Total pages in book: 114
Estimated words: 109033 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 545(@200wpm)___ 436(@250wpm)___ 363(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 109033 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 545(@200wpm)___ 436(@250wpm)___ 363(@300wpm)
Tobe growled at him. “I thought you had a man on her.” The tension in his jaw made the words come out clipped.
“I did. The clerics killed him to get to her.” Luka could hear his heartbeat thrashing in his ears, fast and hard. It hurt to breathe; it felt as if his chest was being squeezed so tight he couldn’t get enough air. “The monastery is the likeliest place they’ve taken her.”
“It has to be somewhere we haven’t already looked,” said Jolene, her eyes blazing with ire, her voice as stiff as her posture.
Having pooled their resources, she and Luka had managed to narrow it down to three locations. But when they’d investigated them, no building had been uncovered. There hadn’t even been signs of life—each area had been barren and uninhabited by anything other than wild animals.
Nikandr shoved a hand through his hair. “I don’t get it. Why would they take Naomi rather than just kill her here and now? They want her dead.”
“I have not one clue,” Luka bit out resentfully, his chest still weighted, his breathing harsh and uneven. Wake up, baby, he urged psychically. I need you to tell me where you are.
But she didn’t.
A craving for vengeance heaved through him and pounded at his insides, threatening to cloud his thoughts. He breathed through it, held himself in check by sheer force of will—Naomi needed that from him right now. Later? Later, when he had the bastards who’d taken her in his custody, he could let that rage fly.
Hurting them wouldn’t be enough. Making them bleed wouldn’t be enough. He wanted to torture them. Dismember them. Castrate them. Whip them. Skin them alive . . . only to have a healer tend to their injuries so that he could do it all over again.
Daniil cursed, standing at a spot a few feet away. “What the hell is Iain doing here?” He squatted, examining the psi-demon. “Dead.” He tipped his chin at a nearby unfamiliar male. “So is he, whoever he is. A member of your lair?” he asked the imps, standing upright.
Briefly glancing away from his cell—and what the fuck was he doing on his phone, as if Naomi wasn’t the priority? —Tobe stiffly shook his head and said, “That’s Stefan. He hired the PI.”
Mikhail looked at Luka. “You think Iain was working with the clerics?”
“I don’t know. It could be that he was following Naomi again and attempted to help her.” Naomi, talk to me, baby, he pled.
Her psyche stirred. I’m . . . Don’t . . .
Luka’s pulse jumped, relief lancing through him. Where are you? Tell me.
Going by . . . symbols . . . monastery . . . temple . . .
He frowned. “She’s awake, but she’s psychically weak. And there’s something off about the connection. As though it’s being muddied—likely by magick.”
“I can barely understand her,” said Tobe, his gaze inward. “She’s saying something about . . . a temple?”
I’ll find you, Naomi. Some-the-fuck-how, Luka would find her. “I’m going to search the places where we thought the monastery might be again, starting with the first one.”
“Whoa,” began Tobe, “wait a second. The prophecy might state that you and Naomi take down the Lemures, but we want our pound of flesh too.” He waved a hand, gesturing at himself, the other imps, and Tia.
“Fine,” Luka bit out, “you can come along.”
Tobe pursed his lips. “Or . . .”
“Or what?” Luka pushed impatiently.
“Or we use the GPS tags that I put on her shoes without her knowledge. Yeah, I know she’s gonna rip me a new one, but I regret nothing. I already have the phone app trying to lock onto the tags as we speak. It won’t give us her exact location, but it’ll give us a general idea of where she is.”
It was better than nothing. Later, Luka would be pissed at the imp for putting trackers on his mate. Right now, his priority was getting to her. Just hold on for us, baby, we’re coming.
Jolene sidled up to him. “Don’t worry, Luka. Naomi will be fine. Truth is, it’s the clerics and their angel who are in the most danger.”
Luka felt his brow crease. “What does that mean?”
She spared his bodyguards and Daniil a quick look. Do they know about Naomi’s parentage? she asked Luka telepathically.
Daniil knows nothing. I told the twins only that her biological father is a fallen angel and then swore them to secrecy, he replied.
The Prime pressed her lips together, hesitating to continue.
Luka turned to his demons. “Give us privacy for a moment.” Once the three were out of hearing range, he refocused on Jolene. “Speak freely.”
“You have an honorary niece who’s half celestial,” began Jolene, “so you’ll know that demons like Naomi are . . . different.”
“Yes, I’m aware,” said Luka.
“It also often means that their inner entities are different. Sometimes even unstable to some degree.”