He stabbed Bannik in the chest, directly through the heart.
With a piercing scream, Bannik fell forward. The man pressed a hand to Bannik’s chest. The room shook like an earthquake, and then black wings sprouted from the man’s back as, with a roar, he grabbed Bannik and dove.
Directly into the ground.
And disappeared.
A grave expression crossed Cassius’s face.
“What the hell was that?” I asked a quiet room. Even the demons were silent.
“The Angel of Death.” Cassius sighed. “And once again, good and evil are at war with each other.”
“So nothing changes?” I said.
All brothers looked in my direction.
“The Angel of Death has returned to his home.” One of them spoke up. “Everything. Has changed.”
“Why is that bad… exactly?” Hope approached one of the brothers and dripped blood from her wrist onto his wound. He breathed out a sigh of relief and hung his head.
“Thank you, little one.” The bastard touched her and then flashed me an apologetic look before speaking. “Darkness breeds more darkness…” He nodded to Cassius. “But as long as there is light…”
“There will always be light.” Cassius’s booming voice might as well have been a gauntlet being dropped. “Now, allow our little elf to heal you, and we’ll be on our way.”
“Hope,” one whispered and then fell to his knees. “You are Hope!”
I reached her side in record time, pulling her in my arms. “She’s mine.”
Really? Was that the only word I knew?
“I was so sorry for your family.” He smiled. “Do you know who I am?”
“No.” Her voice trembled. “Should I?”
“A gift,” He kissed her forehead and winked. “To say thank you.” She smiled as a flash of humor crossed her face, and then she knelt down and touched his face. He closed his eyes.
“You watched over me… when I was…” She frowned. “Somewhere, not here.”
“That’s a way of explaining it.” He winked. “Let’s just say, that’s not the only game of chess you and I ever played. You were quite popular.”
I suppressed a growl, just barely, and nearly bit off my own tongue in an effort not to attack the guy.
“Sirens.” He shook his head. “So emotional.”
“This siren saved your ass,” I pointed out.
“And here you thought your only job was to look pretty.” Another one of the brothers stepped forward. “I remember when there were hundreds of you in existence. It makes my heart glad to see you with a mate who will produce more.”
My heart thudded and then picked up speed. Kids? With Hope?
And suddenly all I wanted was her mouth, her skin, her body.
“We have to go.” I picked her up and started walking toward the exit, to the laughter of everyone except Timber and the rest of the demons. Then again, they rarely had a reason to smile.
We made it as far as the door before Timber caught up to us. “I’m not going to stop you, but—” His eyes flashed red. “You hurt her, and I will rip your tongue out, heal it, and do it again.”
“Vivid imagery.” I swore. “Thanks.”