Immortal Rider_ Lords of Deliverance Series_ - Larissa Ione [45]
“We know.”
Inhaling on a curse, she unrolled this idiotic thing that supposedly said she should screw Thanatos, and ran her fingers over the ink. Instantly, her body was flooded with emotion and images. Images of hell burst in her brain, horrific scenes of torture and pain and… she jerked her hand away.
“Yeah,” she croaked. “Whoever penned The Biblical Horseman’s Secret Aegis Baby was sincere. They believe the child is important. And they were also a very tortured individual.” She cleared her throat. “How, exactly, will this baby save all of humanity?”
When everyone averted their gazes, alarm bells rang. Finally, Val looked up. “That’s the catch. We don’t know. Apparently, there’s a twin scroll that will explain it. We have faith that by the time the baby is born, we’ll have found it.”
“Oh, that’s just great,” she drawled. “Maybe I should jump off a cliff and have faith that by the time I hit bottom, I’ll have grown wings?”
“So?” Lance prompted, as if she hadn’t spoken. “You going to ride a wild pony?”
God, she hated him. Ignoring the asshole, she turned to Kynan. “What does Thanatos look like?” Visions of a bony old dude who looked like the Crypt Keeper’s twin brother popped into her head.
Kynan shrugged. “If you don’t mind tats and piercings, he’s attractive, I guess.”
“You guess?”
“Sorry, I happen to be into women, so Thanatos doesn’t do it for me. But it’s probably fair to say that if I were gay, I’d do him.”
“That’s so helpful,” she said, dryly. “So what are you going to do with this kid? I mean, what happens after it’s born? I’m not exactly mother material.”
“Gem and I will raise it,” Kynan said softly.
“And your wife is cool with that?”
“It isn’t like we don’t already have a child who is part demon. And I do have a huge family full of demons, angels, vampires, and werewolves to help out and keep the child safe. We’ll love it like our own, I promise you that.”
Shit. She couldn’t believe she was actually considering this. But The Aegis was her family. They’d raised her when no one else would—or could. She owed them, and if this was how she could make her contribution to save the world, then she couldn’t say no. Besides, she couldn’t subject another female Guardian to this risk.
Right now, no Aegi outside the Sigil understood the magnitude of what was happening in the world, and very few knew of the existence of the Four Horsemen. Bringing an outsider sg aagn up to speed would take time. Hell, finding the right woman would take time.
“Make the arrangements.” She’d never been one to run away from anything, but right now she needed some fresh air and a moment alone, so she yanked open the door. “And that includes plans for my funeral, because if this doesn’t work, I want a really nice one.”
Twelve
Arik woke, groggy, fuzzy-headed, but for the first time in forever his belly wasn’t twisted inside out and eating his own spine in hunger. He opened his eyes, and realized he was still in the demon-induced fantasyland. Maybe it wasn’t so bad here after all. At least he got food, showers, and a soft bed.
And a toothbrush. Who would have thought such a simple item could make a person happy? As he brushed his teeth, he practically moaned with orgasmic appreciation at the taste of the minty toothpaste and the stroke of soft bristles. Oral sex, that’s what this was.
Okay, not quite. Limos popped into his head, and all those fantasies of having her spread-eagled and arching against his mouth trumped the toothbrush sex, for sure.
Cursing himself for an idiot, he spit, rinsed, and stepped into the bedroom just as Limos, her tan body covered in a skimpy yellow swimsuit and a sheer wraparound that hung low on her hips, tapped on the glass patio door outside the room. He didn’t move to let her in, but the door wasn’t locked, so she slid it open.
“Hey, sleepyhead.”
“Sleepyhead?”
“More like comahead, really. You’ve been sleeping for twenty-four hours.” She crooked her finger at him. “Come outside. I’ve got a day of sensory therapy planned. I’m going to overload you