“But…”
“No buts,” he says with finality. “We should get back.”
“Okay.” I leave it for now. It’s up to him to do what he wants, but he must know that there is no future for us.
He tightens his grip on my hand and Astraports us back to the suite, where everyone is standing around waiting for us by the looks of it.
“Wait,” I say to him. “I didn’t say goodbye to your mother and tell her Xena was asleep.”
“It’s fine. I’m sure she will go in and check on her soon.”
“Who is Xena?” comes the question from Cole, as he strides forward to pull me away from Xane, who hasn’t let go of my hand yet.
“Xane’s baby sister,” I say with a big smile. “She is the most darling thing I ever laid eyes on.” Stunned silence follows that comment and I catch CK’s eye. His expression goes from annoyed to perplexed to happy in the blink of an eye, glad that I am excited about a baby. Even if it isn’t ours.
“You put a baby to sleep?” Devon asks, probably the most shocked out of the group, as he knows I am the least maternal creature on the planet.
“Like a pro,” Xane says with pride.
“Huh,” he says. “That’s interesting.”
“Anyway,” I say, “I am sure you are all here because you already know that other me came up with the goods and told me how to get rid of The Thirteen.”
“Yes,” Lincoln says as he stands and runs his hand through his hair, agitated. “Do fill us in and then I need to talk to you about something, in private.”
Everyone’s eyes go to him as he is usually less verbal than that in front of everyone, preferring to keep our conversations to ourselves.
“Everything okay?” I ask in concern.
“Uh-huh.” He drums his fingers on his thigh and paces like a caged lion, err Wolf, and the penny drops. It is near the full moon and he is getting antsy.
“Fine. I will make this quick.” I launch into my tale of how to defeat the thing and everyone nods their approval.
“So, as soon as he turns up and I can get him out from behind that damn force field, it's curtains for him!” I say triumphantly.
“Yep, and then we will go, and you can kick his ass,” Xane says with just as much enthusiasm.
“We will go?” CK asks. “We?”
“Yes, we,” I say. “Xane is going to attempt to come with me.”
“Oh, really? And why would that be then? Why him? Why not me?” he asks, now also getting his ants on, same as Lincoln, who is glowering at me from across the room. Geez.
“Firstly, because he asked to,” I snap at them both even though Lincoln didn’t say anything. “And secondly, because he is the only one of you that stands a chance of actually making it back home.”
“I take offense to that,” CK says haughtily and has the agreement of the rest of the room behind him, most especially from Sebastian.
“Do you?” I say and call G.I. to my hand. I wave it about, causing everyone to take a giant step back from me. “Still offended?” I ask sweetly as I step closer to Xane, who remains where he is not flinching. “As I said, the only one that stands a chance of making it back.”
“That’s not fair,” Lincoln says, stepping forward. “How come he gets to go near it?”
“He is ruler of Hades. The sword is made from Hellfire. Ergo, it falls under his purview. Would be pretty damn stupid if he were vulnerable to it, wouldn’t it?” I am getting agitated myself now and I know it is in response to Lincoln’s attitude. While Xane may not have the power to wield the sword, he is still at least invulnerable to its flaming charms.
“Right,” Cole says. “I think we should break this up before someone gets hurt. There is just way too much supernatural vibe bouncing about.”
“Fine,” we all snap at him and I make the sword disappear. Xane pulls me to him and gives me a quick kiss.
“I will be able to sense it from you if he turns up when I am not here. Don’t go without me,” he says with a smile and I smile back at him, patting his hand that is resting on my cheek. There is a stony silence and he quickly removes his hand but not before everyone in the room has had a good look at the matching marking, he is now sporting on his left wrist.