AYRAI paced the halls of the hospital, fear and anxiety making me jittery. I was anxious because Reese was in the delivery room, and afraid because I did not know how and what Nathaniel was doing right now.He left first thing in the morning with Ishmael and all his Enforcers, including Sawyer, so he wasn’t here to support Reese during her delivery.I had no idea where Nikki was, and Kimberly was busy with work, so I was here alone. Kimberly wanted to be here, but Reese ordered her not to. She said Kimberly could see the baby when it was born.“Anxious much?”I sighed in relief, turning to face the Nighthowler. “Dalia.” I needed someone to vent to, and she appeared at the right time.“What’s going on?”I pointed at the door behind me. “A friend of mine is in the delivery room.”“I see. The one you were shopping for.”“Yes.”“Anything else on your mind? Where is Nathaniel? Shouldn’t he be here?”“Why should he be?”Dalia shrugged noncommittally, dropping onto a chair placed in the hal

NATHANIELI eyed Benjamin as he walked in through the doors, a triumphant grin on his lips. He had Ryker and three other demons behind him, but Samuel was nowhere to be seen.“I honestly never thought it’d be this easy, but it seems we’ve placed you on this unreachable and unrealistic pedestal that we’ve let trap our minds and abilities.”“All that speech and you can’t even handle shit on your own.”“Yeah? Explain to me why I’ve got over ten of your Enforcers tied down right now. If those aren’t your lap dogs handling their master’s dirty work, then I don’t know what to call that.” He dug his hand into his pocket, pulling out a key, which he tossed at Tiana. “Good work keeping them busy. We’ve got it covered from here.”She dove for the key like her existence depended on it, something akin to relief flashing through her eyes. Her gaze cut over to me, and she offered me a sad smile.“It’s nothing personal,” she mouthed before promptly disappearing.Nothing personal, my ass. If I got the

AYRA“Rise and shine, mate,” I sang, pushing the curtains aside to let the sunlight stream into the room.“Shut up,” Nathaniel groaned, placing his forearm over his eyes to block the unwanted light in the room. “It’s too early in the morning to be this chirpy.”“Says the freak who goes for a run and to the gym every morning. Plus, it’s one in the afternoon.”His eyes snapped open. “No shit?” He frowned, sitting up on the bed. “I never sleep for that long.”“I know.” That showed just how burned out he was. He was usually as early as five in the morning, and he didn’t go to bed until it was late. “You needed the rest.”He slid off the bed, scrubbing his hand down his face. “I should go check on Kai and the rest.”I jumped in front of him, blocking his path. “No, you also need some rest. I already checked on them, and I informed them of your condition.”“What condition? Nothing is wrong with me. I’m fine.”“Mentally?” I asked, raising a knowing brow at him. I knew he blamed himself for t

RYKER"What's your problem, Ry? It's so early in the morning. What do you want to talk about?" Samuel asked, rubbing his eyes as he trudged into the room where kept Draven's unconscious body.He was still dressed in his pajamas, and clearly didn't appreciate being woken up, but I had to make some things clear.Starting with our uncles being alive."What happened to the Brothers of Doom?" I asked, and the change in Samuel was abrupt.His stance straightened while his eyes glared daggers at me. "What the fuck is wrong with you? What lies did Ishmael fill your head with?""That's funny seeing as Ishmael wasn't conscious when Benjamin and I got there." I walked over to Draven. He was strapped to a bed pushed against the wall, and above his bed hung Eris's bloodstones."Why are you asking me this?""Because I never saw their bodies. Raises some questions in the air, don't you think?""Do you think I'd lie about their deaths? For fuck's sake, what type of fucked up person do you think I am?