Cormac shook his head. “Very well, Azaiel, let’s dance.”
The sorcerer raised his hands and grinned wickedly as energy flew from his fingers. It hit the fallen’s flesh and sizzled along his frame in a shower of light.
There was no sound to be heard other than the scream that ripped through Azaiel’s mind, to echo inside his skull.
It was the first of many, and they would last for hours to come.
Chapter 22
Snow continued to fall though the intensity of the storm had subsided. Julian watched the flakes drift through the night sky, like tiny jewels in the air. He sat alone in the great room located at the back of his brother’s home. The entire wall was glass and allowed him an unobstructed view of Lake Muskoka.
His first thought was that the compound was vulnerable to attack, being on the water. Jaxon had assured him measures had been taken, and strong protection wards were in place.
He sighed and stretched back into the leather sofa. To his right, a fireplace burned, casting an arc of heat. He welcomed it, felt his body relax.
He was finally alone, and the solitude was exactly what he needed. Tomorrow, they headed to Sin City, and he was ready. The crack inside him was getting larger, and he knew there wasn’t much time.
His brothers had attempted to reconnect with him, but he’d not been interested. He’d tried. The white noise that pounded inside his head had made listening difficult, and he didn’t think he’d been entirely successful in hiding his disinterest.
After a while, they’d given up and retreated with their women to wherever the hell they slept. Jagger apparently still had the cabin in Jersey and was only here because of the crisis.
Their attempt at a family reunion had been awkward. He wasn’t going to take it personally. Some things were meant to remain broken.
Even little Logan had steered clear of him, happy to fool around with Finn and Nico while Julian watched from the sidelines. Jaden had disappeared soon after, and within an hour, he was alone.
Yeah, he was the life of the fucking party.
He saw lights twinkling across the lake, small beacons tucked in amongst the thick forest that blanketed the shoreline, and he imagined families grouped together for the holidays. Christmas was still several days away, yet the house looked like a bloody elf had exploded green and red everywhere.
Decorations filled every nook available, and a magnificent tree glittered in the corner, decorated, and quite thoroughly, with a host of different things, including many that were handmade.
There was an entire series of jaguars and eagles sprinkled along the branches, and they’d obviously been made by a young hand. It brought a rare smile to his face. Logan.
His family had always been fractured—his father and mother barely tolerated each other—and he had no real memory of togetherness at holiday time. Long before he walked the earth, the jaguars honored their god of war, Huitzilopochtli, but as time marched on, Christmas had slowly been integrated with their traditions.
His thoughts strayed back to his family, such as it was. His brothers were worlds away from where he was. They’d both found their mates and were looking forward to a life that included domestic bliss.
And he, well, he was just trying to get through, to make it to the other side and hopefully save the world while he was at it. His belly tightened at the thought of what still needed to be done. He sank deeper into the leather and closed his eyes as he listened to the quiet.
It was hard, sometimes, to hear such a thing, to have the quiet become louder than the chaos that lived inside his head. After a while, he adjusted and felt himself relax.
He must have dozed off and come awake with a start, the smell of her already inside him. He knew she was there. Jaden.
He sat up and wiped sandman from his eyes, thinking for the first time there’d been no nightmares. No visions of terror.
“Hey,” she said softly. She was perched on the edge of the sofa, her hair loose and falling over her shoulders like ripples of licorice. Her dark eyes were overlarge in a face that was somber.
“How long you been here?” he asked sharply.
Her face changed, the softness disappearing, and she straightened her body. “A couple of hours,” she answered, her eyes staring down at him intently.
A couple of hours? She’d been watching him for a couple of hours? He didn’t know what to say.
“I couldn’t sleep,” she said again as she got up from the sofa and crossed over to the still-twinkling Christmas tree. The wash of color amongst the green glowed in the near-dark room, and he watched as she touched several of the decorations.
“It’s nice,” she said.
“It’s pine, I think.”