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“Initiating another goddess daughter,” Zac joked. “Soon enough, the demons will get the idea that they actually like our kind.”
I rolled my eyes. “Would it be so terrible if we actually got along for a short period of time? It’s not my fault your kind is rough around the edges.”
Alek elbowed me lightly. “Your kind, too, sweetheart. Don’t forget that.”
Right. It wasn’t me against them anymore, wasn’t demons against the goddesses. Somehow, I was created. The shining light of hope between our kinds, the small splice of peace that remained in this world.
It sure didn’t feel like that at times, though. My existence was anything but peaceful.
“Who knows?” Zac added. “Maybe if we keep it up, we can actually work together like the old days.”
My eyes widened, my mouth falling open slightly in surprise. “You’re telling me demons and goddesses used to work together? I somehow don’t see that happening.”
Zac nodded. “It’s true. You’d be astonished at the things that can be accomplished when people put these decades-old rivalries to bed.”
Interesting. I suppose I had to think about how my mother ever ended up with my father, and how they could ever conceive me if they hated each other so much.
Still, it wasn’t only my mother who hated demons. Natalie’s mother—who was also a goddess—warned her away from them, too.
Tonight would push the limits, even for Natalie.
Zac leaned over and mumbled something to Alek quickly before sliding out of the booth, making his way through the crowded room and over to the bar.
Alek relaxed, letting his legs stretch out before him as he lazily draped his arm around my shoulder. We peered out into the room like we owned the place, like everyone was here just for us. Alek had a way of doing that; of feeling comfortable in any situation.
Of making me feel comfortable, even though I was a walking pile of nerves just a few seconds ago. It was one of the reasons I loved him.
“This doesn’t make you nervous?” I whispered. My words could barely be heard over the loud thumping of the music, over the roar of voices that filled the room and echoed off the solid basement walls.
He waited a few seconds before turning and meeting my gaze. “What?”
“The people, the crowd, the noise. The music.”
Alek shrugged, then began tracing my shoulder lazily with the tip of his finger. “I grew up with this; this is all normal for me.”
“Even now? Even after everything?” I pressed.
He leaned in so close that his lips brushed my cheekbone as he whispered, “It helps that you’re here.”
My stomach tightened as I let my body relax into him. They were simple words, but honest ones. The last time we had been here for the blood bonding, nothing was real. I barely knew Alek, and I certainly didn’t know what I felt for him.
Chaos, perhaps. Excitement.
But this was different. Alek was an entirely new person to me now. He had died, and I had risked everything to bring him back from the other side of the veil.
So much had changed since that night here. We had changed.
The music cut right before Zac made his way to the middle of the room, much like he had done during the last blood bonding.
“Welcome, Night Ravens!” he yelled. The room erupted in cheers and applause. “Tonight, we are celebrating a few things. First, we celebrate Wrath Black, back from the dead as if he never left!”
The crowd roared once more, but Alek’s body stiffened at the words.
“Wrath is now our king, our leader here at Night Raven. He will lead us with honor and loyalty, like we all know he is capable of, and we will defend him with our own lives if we have to.” Everything stilled. “Which is why tonight, we offer a new opportunity for aspiring Night Ravens to show us their loyalty, to become one of us forever, to bear the mark of a Night Raven and never look back.”
I searched for Natalie in the crowd. She still stood next to the bar; her eyes lit up with a fresh type of excitement. She wasn’t nervous. She wasn’t terrified like I had been during the last blood bonding.
No, Natalie was prepared. She was ready for this. She wanted this.
