“The Mother requests that you join her in the meeting room. It’s urgent, unfortunately.”
“Kira—” Jake said.
“I’ve got to go.”
Chapter 9
I probably should have changed before the meeting.
Aen met me halfway to the conference room, dismissing the woman with a quiet word.
“So what’s happening now?” I asked.
“It’s the sentinels. We don’t have the details. They refused to be drawn until you were present. They’re not happy though.”
“You look worried. What the hell are the Sentinels anyway? Mark said something about the League of Heroes when I asked him about it.”
“Powerful men and women. Throughout history, there have been tales of heroes that challenge the gods. Daedelus and Bellerophon are examples. It’s labelled as hubris and iconoclastic, but still, they remain. They are an ancient organisation that has within its stores the great weapons that can be used effectively against us and the gods themselves.”
“So they’re like the fae police?”
“Partly. At their core, they’re god killers.”
Fuck.
I didn’t say anything about my hijinks with Jake as we walked. There was something hidden, secret about all of that, as if sharing it would diminish it.
Ashanti and Duke sat with several of their people at the large circular table, clustered around one segment, some familiar and unfamiliar faces at the other. They all looked up when we arrived. Ashanti’s eyes were warm when she smiled in welcome, Duke cocking an eyebrow, then snorting when he saw yet another one of Marlow’s selected outfits, but that was considerably warmer than their collective gaze.
They all wore the signature black suits the sentinels at the Rutherglen estate had worn. Coupled with a military like bearing and steely eyes, they looked suitably intimidating. Well, all but Mark.
He drew my eye, and why not? He had all that broad shouldered, hot, gruff façade still going on, but there was a whole lot more. Dark circles ringed eyes that wouldn’t meet mine, and even from where I stood, I could see the pale, sweaty tone of his skin.
Elf-struck. I remembered the word, and it sent a shiver up my spine. Fuck, what had I done?
I remembered the sheer glee I’d felt at riding that face, still able to feel the beard rash on my inner thighs, my clit twitching with remembered pleasure and more than ready for more. His struggles, his suicidal willingness to prolong my orgasm was a much darker joy, one my mind balked at now Lilith wasn’t riding me.
Mark got to his feet, taking a step towards me before one of his brethren pushed him back down, several big hands keeping him in his seat. If I thought my reception was frosty before now, I had no idea.
The older man with short clipped greying hair stared at me with pure unmitigated hatred, so intense, I could feel his gaze burning into my skin. He took in my clothes, my makeup, and his lip curled, the look no doubt confirming what he’d suspected. A man behind him wearing a purple stole kept muttering words over Mark, but it made no difference. Just as his superior did, he stared at me, but there was a whole lot of stuff there, much harder to parse than his boss.
“Kira, thank you for coming,” Ashanti said. “Please take a seat.”
I did so, away from the lot of them, Aen sitting at my side.
“We’ve asked you here to talk to the sentinels about a few issues. Jennifer let me know that you have had some dealings with them when you transitioned.”
Dealings? I remembered Mark’s declaration at the lookout above Gisbourne, my fingers going to my lips before I pushed them back down.
“Um…yeah. Byers helped smooth things through my transition. Mark was Jennifer’s bodyguard.”
“And a bloody good operative, until you,” grey haired snapped. “I don’t give a damn what you think this girl is, elf-struck is elf-struck, and a punishable offence. We’re taking her into custody for interrogations and will let you know the…”
Lilith swam up from the depths she hid in, darkening my eyes, sharpening my fangs and claws, her endless black stare enough to quiet grey hair and send purple stole into frantic recitations.
“Queen of demons, we adjure you…” he said over and over. I smiled as his voice got higher and higher.
“You can see that doesn’t work,” we said. “There is no such thing as demons or Hell anyway, and I’d know. Stop it!” We flicked a hand, and purple stole’s lips clapped closed, much to his distress.
“Casting magic against one of our numbers? Turning another into a thrall! What exactly are you harbouring here, Ashanti?”
“The goddess in all her forms.” She sighed. “Let’s get to why you’re here.”
“Enthralling humans is an offense, as you well know. Mark will need to be turned over to you, cared for in a manner suitable for a former sentinel. Something we will check on. He is not…meat for your court to devour.” Grey hair’s eyes strayed to the man in question. “He was a loyal and stalwart member of our organisation. His testimony against the Rutherglen was key to a case we were pursuing.” I watched the man’s teeth clamp down. “Give us the girl, and we’ll return her once a thorough investigation has been conducted.”
“You expect me to hand over the avatar that returned Aragide to us? While Rutherglen is raising his forces against her? You know what’s at stake here.”
“Something we care little for. The league’s position is as it has always been. The less the gods are involved in the world, the better.”
“Something the sky father has used to his advantage, and you know it,” Ashanti snapped.
“I did not come here to debate theology!” The crack of the man’s voice rang around the room, many of Ashanti’s people shifting forward, tensing, readying themselves at that. “A case must be answered—”
“Has he answered?”
We asked the question, shutting down all of the conversation for a moment as we looked around the room.
“Have you questioned him?”
“That’s not possible. When a human has become enthralled, their testimony has been contaminated irreparably. He is your creature now, yours alone.”
We purred at that. Didn’t mean to, but I could still feel that cunning tongue and its wriggle inside me. For it to be mine and mine alone… I fought to maintain a shred of decorum and not fulfil all of their demon princess fantasies.
“This is easily cleared up,” we said, rolling our talons against the table top with a sharp staccato sound that had the sentinels jumping. “When we touched the gate to Aragide, all of our existing connections were activated. One of them was to your man here. When we visited his dream, then him, we were pulled there by that connection.”
With a small wave of our hand, the room filled with sound.
“Jesus… Why do you have to be so fucking perfect?”
We watched Mark’s fingers go white around the arms of his chair, every eye now trained on him.
“You drive me fucking mad.” The Mark here mouthed the words because he’d said them so many times, calling out into the night to me. “Feeling you, tasting you every fucking night.”