Immortal Rider_ Lords of Deliverance Series_ - Larissa Ione [58]
“Son of a—” He broke off to peg her with a hard stare. “Why didn’t you tell me this earlier?”
“When should I have told you?” She huffed, her temper suddenly caustic, the result, she was sure, of a bitter blend of sexual frustration, her brothers’ overprotective idiocy, and Arik’s suspicious tone. “Maybe when you were already hating me for getting you thrown into Sheoul? Or how about when you didn’t believe anything I said was real? Or while you were eating something decent for the first time?” She snapped her fingers. “Oh, I know, telling you my evil brother owns your soul would have been awesome sexy talk while you were trying to get into my bikiniint0em".”
There was another low, menacing growl from Than, which she ignored.
She gathered her bikini and wraparound. “It was for your own good.”
She could feel Arik’s anger practically blistering her skin, but it faded quickly, and he offered her a respectful nod of apology or, perhaps, acknowledgment that what she’d said made sense. In her experience, few men were so quick to admit mistakes, but he definitely didn’t seem the type to be ruled by irrational or defensive anger. She shot him a small smile of thanks before turning to Thanatos.
“Why are you here?”
“Because Reaver still hasn’t shown up. I’ve tried to summon both him and Harvester several times. And now The Aegis is playing some kind of game with us.” Thanatos’s hands fisted at his sides. “I want to know if our Watchers know anything about it.”
“What kind of game?”
“They sent an Elder to live with me.”
Talk about an unwanted house guest. “You’re kidding.”
Than splashed water over his throat and then shook droplets out of his hair like a great cat. “Do I look like I’m kidding? Because you know what a practical joker I am.”
A pall fell over them for a second, because Reseph had been a huge lover of practical jokes, and their lives had become decidedly less fun since he turned ghastbat-shit insane.
She cleared her throat to break the tension. “Who did they send?”
Ares flicked his finger over the crescent-shaped scar on his neck, and his armor melted away. “It always seems so wrong to wear armor on a tropical island,” he muttered. “They sent a female named Regan.”
“Regan?” Arik snorted. “Good luck with her. Why don’t you just say no?”
“Because it’s a good idea,” Ares said. “We’ve been out of touch with The Aegis for a long time. This is our chance to catch up on what they’ve learned over the centuries. And she may be able to help us find Limos’s agimortus with her gift.”
“That’s good news.” Arik said, wiping beads of water from his brow. “We know it’s a small cup, but we don’t have its history. Maybe you can shed some light on that?”
“The Aegis and R-XR knows what it needs to know,” Than said.
Arik rolled his eyes. “You arrogant asses. Your stale grudge against The Aegis is blinding you.”
“Human,” Than barked, “you don’t talk to us like that.”
Arik’s eyes went heavy-lidded, his body relaxed and Limos tensed. Reseph used to do the same thing, and that was when he was the deadliest.
“Fuck off, Horseman.”
Limos leaped between Arik and Thanatos, heading off the inevitable. “Lock it down, both of you. Arik’s right.” She glanced at Ares, seeking his support, and he didn’t disappoint. When it came to strategy, he generally didn’t let emotion cloud his thoughts.
“I agree,” he said. “I was reluctant at first, but it’s time we put some trust in The Aegis again. We may have made temporary inroads in our fight against Pestilence, but we’ve been fooling ourselves if we think we can defeat him without the full cooperation of the humans.”
Than’s souls swirled at his feet as his emotions boiled, and before they got out of hand, Limos took his hand in hers. “Brother, stop. You know we’ve got to do this.”
It was strange the way Thanatos had always been the quietest of them, and