Chapter 31 #2
While we were in the middle of our spat, Lucifer snagged Merri’s wrist and pulled her away from us and against his chest. My attention immediately turned away from my brothers and locked onto the two of them. Ally or not, I still didn’t trust that guy as far as I could throw him.
“Remember me?” he murmured, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear. “Don’t get used to this space I’ve been giving you, crabapple.”
A stab of jealousy struck my heart for just a moment, but then I remembered that he was one of her mates. He belonged here just as much as any of us.
Goddammit.
“I was wondering why you’d been so distant and quiet,” she said.
I should have felt bad for eavesdropping, but that wasn’t who I was as a person. You have a conversation in a room full of people, expect to be overheard. If he wanted privacy, he should have found a locked door.
“It was my way of making amends for keeping you all to myself.”
Merri raised a brow. “I wasn’t aware you felt like you needed to make amends.”
“Yes, well. Consider it part of me proving myself. And perhaps earning some goodwill from the four musketeers.”
Merri squinted at him and leaned in closer. “Who are you and what have you done with Lucifer?”
“I contain multitudes, Merri.”
God, this guy.
He was fucking good. I’d give him that.
“Just remember, crabapple, if you find yourself in trouble, all you need do is call for me. I will be by your side.” He dipped his head and kissed her, and it was so tender I almost believed he was one of the good guys.
Almost.
“Okay, that’s enough of whatever this is.” I could’ve kissed Remi for breaking the moment so I didn’t have to.
Merri pulled away with a blush. “Sorry, I’m ready.”
“You should never apologize for being with your mate,” Lucifer chastised, adding a bit of extra bite to the last word.
With a roll of my eyes, I took Merri’s hand and tugged her close. Then I glared pointedly at Lucifer while my hand roamed over her ass.
He let out a nearly inaudible snarl, and I immediately felt better.
What’s good for the goose, buddy.
“Okay, how are we going to do this? As far as I recall, none of you have been to Blackthorne Manor,” Rosie said, pulling my attention back to the task at hand.
It was a struggle to contain my laughter. I glanced at Grim. “You’ve been there before, haven’t you?”
“Numerous times.”
“Really?” Rosie asked, her face painted in confusion.
Grim offered her a far softer look than he’d give most. “So many souls have been claimed on the grounds of your ancestral home. More than I can count.”
Rosie blinked at him, a delicate shudder running down her back. “That is surprisingly dark, but also accurate. I guess I never wanted to think about it in quite those terms.”
“Let’s get this over with,” Thorne grumbled. “I’m not overly enthused with the idea of seeing that place again. Not after everything.”
Rosie slipped her hand into his and gave it a squeeze, something private passing between the siblings that words couldn’t convey.
“Bonne chance,” Lilith offered the second before Grim pulled us through space and time.
It never failed to feel just a little weird when we materialized in a new place. It was second nature to me by now, but that didn’t mean I had to like it. Ben definitely didn’t. He was doubled over, breathing through his nose as he tried to keep from yakking.
“Ben, are you okay?” Rosie asked, rushing to him and rubbing his back.
“F-fine, sugar,” he gritted out, looking pale beneath his sun-kissed skin.
Remi let out a soft whistle, taking in the remains of the sprawling estate before us. “I know you guys said it was in ruins, but I didn’t expect that to be quite so literal.”
“What were you expecting?” Thorne asked with a curious lift of his brow.
“A castle, maybe. Or something you might find in an adaptation of a Bronte novel.”
“Once it was a love letter to Gothic architecture,” Rosie mused. “Spires, arches, balconies where I used to spy on my brothers when they didn’t know anyone could see them.”
Looking at it now, I could imagine what she was describing, but the reality was much more reminiscent of a war-torn castle.
A frown marred the smooth skin of Rosie’s brow. I’d heard about the explosion that masked her escape. I could only assume she carried a fair bit of guilt over it.
“So where should we begin our search?” Grim asked, likely sensing the same emotions I did and wanting to move things along.
“I’m not sure,” Thorne said. “It all looks so different in this state. The entrance should be over there, but it’s nothing but rubble now.”
“I don’t know if we can even locate the stairwells to the basement levels.” Rosie sounded dejected. “It’s worse than I imagined.”
Ben wove an arm around her shoulders, while Remi did the same around her waist. The gentle reassurance from her mates seemed to go a long way in curbing her spiraling mood.
Merri nudged me with her hip. “What do you think?”
“About what?”
“Where the blade might be.”
“How should I know?”
She gave me a look. “It’s supposed to be tied to you, isn’t it? That’s what the others said.”
“You’re Famine-y too, kitten. Don’t put it all on me.”
A soft laugh escaped her before she took my hand and began tugging me toward the ruined side of the estate. “First step, find a fairly clear path. It looks like the fire really ate up the interior of this place.”
“Do me a favor?” I asked as I surveyed the unsteady structure. “Stay back until I make sure it’s safe? I’m immortal, you’re not.”
She heaved a sigh, but released my hand and fell back, Grim taking my place at her side.
Closing my eyes, I shook out my hands and let my other senses take over.
Merri was right; my brothers had all mentioned having a sixth sense when it came to finding their weapons.
Unfortunately none of them had explained how they tapped into it.
I was hoping it would just do its thing and activate like a sleeping compass.
That was a thing, right?
“What is he doing?” Remi whisper-shouted.
“I d-don’t know.”
“He looks like you when you need to shit, Benny.”
“Sh-shut up, Remi.”
Frustration swelled inside me. “Yes, please shut up. I’m trying to focus here.”
A buzz began at the tips of my fingers, growing stronger as I moved in search of the source.
“I found something,” I said, opening my eyes. “This way.”
“That’s got to be the ballroom,” Thorne offered. “Or what’s left of it.”
“Wasn’t there a hidden passageway connected to it?” Rosie asked.
Her brother nodded. “I’m pretty sure we can get to the lower levels from there.”
“Perfect,” I said, more to myself than anything, as I let them take lead. The buzzing didn’t so much grow stronger as remain consistent. I took that to mean we were going in the right direction, but not in the immediate vicinity of the weapon.
“Careful, there’s a hidden staircase somewhere nearby. The walls aren’t here to help us find it,” Rosie warned. “It would be easy to fall in if one wasn’t looking where one stepped.”
Grateful for the heads-up, I kept my eyes peeled as we carefully navigated our way through the rubble. It was all of two minutes before said staircase made itself known.
“Over here,” Thorne called, quickly bending down and grabbing what appeared to be the better part of a rafter before tossing it aside and clearing the path.
As though the floodgates had been opened, the buzzing grew stronger as soon as the stairwell was exposed. Every step down the stairs amplified the sensation.
“It’s here. I can feel it.”
We didn’t stop until we were outside a heavy steel door, the metal untouched by flames.
Thorne kicked the door with all his might, breaking it off its hinges as he did.
“That’s one way to get inside,” Remi muttered. “Could’ve just used those keys hanging next to it, but hey, that’s just me.”
The buzz became a hum of just the right frequency in my bones.
I followed it, knowing the weapon would be waiting for me inside that room.
As I stepped inside, my gaze instantly landed on a stack of wooden crates.
It was somewhere inside one of them. I’d never been more certain of anything aside from Merri in my long life.
“I feel strange,” Merri said, her voice small and laced with concern.
I wondered if she was also picking up on the weapon now that we were so close. I took a step toward the crates, feeling an undeniable pull toward them, but also glanced over my shoulder to check on her.
“Kit—”
I didn’t get a chance to finish speaking before Merri and Grim—who had tucked her into his side—both vanished from the room.