Now, Deirdre was about to change all of that. The next words out of her mouth were going to shake my foundations to the core. Change my world forever. Bring the impossible, amorphous idea of “you have three sisters” into a solid, firm, and very real person. A person I’d already crossed paths with at some point in my life.
A name had infinite power, and Deirdre Olivante was about to unleash that power on me.
“Who is she?” I asked, my voice shaking. “What’s my sister’s name?”
Deirdre closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “Haley Barnes.”
Seventeen
Asher
“That stench is starting to become a situation.” Haley wrinkled her nose at the dead heap of flesh and bones formerly known as Benson. “I can’t believe they just left him here. Aren’t they supposed to be brothers or something?”
“Brothers?” I thought of Ronan and Darius. Emilio. Hell, even Liam had a better chance of earning a place on my favorites list than these hunter pricks.
I kicked Benson’s boot through the bars. “These assholes don’t know the first thing about brotherhood.”
“Apparently they don’t know the first thing about biohazard contamination, either.” Haley resumed her pacing, trying to breathe through her mouth. “We need a plan. My hope-o-meter is starting to run dangerously low.”
“Youneed to sit down, or it’s not just your hope-o-meter you’ll have to worry about, not that I ever want to say that word again. They’re not feeding you enough to fuel all this fidgeting.” I grabbed her shoulders, gently steering her to the center of the chamber to sit with the other witches. The rest of the group had gone eerily quiet—including my favorite trouble-maker, McKenna. Energy and hope were both in short supply.
Shit, Jonathan had really done a number on them. It was a wonder they were still alive.
I hope you’re ripping that mother fucker a dozen new assholes, Cupcake. Preferably with a sharp knife.
“We’ll figure this out together,” I assured all of them. “But right now, we need to conserve energy.”
“You seem to be doing okay,” Haley teased. “And you haven’t eaten anything either.”
Of the twenty-seven witches imprisoned in this room, she seemed to be in the best spirits. I needed her to stay that way, to help keep the others relaxed and upbeat. The second doubt started creeping in, we’d all be doomed.
“I’m different,” I told her. “I don’t need food the way you do.”
“So I’ve heard.” She flashed a devilish smirk. “You know I’m going to make Gray spill all the details once we get out of this place, right?”
“You can try, Hay. But trust me. Gray isnota kiss-and-tell kind of girl.”
Her eyes lit up, and she jabbed me with an accusatory finger. “So youdidkiss her! I knew it!”
“You’ll have to ask her,” I said, not bothering to hide my own goofy-ass grin. Damn, just thinking about Gray again made my whole body buzz. I tried to imagine her telling Haley about our time together, her creamy cheeks blushing as she rehashed all the juicy details, acting out her soft moans of pleasure as we…
Fucking hell. I was hard already. Talk about a situation.
Turning away from Haley, I adjusted my pants and said, “No more talking. I need time to think.”
Haley laughed. “Whatever you say, incubus. But I’m telling you. As soon—”
Her words died at the sound of new footsteps in the corridor. A whole fucking lot of ‘em.
“Everyone stay back,” I whispered to the witches, slipping back into the shadows just before a group of fae soldiers marched into view.
Marched? Scratch that. It was more like a glide. I heard their footsteps like any other soldiers, but their feet never seemed to touch the ground.
They were elite, that much was obvious. Every movement coordinated, not a step or breath out of place. Their uniforms were pristine—black, form-fitting fatigues that allowed for a full range of motion and plenty of places to stash weapons. The black-and-gold insignia on their armbands marked them as Darkwinter.
Orendiel was at the head of the line.
Fuck.
