The Darkest Torment (Lords of the Underworld 12)

Keeley nodded with enthusiasm. “My girl speaks true. I can flash, and she can fly like the wind. Besides, you’ll lag behind, and he’ll turn his efforts to you. We’ll be forgotten.”

So comforting. “Your immortality isn’t fair.” And she wasn’t jealous. Really. That ship had sailed.

The pink-haired vixen tapped her chin with blunt-tipped nails painted ivy-green. “There’s got to be a way we can even the playing field and make you immortal.”

“Baden said the same thing.”

“He’s right. I mean, Hades has the ability, and I’m stronger and better than him. I’m almost certain I did something to Gilly...”

Wait. “The girl who got sick and had to marry a goat-man to survive?”

Kaia ran her finger across her neck in a dude, shut your piehole motion. “We aren’t supposed to talk about that, Keys.”

“Someone got sick? Why am I always the last to know?” Keeley downed her newest drink then motioned to Katarina to do the same.

She obeyed, the heat was more delectable than painful this time, causing fireworks to explode and spew flames in her head. “I don’t want to have to marry a monster.” Or a beast.

Longing leveled her. Going to wipe Baden from my memory. Never going to think about him again. Or crave him. Or dream of him. Or fantasize about him. Nope. Never. He’d pulled the he-man card, and she’d had to exit the game.

“Oh! I remember now.” Keeley pouted, saying, “How was I supposed to know helping Gilly become immortal would maybe possibly harm her?”

Kaia threw her arms into the air. “Uh, maybe because you told me, Kaia, this might harm Gilly right before you secretly slipped the elixir in her drink.” Speaking of drinks, she poured another round. “You considered the risk worth the reward. Aka William’s eternal happiness versus his eternal hatred.”

Keeley shrugged. “Win some, lose some.”

Katarina stared at her new drink in horror. “Did you elixir me?”

“No! Or probably not. I’m pretty certain I’ve learned my lesson.” Keeley reached over the bar and grabbed a black bottle labeled Ambrosia. She popped the cork with her teeth and spit the thing across the room. “Only time will tell.”

Kaia wagged a finger in Katarina’s face. “What is confessed at Downfall stays at Downfall. Snitches get stitches.”

“Understood. Trust me.” Otherwise, William was likely to murder both women for their deeds. “In case I haven’t made myself clear, I’ve decided I don’t want to be immortal. No matter how many perks come with the transformation.”

Keeley drained half the bottle then wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. “Baden messed up that badly, huh?”

“He ordered me to do his bidding, no matter how I felt about the matter.”

“Well. I say take the high road,” Kaia said with a nod. “That way, you won’t clog up the low road. I prefer a free path.”

Katarina drained her glass. If she was elixired, she was elixired. She’d deal. Besides, continuing to drink was an excellent idea. The best! Her brain was now a strobe light!

Keeley bumped her shoulder, nearly pushing her to the floor. “All our names start with a K. Coincidence? Or are we part of a secret club and just didn’t know it?”

“Secret club.” Kaia clapped. “The girls most likely to steal candy from a baby.”

“No way.” Keeley thought for a moment. “The girls most likely to cause an accident due to their stunning good looks.”

The debate continued.

Kaia: “Girls most likely to become president of the PTA. People That Amaze.”

Keeley: “Girls most likely to attend an Immortals After Dark convention. Dibs on Lothaire!”

Kaia: “Girls most likely to skinny-dip in public.”

Keeley: “Girls most likely to make a coffee run after killing an enemy.”

The two girls wrestled quite brutally over who was right and who was wrong, drawing blood, before Keeley decided Katarina would look so “amazeballs” with a “ward.” Something to temporarily prevent pregnancy. “Someday you’ll thank me for this. Trust me.”

“Can Baden even—never mind.” She wasn’t with Baden anymore. He wasn’t her boyfriend, and she wasn’t his girlfriend. They would never have sex again. One day, she’d have a new man in her life. A new story. “Give me the ward.”

For the other man, she thought, defiant.

Keeley pulled the necessary equipment out of a giant purse—or suitcase. “I never leave home without the proper tools.”