Chapter 6
Chapter six
Misha
Inever thought I'd be back here. Back in this cursed castle…
Sure, I'd imagined it more times than I could count. Pictured all the ways I'd get justice for the atrocities that Jasper went through, for what all of us had been through. And now, here we were.
I could practically taste the blood I planned to spill, and my fingers danced softly against the hilts of my blades, which were tucked safely against my thighs.
I continued to move through the shadowy underbelly of the castle, my senses on high alert. The damp, musty air clung to my skin, a constant reminder of the years of neglect these tunnels had endured. My brothers and Elara followed close behind, our footsteps echoing softly against the stone walls.
As we navigated the labyrinthine passages, my mind wandered to Palmer.
The weight of Rhodes' words hung heavy in the air between us, and I found myself stealing glances at my brother, searching for any sign of deception.
The guilt that followed these thoughts was immediate and suffocating.
How could I doubt Rhodes after all we'd been through together?
Yet, the seed of suspicion had been planted, and it refused to be ignored.
The picture of her outside of the club that night with that rat, and then she just up and took off, like nothing we’d been through mattered.
I clenched my jaw, frustrated by the internal conflict raging within me.
Rhodes had always been the strategist, the one with the plan.
But now, I couldn't shake the feeling that there was more to his story than he was letting on.
My gaze shifted to Elara, her presence a stark reminder of the oath that bound us together.
If a stranger in another realm could cry out the words of the sacred oath so many years after we'd been banished, how could I doubt Rhodes?
I couldn't, it was unacceptable! But then dark hair in a high ponytail flashed through my head, a set of deep blue eyes staring into my irredeemable soul, soft, small hands upon my skin…
It was then that I realized I felt the same bond with Palmer.
The realization hit me like a physical blow.
To doubt either of them made me feel sick to my stomach, and I hated every second.
I didn't like anyone except my brothers.
It had always been that way. So why did I feel this connection to Palmer?
Why did her face keep appearing in my mind, even now, as we ventured deeper into enemy territory?
I shook my head, trying to clear my thoughts.
This wasn't the time for such distractions.
We had a mission to complete, and I couldn't afford to let my guard down.
But as we pressed on through the darkness, I couldn't help but wonder if perhaps I was changing.
If maybe, just maybe, there was room in my heart for someone other than my brothers.
The tunnel began to widen, and I held up a hand, signaling the others to stop.
Ahead, I could make out a doorway, and we heard faint voices.
We had reached our destination. As I moved forward to investigate, I pushed aside my conflicting emotions.
There would be time to sort through these feelings later.
For now, we had a score to settle, and I intended to see it through to the bitter end.
I remembered the masks I'd brought for everyone, reaching into my pack to distribute them.
Felix's eyes lit up when I handed him the face paint, and he quickly found the nearest reflective surface to apply his signature skeleton design.
As I slipped on my black pig mask, I watched the others don their disguises.
Ashland pulled on the black hooded mask with stitched X's for eyes, looking every bit the grim reaper he could be.
Talon strapped on his gas mask, its filters giving him an eerie, apocalyptic appearance.
Rhodes opted for a simple, ornate masquerade mask that somehow made him look even more mysterious.
Felix, now sporting his skeletal face paint, grinned wickedly at us all.
Elara cleared her throat, drawing our attention. "Do you need any further assistance from me at the moment? I need to check in with my group and get updates," she said, her voice barely above a whisper.
I exchanged glances with my brothers, silently communicating our thoughts. Ashland nodded, speaking for us all. "You can go. But before you do, feel free to spread the word that The Exiled has arrived."
A dark smile spread across Elara's face, mirrored by each of us in turn. The thought of whispers in the dark, of fear spreading like wildfire at the mere mention of our presence, sent a thrill through my veins.
"With pleasure," Elara purred, slipping away into the shadows.
As her footsteps faded, we turned our attention to the open doorway before us and whoever was on the other side of it.
We crept closer, and words became clearer.
I quickly realized that Balor was there along with Fischer and Cam, two of Khol’s spies, and apparently also, two of Saige’s mates.
