Jo lifted my face with a finger, her eyes far kinder than I deserved. “It doesn’t bother me. Does it bother you?” she asked, keeping Kate in our periphery.
My friend had looked over at us for a second before I dropped my head, but she was back to her window gazing when I stole a look at her again. Not that I had the headspace right now to worry what she saw. She already knew about Cash, and I planned to explain everything to her when I had a second. It wouldn’t stay much of a secret around Lyra, so no point in worrying about Kate spilling it.
I swallowed, mesmerized by Jo’s ceaseless beauty. “It doesn’t bother me.”
“Good,” she whispered, closing the space between us. The kiss was soft and barely there before she spirited away and grabbed the remaining two plates of food.
I didn’t miss how she intentionally left Cash out, choosing only to make enough for the three of us. Jo really didn’t like him at all, and the feeling was clearly mutual. I’d heard enough “Her Evilness” and “devil woman” to assert that fact.
How were we supposed to be a bonded trio when the two of them hated each other? Was it a bond that could never be broken except for maybe death, the way I suspected the rune glowing on my neck was? I had so many questions, but I didn’t want to leave Kate on her own or risk Marius overhearing anything.
“We should eat. I expect Marius will create the space and pussyfoot around that jerk out of fear of what he might do, but don’t underestimate the Nether Royals. They’ll absolutely getinformation out of him, and we’ll need to be extra careful after this.”
Chapter 10
Devil Woman vs. Princess
Cash couldn’t look any unhappier than he presently did after Jo and I discussed our new plan with him. “You’re suggesting I bind myself toyouof all barbaric women to avoid my dove using her chaos magic? Are you bloody mad?”
Jo rolled her eyes, all bad and dangerous leaned up against the wall with her foot planted behind her. “Oh, and you think I want to be bound to you like this? Un-fucking-likely, princess. Besides, you know for a fact that’s not how it works. It can be broken after this bullshit is finished. And my bind would be to her, not you. That’s why it works for Rayis and Dagon. Aram is the one between them.”
“Hah! You think that gives me any amount of comfort? I’m her bonded mate. Strong emotion can’t be muted no matter how powerful she and I are. I’ll know it all. Your connection is already problematic,” he complained, throwing me for a loop. “It’ll be that much more difficult if you enter a magical bond with her.”
That was news to me. Was that why I felt a sudden surge of anger and disgust? It didn’t impact me like it would when it was me who felt it, so I thought it was another side effect of theSeason. But was I feeling what Cash felt? Weird. Also, horrifying for so many reasons.
I wasn’t given time to question it because Jo was quickly clapping back. “Ah, you must mean that you know you’re not the only one she’s chosen for the Season?”
Cash dragged me closer. “Your connection with her is nothing like what we have, devil woman.”
“But it’ll need to be satisfied all the same, princess,” Jo countered.
I didn’t bother to interject. I’d let the two fight it out. Over the last few months, I’d learned it was the only way they knew how to talk to each other. Jo slung words like “prissy asshole” and “princess” his way anytime she found him annoying, which was all the time, and he tossed “devil woman” and “she-demon” around like those were the only words he could come up with to describe her.
The two had been bickering since we locked ourselves in the study, sealing it with magic so that Kate couldn’t overhear anything even if she wanted to. They might not be tugging me back and forth, but that was how it felt to be party to their argument. It was Sloan and Phillip all over again.
What the fuck, life? You really thought this plot line needed another go? Just nothing but a shit storm since I got to this crazy beautiful plane of concealed Fae horror.
“I’m not exactly elated either to know that anything I do with her will have a prissy bastard like you playing emotional voyeur, but we’re out of options.Someonemade sure the Nether Royals were aware a certain asshole they’d like nothing more than to hunt down and kill was back in the realm—and with the full use of his magic. No doubt Marius was intercepted on his way back to wherever assholes like him go and given an impromptu interrogation, seeing how it was his personal Siren spotted with you at Nix’s.”
Insulted, the gorgeous man who’d refused to let me sit anywhere but right beside him addressed Jo with a glower. “It was the fastest and most efficient way to get the message out to the ones I plan to call on for favors, devil woman. I don’t want to chase them down. I need them to know that I’m coming for them and will do whatever necessary to get what I want.”
“That’s been made painfully clear,” she spat, glaring daggers instead of throwing them. For once. “Couldn’t stop there, could you? You had to go and claim V as your mate, ensuring she was also a walking target for the Nether Royals.”
“But a standing warning to anyone else. Not that I owe you an explanation, but I’ve been gone too long to do this underground. We don’t have much time, and I don’t want to go back to that ancient hag without every bit of leverage my name and power has afforded me over the thousands of years I’ve lived.”
It still shocked me every time I thought about how old Cash was. I’d thought centuries bothered me, but age gap wasn’t a strong enough word. I’d basically fucked the Mummy.
A dagger danced between Jo’s fingers as she stared at us, lethal and ready, near a massive bookcase filled with weird glowing tomes and items just as odd, and also for some reason, glowing. I really wished I hadn’t ditched my phone back in the human world, or I’d take pictures to show the boys when I found my way home.
Just thinking about Sloan and Phillip twisted my stomach into knots I didn’t have any hope of unraveling. But any time I so much as drifted into sad thoughts, Cash touched me and dragged me out of my head.
His hand wrapped around mine, twining our fingers together, and my eyes dashed up to his. He didn’t say anything, just held onto me like my own personal lifeline.
“You took what could’ve afforded us weeks to plan out our next move with Lyra down to days, oh great Dark King. We don’tknow what will or won’t work on her. I need time to train V so she can use all her abilities without issue. Time you’ve stolen with your little Monster of the Realm stunt,” Jo accused after a short stretch of silence.
“A stunt?! How dare you. Even your godawful mother was afraid of getting on the wrong side of me.” Cash prickled, his flamboyance dialed up to the nth degree. “And I will train V. Whatever you have to teach is only going to tempt her to access her chaotic darkness.”
Jo’s grin was downright dangerous. “Want to bet it’s you who tempts her, not me, princess?”
