Corson openeda map and laid it out on the table. He’d retrieved it from the small gift store on the first floor. Most of the items inside the store were raided years ago, but a few maps and some human trinkets remained. Hawk and Wren leaned closer to examine it.
“We’re here,” Wren said and pointed at a spot in the middle of the mountains. “This is the closest lake to us.”
She pointed to a patch of blue on the map.
“Eldorata is probably there,” I said.
It felt as if we’d been walking forever through the snow as we made our way here, but the lake wasn’t that far away.
“How far is that?” Lix asked.
Hawk turned the map and stuck his fingers on something at the bottom before bringing them up and comparing them to the map. “About five miles,” he said.
“Are we going to Eldorata?” Aisling asked.
“No, there’s nothing there anymore,” Corson said.
Days ago, Raphael and Caim reported that once the gold coating crumbled from everything, the demons and hounds climbed out. Though, some of them killed each other first.
“Are we going to find the hounds before we leave?” Wren inquired.
“We’re going to try,” Corson said. “Now that it’s stopped snowing, we’ll take a day to search for the hounds and any demons who might be on our side. We need more fighters.”
“How will we know if they’re on our side or not?” Amalia asked.
“If they try to kill us or not,” Shax said.
“Wonderful,” Wren muttered.
“We know to avoid the lower-level demons. They’ll never fight on our side,” Lix said.
“You’re better off leaving the hounds and demons behind and moving on from here,” Wrath stated.
“Maybe you would be willing to leave them behind,” Corson replied, “but we don’t abandon our allies.”
Wrath’s eyes narrowed on Corson as he folded his arms over his chest. I stiffened when the hostility in the room ratcheted up. Wrath was keeping his power suppressed, it wouldn’t do him any good to unleash it here, but I could still feel his rising anger crackling against my skin.
“You don’t know how many of them are your allies,” Wrath said. “You’re risking your life and” —his eyes darted to me before returning to Corson— “others for two hounds and somepossibilities.”
From the shadows of the restaurant, a couple of hounds rose. They padded around the table to sit near Corson. As if they understood the conversation—and they probably did—their amber eyes shone in the dim candlelight as they focused on Wrath. One of them settled beside me, and I instinctively rested my hand on top of its black head. Wrath studied the hounds before looking to me.
“I have no idea how long those two hounds were trapped in Eldorata, but they’ll still fight for us, and they belong with their pack,” I said. “We can’t leave them behind.”
Wrath’s jaw clenched, and a muscle jumped in his cheek before he sighed and lowered his arms. I knew he didn’t understand, but he rested his fingers on the table while he studied the map.
“Okay, so we’ll search for them, but be prepared for it to be pointless. There is a lot of wilderness around here, and they’re probably gone,” Wrath said.
Corson’s eyes flicked to me, and a small smile played across his lips before he shifted his attention to the map and spoke again. “That’s why we’re only going to spend one day searching. Raphael and Caim have spotted some demons from above, but the trees are pretty thick and the snow has obscured everyone’s vision. There may be no one left around here, or there could be dozens of demons who would fight with us.”
“If Pride and War survived the calamuts, then they’re probably still in the area. There’s a chance they’ve seen the angels, and now that the snow has stopped, they’ll be looking to kill,” Wrath said.
“Which is why we need more fighters,” I said.
I also wanted a bigger army to help keep him protected from the two assholes who would seek revenge against him. A muscle twitched in his jaw as he inspected the map. I suspected his irritation had nothing to do with the plan and everything to do with my involvement in it. He was my Chosen, but I was a fighter, and I wouldn’t stop fighting until we knew peace… if that day ever came.
Wrath may not like it, but he had to accept it, just as I had to accept that there may come a time when our differences divided us. He was here, he would help against the horsemen, but he was only doing it for me and because he was also a target for Pride and Death.
“When do you plan to do this?” Wrath asked.
