Page 63 of All the Devils are Here

“If it wasn’t, do you think we’d still have it?” Trin asked, sinking back into the living room pool.

It was a fair point.

Ban stalked out of the bedroom and laid on the floor. He’d always been more comfortable in his animal form, but I trusted him to speak to us if he had something to say.

“I’m sorry,” I said. “For turning your world upside down.”

“Don’t fucking apologize,” Ariel said. “You brought Meg. You found her in the first place. How?”

“The gargoyle kings,” I said. “Their mate is her best friend. A few years ago, the girl, Christine, was injured and it needed to be kept quiet. So they called me. Shortly after, I met Meg, and she would stay with me when she visited Paris.”

“And you never… before this?”

“We kissed. But no more. I didn’t want to subject her to the life of being with an immortal if we weren’t mates, even though I wanted us to be.”

Trin ducked under the water and ran his hands through his hair. “Now I know why we didn’t try harder to get out of here. Something was telling us to wait until she could be here.”

“I made a promise to that same friend,” I told them. “Meg is getting out of here, even if it means I have to give myself to Prospero. I will not risk her life.”

Ban sat up in his human form. “I would prefer not to risk yours, either.”

“That may not be an option. He’s thought of every possibility. Can we do this?” I asked. “Do you think there’s a way to undo it and kill him?”

“I don’t know,” Trin said honestly. “But what other choice do we have?”

“We might have one he hasn’t thought of,” Ariel said quietly.

All three of our heads swiveled toward the spirit. Ban was the first to ask. “What do you mean?”

“Did you happen to catch the burst of magic right before you…” It was like he could stop the smirk off his face. “Finished?”

I hadn’t, and I shook my head.

Ariel stood. “Her fingers were violet earlier. Are they now?”

My eyebrows rose into my hairline. I went back to the bedroom, keeping my steps silent. Meg hadn’t moved from where we’d left her. I leaned down to look at her hand. When I’d been checking her vitals her fingers had been tinged with violet magic down to the first knuckle. It was still there, but now only on the pads of her fingers.

I returned to the living room. “The magic receded.”

“Really?” Trin asked. “That’s interesting.”

It was. It wouldn’t hold for long. But it had been pushed back, and that would help us. “Why, do you think?”

Ariel sighed. “The island hates having its power in humans. It always has. They’re weak, and can’t handle it.” I bristled at the idea that he was calling Meg weak, but he wasn’t. “It wants familiarity and safety. All of us have a spark of the magic. No matter that it doesn’t belong to the island anymore. If I’m right—and we should test it—it might be soothed by brushing up against us.”

“How does that help?” Ban asked.

“Maybe we can wait him out,” Ariel said. “If we can keep Meg alive and hold the magic back long enough, there’s only so much time he can be without it. His bodywilldie without it. Once he’s gone? It’s all easy. I can get to the heart of the island, and I can help Meg give the magic back without it killing her.”

Silence hung in the air for a minute, and Trin burst out laughing. “You’re saying if we spend time fucking our mate and protecting her, there’s a chance to solve all this? Sign me up.”

Ariel couldn’t stop smiling either. “We do have to be careful of the island. Itisgoing to do things like that again. Even if we succeed in calming it.”

A growl ripped out of me. The sight of her in a sinking cage, fighting for breath? Stone rippled over my skin at the memory. It wasn’t something I would soon forget.

“No,” Trin said, responding to the words I hadn’t realized I’d spoken out loud. “And I’m not going to forget her being electrocuted. Thank fuck you were there, K—Laurent.” Pausing, he blew out a breath. “I know why you don’t want your old name, but it’s still strange calling you that.”

“I know. But I appreciate you trying.”

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