I wanted to scream in her face.
Scorch her.
“Calm down, Corvus.” Orion’s soft, lyrical voice washed over me. He wrapped his arms around my flaming body and whispered softly, “We’ll find our other Protector, and then we’ll know peace. Setting her on fire won’t do anything. There are other ways…”
He trailed off, and I shivered as he kissed my neck.
Orion was so fucking handsome and sweet.
He was the perfect Revered for us because no one else could ever handle the darkness that lived in me and Scorpius.
I stood still with flames pouring off me as he cradled me. The fire plumed around Orion but didn’t touch him.
I forced myself to relax.
Arabella would learn why the crest of the House of Malum was a dragon—we incinerated anyone who hurt our mates.
Long moments passed as Orion held me.
Minutes later, in the front of the room, Lothaire stopped shuffling through papers on his desk and mumbling about a conspiracy.
He stood up straight.
Orion and I slowly pulled away from each other. Scorpius walked back to join us in the middle of the room.
Arabella stayed in the corner.
We feigned nonchalance because we weren’t stupid.
Lothaire was still the vampyre who’d casually snapped the necks of the famed half warriors.
We needed his cooperation to find our missing mate.
If Lothaire noticed the tension, he didn’t mention it. Instead, he looked across the room at his daughter and asked with annoyance, “Must you constantly smoke?”
Arabella blew out a cloud of smoke in the shape of a gun and grabbed the incorporeal weapon.
She pulled the trigger.
A bullet poofed harmlessly off Lothaire’s chest. He gritted his teeth, but otherwise didn’t react.
Her crow cawed with delight while the gun dissipated. For some reason, the crow was the only smoke shape she blew that remained corporeal.
I asked Lothaire, “You thought it was prudent to bind our lives to this pathetic creature?”
Scorpius grunted in agreement.
Orion made a noise of disagreement in the back of his throat.
“You will not speak ill of my daughter.” Lothaire’s scar pulled tight.
Arabella laughed.
Pop. Pop.
It took us all a second to realize the noise came from another smoke gun.
“Really? Now you want to be a father figure?” Pop. “This has to be the pinnacle of dramatic irony.” Pop.
She unloaded a magazine clip of smoke bullets into Lothaire’s chest.
“You will show me respect!” Lothaire roared.
She made a dramatic crying face, then frowned as she pointed the gun at her forehead.
Pop-p-p-p-p-p-p-p.
The magazine unloaded into her skull.
“Charming,” Scorpius scoffed as Orion whispered in his ear what she was doing.
Lothaire glared at her like he wanted to wring her neck. He’d have to get in line.
She was uncontrollable.
Disrespectful.
Petulant.
I said to Lothaire, “We bound her life to ours like you asked. We’ve completed our end of the deal, so you need to uphold yours.”
Lothaire nodded distractedly as he stared at his daughter. “I will have my scouts focus on finding your missing mate. You may stay at the academy until you find them.”
“Good,” I said. At least one thing wasn’t ruined.
Every recorded mate bond in the last few centuries had been among male devils, so we were sure that our missing Protector was a male devil living in another realm. Lothaire was still our best bet at finding him.
A chill ran down my spine as the five of us stood silently in the quiet room.
Would we not be able to recognize our mate because of the slave tattoo?
The House of Malum motto was written in my bones: Ut sicut meus—to keep as mine.
Even among other devils, Ignises from the House of Malum were renowned for our possessiveness. We hoarded our mates like dragons with priceless treasures.
We were obsessive.
Borderline psychotic.
The mere thought of being in my mate’s presence and failing to recognize them made bile burn my throat.
Lothaire’s jaw clenched as he said to Arabella, “You’re my daughter, and I will atone for my wrongdoings.”
She made a gagging noise. “I’ve chosen to believe that I was conceived through immaculate conception. The sun god endowed my mother’s deranged loins. You aren’t my father.”
“That’s ridiculous.” Lothaire looked unconcerned that his progeny was a moron. “Someday you’ll feel differently.”
Her expression darkened. “Since you enslaved me to devils who hate me, I probably won’t forgive you. Ever.”
“You’re not enslaved!” Lothaire snapped.
“Wait.” Dark-blue eyes widened, and long dark lashes fluttered with confusion. Her jaw dropped. “You don’t even know what you did, do you?”
Awkward silence filled the room.
Lothaire bristled.
Arabella waved her hands impatiently at her father. “You gave me a slave tattoo! I recognize it from my history studies.”
“No.” Lothaire rubbed at his forehead. “You’re mistaken. Dick assured me it just binds your lives, and he said there were no side effects.”
The three of us shifted.
How did he not know?
Suddenly, things made a lot more sense.
“Technically you’re right,” I said awkwardly to Lothaire as Scorpius swore under his breath. “It binds us because it’s a slave brand, but I’ve never heard of them having side effects.”
I didn’t mention that they were taboo to discuss because they were a dark enchantment, so no one talked much about them.
Lothaire clenched his hands and growled. His muscles widened as he flexed like he was going to explode, but then he went still.
He shook his head dismissively and said to Arabella, “We’ll discuss this later. The important thing right now is that the binding is complete. I have a safe house set up in a realm, and you’ll RJE there immediately.”
She blanched. “I’m not going anywhere with you.”
Lothaire ordered. “You’re going to get checked by Lyla to make sure you’re still healthy after getting that tattoo, then I’ll take you to safety.”
Before Arabella could move, Lothaire stalked across the classroom, grabbed her arm, and dragged her out the door.
“What are we going to do now?” I asked my mates tiredly.
Long moments passed as we just stared at one another and grimaced. Scorpius opened his mouth to respond, but stopped.
Screams.
Pain erupted in my gut like I’d been stabbed by a dagger, and I fell to my knees. My mates did the same beside me.
I gasped at the unexpected agony, but as swiftly as it had arrived, the pain disappeared.
Only anger remained.
How dare he take what was ours?
The three of us got to our feet as the screams in the hall increased.
He threatens Arabella.
Must protect her.
Must get her back.
Must keep her close.
She’s ours, nobody else’s.
Power bristling, we stalked as a unit to retrieve what had been taken from us. Orion led the way, and Scorpius and I flanked him.
Crack.
Lightning lit the dark marble hall.
We turned the corner and walked down another long hall, led purely by instinct.