“I can’t believe you’re an angel.” She cried out louder. “So beautiful.”
I patted her harder.
Jinx wasn’t wrong; other legions were staring at us with expressions of disgust.
I glared at them until they looked away.
Jinx stared down at me from Jax’s back, and a strange expression crossed her face. “Good work, Aran.” She cleared her throat. “You were impressive. Thanks for saving me.”
I beamed up at her.
She mumbled something about me getting too cocky, but she blushed as I blew a kiss at her.
I loved this moment for us.
Before I could needle the bizarrely bashful teenager, the three kings were looming above us, blocking out the light, and if that wasn’t a metaphor for my life, then I didn’t know what was.
Malum growled, “Why is she touching…” He trailed off as I arched my brow.
Flames danced across the top of his head as he fisted his hands and stared down at me. He relaxed his posture and tried to seem calm, but smoke puffed from his nose and ruined the effect.
“Yes, Ignis?” I asked haughtily.
He swallowed thickly.
Scorpius dragged his hand across his jaw, and Orion shifted back and forth uncomfortably.
I smiled as I squeezed Sadie tighter against me. “What was it you were going to say?” I asked.
Malum’s silver eyes gleamed with unspoken emotion.
Did I know what an Ignis was? No.
But I could pick up on context clues, and it obviously had something to do with devil mates. Did I care? Also no.
But Malum clearly did, and that was all that mattered.
It was nice to watch him squirm.
Truly the highlight of my day.
Ever since they’d had a delusional episode and convinced themselves I was their mate, they’d been acting all weird toward me. It was freaking me out.
They kept following me around, which they always did, but now it just seemed pathetic.
Malum had dark circles under his eyes, and they were bloodshot.
A familiar look.
I pressed a kiss to the top of Sadie’s forehead, and all three of the kings doubled forward like I’d punched them.
I rolled my eyes and covered her face with kisses.
Sadie moaned dramatically like she was getting aroused, and I gently kicked her to make her knock it off.
“So hot,” she mumbled like a moron.
Malum moaned pitifully like I was torturing him, and I swallowed down laughter. It was too easy with them.
Horse screamed expletives and flapped aggressively on my shoulder.
I agreed with his sentiment.
Malum bit down on his lower lip like he was physically trying to stop himself from screaming at me. Scorpius stared at Horse with wide eyes, and Orion winced and rubbed at his arm.
“As much as I enjoy this little moment,” I said sarcastically, “I also don’t like it. Like, at all. For the tenth time, let me be very clear. I am not your missing mate. I hate the three of you.” I enunciated each word like I was talking to a child, “You were not nice to me. You started to treat me kind of okay, and then you left me to suffer as it rained glass.” I scoffed. “Then you accused me of being a liar.”
I narrowed my eyes like I was thinking. “I believe there was something about putting my body on a spike in front of a shack?”
Malum blanched and he looked like he was going to be sick. His bronze face paled.
He looked distraught.
Good.
“I will never be your mate,” I said cruelly.
Malum’s wide shoulders expanded as he fisted his hands and took a step toward me.
Flames shot out of his mouth as he spat, “It doesn’t work that way. You’re our Revered, which means it’s our life purpose to protect you.” He clenched and unclenched his fists. “Even if you’re a woman and an angel. You’re ours. I said certain things in the heat of the moment that I regret. It will never happen again.”
Scorpius nodded. “You don’t understand. You’re the center of our mate bond. We were born to cherish you. You’re our purpose.”
Who bought their crap?
I pointed at Orion as I glared at Malum. “I thought he was your purpose for living? Two weeks ago, you didn’t hesitate to sacrifice me to save him.”
All three of them made wounded noises.
“No offense,” I said to Orion. “I honestly don’t hold that against you, since they—” I mimed punching myself in the head and stuck my tongue out like I was dead.
Warm brown eyes widened, and he took a step toward me.
His stunning features looked sad, and it broke my heart to step away from him.
But someone had to do it.
I shook my head, and Sadie stumbled as I pulled her back with me. “But I still am not interested in being your mate.” I waved my fingers at them. “The three of you can find someone else.”
“It doesn’t work that way,” Malum snarled through gritted teeth.
He dragged his hands over his shaved head like he was losing his shit. The dagger tattooed on his neck glinted. Pink petals floated across Orion’s collarbone, and I was 90 percent sure the eye on Scorpius’s neck winked at me.
I took another step backward and said, “We have a working relationship and nothing else. We’ll remove the slave tattoo, win the war, and part ways.”
“No,” Orion said loudly, and the lyrical note echoed around the arena.
Everyone stopped moving.
Every single competitor and student went still.
Like zombies.
I narrowed my eyes. “Are you threatening me?”
“No,” Orion mouthed. “That’s not what I meant.” His eyes filled with sadness as his perfect features became crestfallen.
He was so lovely I wanted to tell him I didn’t mean it.
Like a switch had been flipped, everyone resumed talking and moving about like they hadn’t just been frozen.
Goose bumps exploded down my spine, and my feathers fluttered.
The power the kings had was obscene.
It was ghastly.
Instead of taking the hint, they walked toward me like they were going to attack.
Sadie squeaked in my arms and wailed dramatically, “Protect me, Aran.”
“Really.” I pushed her off me.
“What?” she asked. “Technically, you’re the only one who can protect me from them.”
“Go bother your mates. I need to deal with the psycho devil men.” As soon as the words left my lips, Cobra swooped in and grabbed Sadie by the back of the neck.
Her mates piled around her protectively like they’d just been waiting for us to stop hugging so they could grab her.
“You know we can hear you?” Scorpius sneered.
I rolled my eyes. “That’s the point.”
“She’s pretending to shoot you with a finger gun,” Orion whispered, and Scorpius snapped back, “I don’t need to know that.”
I pretended to shoot him faster, with both hands as quickly as I could.
“Now she’s shooting you rapidly,” Orion said.
Scorpius’s eye twitched.
“Aran!” John shouted, and I swiveled toward him, grateful to have a buffer between myself and the kings.
He jogged over with Luka following behind. “Sorry for the delay. Luka and I just wanted to confirm before we came and asked.”