“We ought to be safe here for an hour.” Harrow plopped down on a rock next to the one I had claimed as my seat. “I can keep the fire burning until then, and that’s deterrent enough for most predators.” His gaze drifted across the camp to the rock where Ankou sat with his back facing us, staring into the dancing flames. “The biggest threat might already be in here with us.”
That particular threat was pouting because his evil scheme had failed, forcing him to honor his word and stick with us to fulfill his end of the bargain before I entertained the idea of freeing him. Though how he expected me to break his chains if I didn’t even know where they were anchored baffled me.
Ankou had never told me the name of his god. As far as I knew, he couldn’t share it. I had to speak it, and then he could confirm it. That was how it had gone so far with identifying gods.
“I can’t argue with that logic.” Josie craned her neck, searching behind us. “Where did Carter go?”
“To the little redcap’s room.” He bit into his sandwich with an appreciative noise. “She’ll be back in?—”
“I’m not missing this.” She shot to her feet. “I have dreams about her cute little booty?—”
“She’s peeing, you pervert.” I hooked a finger through her belt loop and hauled her back down onto the rock. “If she wanted you to see her naked butt, she would have shown you her naked butt by now.”
“You’re no fun.” She stuck out her bottom lip. “I just wanted to catch a glimpse.”
“How is it okay for you to stalk her,” Ankou wondered, “but it was wrong for me to stalk you?”
The big difference being, in my humble opinion, that Josie’s style wasin your face. Carter was well aware she was the object of my sister’s obsession. There was no lying, no lurking, and no lame excuses for Josie acting like, well, Josie. Any time Carter wanted her to stop, really give up and move on, she could put an end to it, and Josie would respect her boundaries.
Sure, she might eat her weight in chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream. And yeah, she would most likely bake until her stove’s heating elements cried uncle and her fruit trees were bare. But she wouldn’t pursue Carter if she gave her an unequivocalno.
“The difference is she knows who and what I am, knows I want in her pants, and knows I’m desperate enough to do just about anything to get there.” Josie bumped her chin higher. “And I want her for her, not because some random god told me to seduce her.”
“How about we each pick up a sandwich,” I suggested, “shove it in our mouths, and stop talking?”
“I remember this game.” Josie rolled her eyes. “You made Matty and me play it when we were kids.”
“Kids?” I thumped her ear. “I made y’all play it like a month ago.”
Shortly before Dis Pater went out of his way to snatch the soul right out of our brother.
“I remember too.” Harrow wiped his mouth. “That and you standing them in corners for time-outs.”
Old as my siblings had been at the time, they should have aged out of such punishments, but no. I doubted Josie and Matty would ever outgrow terrorizing one another with the special brand of love only siblings could provide. Which meant I would still be at this when we were so old I had to push their wheelchairs into corners and throw on the parking brakes to separate them.
Ah, yes. The perils of being young semi-immortals. Maturity took its sweet time arriving for some factions. Pretty sure it had gotten lost on the way to find these two.
A shrill whistle drew Harrow to his feet, and he rose. “I need to let Carter in.”
“I’ll be here,” Josie grumbled, kicking dirt. “Mourning lost opportunities.”
While he wrangled his magic, I claimed Josie’s sandwich and called out to Ankou, “Are you hungry?”
During the time we had known Armie, he never exhibited the dietary restrictions of Kierce. His cover had been as a shifter of undetermined species, and he played up the predator stereotype. Boisterous. Amorous. Carnivorous. I wasn’t sure if he required that volume of food or if it had all been an act to fool us.
Regardless, he expressed interest earlier, and I wanted to keep him on my good side.
Well, as good as it was going to get between us.
“I could eat.” He caught the sandwich and a precious bottle of water. “Thanks.”
“I would say thank Josie, since she’s the one who made the sandwiches, but that seems like begging her to punch your teethin.” I crumpled up my wrapper and tossed it in the flames. “How are we doing?”
“We’re making good time.” He tore into his meal with gusto. “Despite the detour.”
“And when we hit Dis Pater’s corner of Abaddon?” Harrow returned with Carter in tow. “Then what?”
“He senses we’re there or Kierce tells him,” Ankou said around a mouthful. “Then he sends things to kill us—like the mirashii—before we can spring Kierce. We do our best not to die while Frankie escapes with her man. Or we all die horribly.” He bobbed a shoulder. “It could go either way.”
