I bit down on my lower lip until I tasted blood.
My gut churned.
I had a feeling it wasn’t normal for an angel to radiate ice. I had a bad feeling that I wasn’t in control at all.
Good thing I was an expert at coping—I ignored my problems and pretended they didn’t exist.
“You need to be alert,” Orion mouthed as he shoved a cup full of cold liquid into my hands. “It’s—”
I threw the contents back and gulped it down before he could explain.
“Iced coffee.” He narrowed his eyes, long dark lashes fluttering, as he whispered angrily, “You shouldn’t consume any substance without knowing what’s in it. It’s not safe.”
John and Luka continued checking my holsters diligently, like they were terrified they’d missed something.
I rolled my eyes at Orion.
The coffee was strong, and already I could feel the caffeine waking me up. I took a long inhale from my pipe and let the combination of drugs revive my will to live.
Jitters replaced my exhaustion, and I bounced back and forth on the balls of my feet.
Jax and Malum shouted the plan’s directions to all the soldiers.
“Can I have a second coffee?” I held out the empty cup to Orion as Luka checked my earpiece.
“No.” Scorpius seemed to appear out of nowhere. “Take that pipe out of your mouth or I’ll rip it out.”
Sometimes I thought the blind king was calmer and more approachable than Malum. Other times, he was abrasive and cruel. Scathing.
Like a bad trip.
Luka moved with a blur and pushed me behind him, darkness glimmering around him.
“Don’t speak to her like that,” John said in an annoyed tone as he checked my bullet cartridges. “But he’s not wrong, Aran. Put the pipe away.”
Scorpius smirked maliciously and sized up John like he was seeing him for the first time. “Don’t tell me what to do.”
John glared and drove his shoulder into Scorpius’s side. “Oops,” he said sarcastically.
A muscle in Scorpius’s jaw ticked. “Be careful, human. You don’t want to mess with me.”
Instead of backing down from the devil, who was half a head taller than him, John scoffed. “I’ll do what I want.”
Scorpius arched a brow, clearly unused to other men challenging him. “Is that so?” he asked wickedly.
I grabbed John’s shoulders and pulled him away from the sadistic bastard who would tear him to pieces. “Can you not start a fight right now?” I asked him.
John grumbled, “I wouldn’t just start a fight, I’d end one.”
Scorpius barked with laughter like the idea of John beating him was hilarious, and I grimaced because I had to side with the king on this one.
“You’re going to be the death of me,” I groaned.
John pulled on my ponytail. “Cheer up, little Smurf. Before you know it, the ungodly will be dead and we’ll be back here hanging out. Rumor has it the High Court is going to let us party to blow off steam.” He wiggled his eyebrows up and down suggestively. “Plenty of drugs to do later.”
He pretended to smoke an imaginary cigarette, and I laughed at how ridiculous he looked.
Scorpius muttered something under his breath that sounded suspiciously like, “I have something you can blow.”
We ignored him.
“Fine, but I want demon brew,” I said.
John winked. “Of course.”
“And I want to…” I trailed off and mimicked him by wiggling my eyebrows.
John’s lips curled in a mischievous smile, and he pressed a soft kiss to my lips. “Anything for you, darling,” he breathed into my mouth.
I tasted sandalwood and musk.
His lips were soft and warm.
Familiar.
Luka stroked the back of my head as his twin kissed me.
The pain that scoured my back was so strong it was like being doused in ice water.
Scorpius made a harsh noise in his throat, and when I looked over, he was flushed. Strange.
Orion gritted his teeth.
My skin prickled, and the pain intensified.
A spiteful part of me enjoyed knowing that the kings were watching me kiss John.
I wanted them to see what they would never have.
I wanted them to hurt like they’d hurt me.
Backing away from John, I nodded. “Let’s do this.”
I pulled the black elastic hood up and over my head, then tugged it low so it covered my entire face. The material appeared solid from the outside, but it was deceptively breathable and easy to see through.
Everyone did the same.