder to shoulder with Drago. “We trust you, Astrea.”
It’s clear Shadow means it, but Drago pushes away from his mate, storming out of the room.
I just shake my head, feeling at a loss. “This is an awful idea.”
“And it’s the only one we got,” she responds before turning back to Jackson and Dios. “Tell me what to do.”
Astrea
(“Wicked (feat. Royal and the Serpent)” – Tommee Profitt)
Standing in the security line of the royal palace, I keep my face as passive as I can without inviting anyone to try and strike up a conversation with me. I tuck my hands in the pockets of my high-waisted black pants, a gold belt clasped in the front. My dark jacket is casually resting on my shoulders over the sheer bodysuit I have on. Onyx and Buttercup have woven themselves into the bodysuit, each resting a head on my chest, covering my tits. All round me, people are in dresses of every variety, but I am tired of being caught in fights with a dress on, so on the off chance I must fight tonight, I wanted to be able to have full range.
“Name?” the man at the door asks, breaking into my thoughts. I plaster on a seductive smile, batting my eyelashes and twirling the ends of my long straight hair. His eyes travel over my body, and I see hunger flare in them.Gotcha.Ever so slowly, I pull the invitation out from my jacket, making sure to brush it across my chest before handing it to him and purposefully allowing my jacket to slip off my shoulders, fully exposing my bare arms and the plunging V of the body suit.