They were having a heated discussion with…
“Is that Laurie?” Rhodes whispered, looking disgusted.
One of Asrael’s longtime hookups. We made it our business to keep tabs on that fucker and everyone he fucked around with. She was on the scarier side of crazy and pretty powerful. We’d have to catch her off guard.
Suddenly, a high-pitched shriek pierced the air, causing all of us to cover our ears.
Talon’s eyes met mine, and they were full of fury.
He stomped ahead and rounded the corner, the rest of us on his heels.
Laurie continued screaming like a gods damned banshee as Balor, Cam, Fischer, and Kai—who I now spotted—covered their ears in pain.
Talon didn’t waste time. He executed a perfect roundhouse kick to the back of her head, dropping her like a sack of rotten potatoes. The screaming ceased, thank the gods.
“Who the fuck are you?” The tall, storm mage questioned, ready to spring into action if needed.
“Fuck are we? Who the fuck are you?” Ashland demanded, pretending like we didn’t already know, as he took a step forward.
“Holy shit,” Balor exclaimed. “You’re here.” He had warned us to stay out of the castle until he signaled for us, but he should have known that was never going to happen.
Felix replied, his smile in clear view. “We are. Tell me, when does the party start?”
Balor glanced at Felix before looking around and shaking his head. “Not here. Let’s find a safe place to speak. Follow me.” He glanced back at Laurie’s body and waved his hand. “Leave her.”
A man with wild, dark brown curls, who I instantly recognized as Fischer—the cognitive mage who worked for Khol—snarled at the suggestion. “I’m not leaving this bitch anywhere. I think we should kill her now and be done with it.”
The three men continued their conversation, and I tuned them out, choosing instead to join Ash in investigating the woman.
Ashland stepped up next to me with a chuckle. "Guess Talon kicked her into another dimension."
"Of course she’s involved," Rhodes said, unimpressed.
"It's really not that surprising," Ashland replied. "Laurie has been up Asrael's ass for as long as I can remember."
Our conversation was cut short when Fischer announced that Laurie was to be coming with us, and he bent down, wrapped his hand around her ankle, then began dragging her along behind him, much like one would haul a slab of meat.
A grisly trail of blood was left in their wake as they moved across the floor.
“That’s fucked up,” Talon announced with satisfaction. “I like it.”
We all followed Balor into what I had to assume was a meeting room.
Laurie was deposited in the corner like a rag doll, and I took a seat at the massive table, the rest of the group joining me.
We each settled into a chair, ready to begin our discussion.
Talon flopped into a chair and kicked his legs up on the table, making himself at home.
The three men across from us studied us intensely, but that didn't bother me because I was doing the exact same to them. Didn’t matter that we already knew who they were; this was posturing at its finest. In our circles, everyone tends to know everyone else, whether on a personal basis or through whispers and rumors.
These guys, though, had been in Port Black before.
They were spies, so there was no other reason for them to have been there other than to do just that.
We never had any run-ins with them, and they probably thought we didn't know they'd even been there. Wrong. We know everything.
I couldn't help but notice that they looked like fucking shit. Whatever they'd been through here up to this moment was sure to have been a pure living hell.
Ashland broke the silence. “We were invited here and told that today was the day.”
I couldn't help but voice what was running through my head. “We were promised today would be the reckoning."
“And it will be,” Balor replied, drumming his fingertips on the tabletop.
“Who are you?” My focus shifted to the mage who asked the question.
Had we not been wearing our masks, he would’ve known who we were right away.
He had short black hair and a tall, slender frame.
His equally dark eyes scanned the five of us with animalistic caution, betraying his affinity. The panther shifter. Kai.
Fischer shifted in his chair slightly, and Kai glanced at him from the corner of his eye. I grinned darkly, hiding my delight behind my mask that he clearly knew who we were.
“You might have heard of us,” Rhodes stated with absolutely no emotion as he tapped his fingertips against the table.
“You probably have heard of us,” Talon practically sang as his body vibrated with excitement. With no effort whatsoever, he swung his axe up and dropped it on the table.