Blood War (Book 1, the Halfblood Chronicles)

24.2 | A Warning and a Promise

"And I don't think you're working with the enemy . . . anymore," Misha said.

Emerald eyes landed on Ren, and he froze in place. "Well, at least Ren isn't treating me differently. I'm starting to think you had that scowl when you came out of the womb."

He barely caught the words, too busy remembering how Nika had straddled him and tugged his hair. The glide of her tongue along his neck, the scent of smoke and jasmine, and each agonizing movement of her hips.

The next thing he knew, all three of them were staring in expectation. Ren sat on the window bay and said, "Tell us everything that happened, starting with how you were taken."

When Nika clenched her jaw, he thought he might have upset her. Ren did his best not to dwell on it as she told them.

He'd been correct about the keepers, who were actually Volkari in disguise. How hadn't he noticed? Why didn't he pay more attention?

The explanation of her torture experience was brief and lacked details. Ren didn't know if she was sparing herself from a painful reminder, or sparing Elliot from the knowledge of Lu's injuries.

"Dante told me she was okay," she assured the Serafi boy.

"And you believe him?" Misha said.

"I believe Lu is too valuable for the Volkari to kill. But that doesn't mean they won't hurt her when necessary."

Elliot remained quiet.

"Why would Azzara save you?" Ren found himself asking.

"I don't know. He said he wanted to help, tried to justify everything. As if he feels guilty."

"Guilt but no regret," Misha said. "Or else he would've stopped it."

Nika nodded in agreement.

"Last time we saw Tatiana," Ren said, "she'd fallen off a ladder and splattered on the floor. How did she heal?"

"We can't consider her like any other Serafi," Nika replied. "So it doesn't really matter how she healed. What matters is that she's not dead or even injured, which means she's just as great a threat as the Volkari."

Misha asked, "Are you sure she's not one of them?"

"Positive. She can use magic. Her powers are temperamental and limited, though. The amulet seems to regulate them or give her an extra boost. That's why she wants it back so badly." A shake of the head. "The woman is obsessed. She even named it Asteroth."

Elliot perked up. "Asteroth? That can't be a coincidence." He glanced between them several times before saying, "You three should really refresh your knowledge of human mythology. Asteroth is a lord of hell. Fallen angel turned archdemon, considered a member of the evil trinity."

"How does that help us?" Misha said.

"Because he's affiliated with serpents, and the necklace's stone has a snake coiled around it."

"And we heard it speak," Nika said, glancing at Ren.

Misha laughed, but when neither Nika nor Elliot joined him, his face grew pale. "You're telling me the amulet is a demon?"

"It's definitely not just a piece of jewelry," said Elliot. "Maybe Asteroth the demon has the same weaknesses as Asteroth the necklace. Maybe we can use those weaknesses to destroy it."

"If we're gonna do that," Misha replied, "then we need to get it out of Minister Laguna's vault. Especially if Tatiana knows where to find it."

"We can't just walk in and take it," Nika said.