“Oh, God,” she moaned, “I thought it was over.”
“Not yet.” He didn’t seem surprised at all. “We’re not finished…”
iAm was standing over the stove down in the kitchen when he sensed his brother’s appearance. He didn’t even need to turn around from the pot of stew he’d thrown together: the air in the room changed—and not in a good way.
Trez was also not alone. And he knew that not because he caught Selena’s scent … but because he caught his brother’s.
iAm cursed under his breath as he stirred. The motherfucker had bonded.
Fantastic.
Hell, iAm had had some hope that, with all the hormones flooding the household, whatever sex those two had gotten down with had been the result of someone else’s needing.
Great theory. Except Shadows were immune to that kind of shit.
“You weren’t supposed to be the one who serviced him,” iAm muttered as he put more sea salt into the mix.
“Watch your tone.”
iAm pivoted around and glared at the dumb-ass. “I have an idea. How about you—for once—make a good decision about a female. Then I won’t have to get pissy.”
The Chosen standing beside Trez kicked her chin up. “If you want to blame someone, do not address him. I chose to go unto him even though you asked for another.”
iAm turned back to his pot. “Great. Congratulations and welcome to the family.”
His brother materialized over to him, spun him around and grabbed him by the throat. “Apologize to her—”
iAm leaned into the iron grip, baring his fangs. “Fuck you, Trez.”
“You want a piece?” his brother growled. “You want a fucking—”
“Do it. I fucking dare you—”
“Don’t push me—”
“I’m trying to save your ass! You fucking—”
As the pair of them escalated toward an implosion to rival Wrath’s from the night before, the Chosen walked over and spoke evenly.
“He told me,” she cut in. “Everything. And it strikes me that the two of you are alone in this situation. So mayhap Last Meal instead of fisticuffs, shall we.”
iAm turned his head at the same time Trez did.
As the pair of them faced off at the totally calm and controlled Chosen, Trez did the unheard-of—and dropped his hand. Stepped off. Crossed his arms over his chest.
He was still furious to the core, but the call to heel was obeyed with such ease, you had to wonder if maybe the bonding bullshit might not be useful—to a point.
iAm glared at his brother. “I don’t know what to say to you.”
“Selena, will you give us a sec?”
The Chosen nodded. “Mayhap I’ll just return up north. And give you two plenty of space.”
Trez frowned. “You don’t have to go.”
Selena’s eyes went back and forth. “Actually, I think I do. You know where I’ll be—and please. Do not tear each other asunder. It will only make all of this worse.”
iAm braced himself for a gag-worthy display of good-byeing, but the female further impressed him by bowing slightly and taking off. No muss, no fuss.
Shit, he could almost like her. If he weren’t so angry at his idiot brother—
“I want to meet with s’Ex. Today.”
iAm crossed his own arms and leaned back against the stove. “Because you think you’re going to talk sense into him? I already got real with the bastard—and he’s more than ready to do his job.”
“Can you reach him?”
“Yeah.”
“Tell him to meet me at noon at our apartment.”
“That’s the deadline for you to show at the s’Hisbe.” When his brother didn’t reply, iAm lifted his brows. “You aren’t turning yourself in, are you?”
“Set up the meeting.”
iAm cursed long and low. Yeah, he wanted to kick his brother’s ass—but absolutely, positively didn’t want anyone else to. “Trez.”
“Do it.”
“Not unless you tell me where you’re at.”
“I thought you wanted me to go back.”
“So that’s what you’re doing? Tell me something, you planning on bringing your Chosen with you—make a happy little family or some shit?”
“She’s not mine.”
“Have you told your hormones that?”
Trez slashed his hand through the air. “I don’t know what you’re talking about—”
“And that’s your fucking problem.”
“Just call the executioner. That’s all I’ve got to say.”
As Trez turned on his heel, iAm spoke sharply. “I can’t let you go back there.”
Trez stopped. Looked over his shoulder.
“What,” iAm groused.
“I just … I don’t know. I guess I didn’t expect that.”
Time to go back to the sauce. Stew. What the fuck was he making again?
Popping the lid off, he remanned his spoon and stirred slowly. He’d handmade everything from the chicken stock to the spice satchels that were floating on the surface of the fragrant mélange.
“iAm?”
“I don’t care if they die.” He watched slices of carrots and squares of onions surface in the thick base. “I know I’m supposed to, because they’re my parents, but I’ve thought about it and I’m sorry—if they can be selfish, so can I. My family is you and me, and I will choose us over anyone.”
“God … I think I needed you to say that.”
He shot another glare over. “You doubted it? Like, ever?”
Trez went across and parked it on one of the stools at the counter. “There are limits.”
iAm had to laugh. “You don’t say.”
Going to the cabinets on the left, he took out two deep-bellied bowls, then sprang one of the drawers and got some soup spoons. Ladling the stew in, he served his brother first.
Trez tried some and moaned. “This is amazing.”
When iAm gave the shit a taste, he had to agree, but he kept that to himself. Pride was an unattractive trait, even if it was well-placed.
“What are you going to do about the Chosen?” iAm asked.
Trez’s shrug was just a liiiiiittle too nonchalant. “Nothing.”
“Not sure it’s going to work out like that for you.”
Trez stared into the stew. “She’s just one more reason to stay on the outside. Not that I needed it.”
“She says you told her everything. That right?”
It was a long while before Trez nodded slowly. “Yeah. Pretty much.”
“What exactly did you keep to yourself.”
Those black eyes lifted after a while. “Seconds?”
iAm snagged the now-empty bowl and brought it over for a redo.
“I didn’t tell her how bad it’s going to get,” Trez said softly as more stew was delivered.
“So you lied.”
There was another long silence. “Yeah. I did.”
Because after the queen was done eliminating their parents? The tribe was going to come after iAm. He was the next rung on the ladder of coercion because they couldn’t touch Trez, after all. He had to be in one piece.
iAm found himself nodding. “Probably a good move.”
THIRTY-SEVEN
It was easy to think of God while watching the sun rise over the Hudson River.
As Sola sat on the empty terrace of Assail’s glass house, she stared across the cold, sluggish water. Little flashes of peach and yellow skimmed over the icy expanse as, across the way, that great orange orb crested over the skyscrapers of downtown.
She had made it out of that prison, she thought for the hundredth time. And whatever scars might have formed on the inside of her, her body was intact, her mind functional, and her safety, at least in the short term, assured.
Thinking back to all those prayers, she couldn’t believe they’d been granted. Desperation had made her utter the words, but she hadn’t really expected anyone to be listening.
The question now was … did she keep her side of the bargain?
Man, it would have been so much easier if an angel with wings had come down and freed her, magically depositing her here. Instead, she’d done the dirty work herself, Assail had been on cleanup, and one of those fierce cousins of his had been a chauffeur for the five-hour trip back to sanity. Oh, and then there had been all those people in that facility.