Page 21 of Cosmic Power

With unbelievable flexibility, Zvetari spun in the air and landed on his feet. He chuckled, amused by the whole situation.

“First you’re brutalising shifters, now you’re saving them? You’re incredibly inconsistent, Luther. You just can’t make up your mind, can you?”

“This shifter is off limits.”

Void coughed, his hand massaging his throat as he tried to get to his feet. “I don’t need you to save me, Lord Douche,” he rasped.

Ungrateful swine.

“For once in your life, shut up,” Luther growled, placing a foot on Void’s chest and shoving him back to the ground. He turned to face his maker. “I have more pressing matters to attend to right now. If there’s nothing else?”

Void tried to get up and Luther shoved him back down again with his foot. It was imperative Zvetari not see Void as a threat. If he did, he would kill him and there’d be nothing Luther could do about it. As much as Void annoyed him, he knew Zamorra would be upset if he died.

Zvetari watched the exchange between Luther and Void with a frown on his face. “Who is he?”

“No one important,” Luther replied, pushing Void back down after he tried to get up again.

“He must be someone important if you’re willing to put your life at stake for him. So, I’ll ask again, who is he?”

Anger and frustration pulsed through Luther. He didn’t have time for this. He raked his fingers through his hair, trying to keep a lid on his temper. “He’s the uncle of one of my servants, that’s all.”

Surprise flashed on Zvetari’s face. “You have a shifter in your House? Why is this the first time I’m hearing about it?”

“Because it’s none of your business.”

Zvetari scowled. “I have to say, I do not like this new attitude of yours. It’s incredibly disrespectful and I taught you better than that. Or do you need a refresher?”

Calm. Breathe.

“Excuse me!” Void snarled, trapped beneath Luther’s foot. “Will you just—” he pushed and Luther finally let him go, stepping back. Void quickly got to his feet. “Thank you,” he grumbled, straightening his shirt. His brown eyes flickered between Zvetari and Luther. “Look, I don’t know who you are”—he pointed at Zvetari—“or what the hell is going on between you two, but we don’t have time for this, Luther. We need to go now if we want to rescue Zamorra. They could already be trying to breed her.”

His beast (which had been uncharacteristically quiet up until this point) rose, anger thundering through him. His eyes burned red, his claws exploded from his hands and his body expanded, his form growing larger and larger by the second.

Luther fought for control, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, trying to calm himself.

One, two. In and out.

He cracked his neck and rolled his shoulders back, pushing his beast down. He looked at his maker. “I need to go. We’ll continue this conversation later.”

“No, we will not Luther. We’ll continue it now,” Zvetari said sternly, stepping in Luther’s path as he attempted to leave. “It is imperative we locate the Garnet Ring. That must come before anything else.”

Luther glanced at his watch, pursing his lips. “There’s something more important for me to deal with right now. But if you’re insistent on pursuing this so urgently, there’s a warehouse in town where you could possibly find answers. I’ll have Darius give you the address. Inside you’ll find one of the people responsible for the attack on my home and the theft of the Garnet Ring. Question him all you like.”

He had planned to use Maddox to flush Leilani out and prove her deceit himself, but maybe getting Zvetari to do it will be the only way for him to finally believe him.

“Who is he?”

“One of my Elite Guards…formerElite Guards. I know you’re quite skilled at extracting the truth from others. He’ll be able to tell you everything you want to know. Now, I really do need to go.”

Luther stepped past his maker and made a beeline straight for the front door, Void following close behind.

ChapterSix

Zamorra stared into Barnabas’ eyes, disbelief raging inside her. There was no way he was telling the truth. She knew who her father was—and it wasn’t this asshole.

“You’re lying,” she hissed, rubbing her sternum.

Her chest ached beyond belief. Whatever that light mage had done was causing pain throughout her whole body. Blood trickled down her face and she could taste blood on her tongue. Not that she minded. She just preferred it not be her own.

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