Soon.
Both Ambrose and Balin stepped forward, the anger they’d been holding back slipping through their masks. Fearful they’d do something stupid and die before they found a way out, she moved quickly to place her hands on both their backs.
These two men—these two large, angry men—stopped moving forward for her, their chests heaving, their fists clenched.
Fury and the other demons threw their heads back and laughed.
“Oh, that’s rich. A little female human holding back the fiercest angels of them all and a demon who used to be fierce.” Fury wiped a tear from his eye as he spoke. He nodded toward the other guards. “Send them to the melee cell. Let’s see how well they do with that little strumpet and the other demons who could watch them. They aren’t going to want to stand by and watch the other demons fawn over her and try to take her down for their pleasure.”
She didn’t know what he was talking about, but it couldn’t be good. Before she could do anything, one of the guards gripped her arm in a bruising hold and pulled her toward the door.
Balin glared, the heat and fury in his gaze threatening to erupt and take over. Ambrose merely gave his stony expression, but she could see the calculating look in his gaze.
Maybe he had a plan.
Oh, God, they needed one.
She’d only just found out she could have a future…she didn’t want to lose it.
Not like this.
****
Pyro slammed the door to his house shut and laughed. He bent over at the waist, his ribs hurting from his own laughter, but he couldn’t help it.
Oh, this was working out much better than he’d thought it would.
That little bitch would die. Hopefully, in such pain she’d beg for death long before they gave it to her. The demons she would face rumbled that they wanted her pussy more than her death since it had been so long, and he smiled.
Yes, that would be good.
His son would finally be off his list of shit to deal with. Yes, he should have felt something for the fruit of his very virile loins, but he couldn’t give a fuck. Balin had betrayed him and his own race. Now the little bastard would watch his true half or—if Pyro was correct—part of his triad die.
Then Balin would die.
Slowly.
And, then the cream on his cake. Ambrose. He’d never thought he’d be so lucky as to have the fucking angel actually show up in hell, let alone within the walls of the games.
Fury had said there would be no war if Jamie died, but that was most likely a ruse. The council hadn’t voted yet, and most here were ready for a fight. It had been too long since they’d spilled angel blood.
Much too long.
Ambrose would watch his Jamie and Balin die, and Pyro would rejoice.
After all, Jamie was just a human and held no power.
That is, no power yet. Unless Ambrose and Balin had figured out how to unlock it. Then he hadn’t heard any rumblings on precisely how that would happen. After all, only one of the seven women who had been lightning struck had turned.
Pyro shrugged it off. The three had lost the window of opportunity and would die soon.
This would be a great day. He deserved to celebrate. With a flick of his wrist, he opened the door to one of his special cells and smiled at the small male he’d taken from the panther clan years ago.
“Hello, my sweet. It looks like your time’s up.”
He took his time, smiling as he sliced him up, and when the last bit of blood spilled from the male’s neck, and, with it, his life, Pyro smiled.
Yes, he would win.
He was a demon after all. It was his turn.
Chapter 9
Balin cursed as the fucker behind him pushed him into the small cell. The stench of dead bodies, rot, sweat, and who knew what else filled his nostrils, and he tried to breathe through his mouth. However, the stink coated his tongue and pores, seeping into his lungs. He didn’t think even a thousand showers would get rid of the smell.
He cursed as he watched Jamie shake as she had in the council chambers, her skin turning pale. She’d stood strong as the council had determined her fate. Or rather decreed it. Balin was pretty sure Fury had already known what they were going to do with Jamie long before they sent for her. It made him sick to think that he was also a demon.
If—no, when—they got out of the coliseum, Balin wasn’t sure Jamie would even want to look at another demon, let alone the son of the one who’d done this to her.
Everything seemed to be slipping through his fingers faster than he could find a way to stop it.
Balin quickly searched among the other large, bloody, and dangerous occupants of the cell but couldn’t see Hunter. Fuck. He hadn’t wanted the other man to die, not like that. There was still a chance they’d taken Hunter somewhere else and he still lived, but Balin wasn’t too sure.
He wasn’t sure about anything anymore. Not when he knew his father and the rest of the council wanted not only him but those he was growing to care about dead.
They not only wanted death. They wanted pain and suffering before that happened.
Lots and lots of suffering.
He shouldn’t have been too surprised. They were the demons who took their true nature to the core of what made them evil after all.
The other demons and species in the room slowly moved toward them, and Balin growled, his eyes glowing red as he let the anger that he’d tried to hold back in front of his father course through him. He hadn’t wanted to do anything stupid like try to kill Pyro in front of the council, not that he could have because Lucifer’s curse didn’t allow that.
It had been only the touch of Jamie’s small, fragile hand on his back that stopped him and had stopped Ambrose. It should have surprised him that someone as small as her could do that, but it didn’t. She was to be his mate, something he’d desired more than anything his whole life.
He just had to find a way to make it out of hell alive, with her and Ambrose, and hopefully Hunter.
Easier said than done.
The other demons crowded around, their eyes various reds, blacks, and darks. Each had a different set of horns showing what caste they came from, but he didn’t care. They were all in the games for a reason. Either they were truly criminal and deserved it, or they had lost in some form of battle and their vanquishers had sold them.
They were not his friends.
No, considering the way they looked at Jamie as if she were a delectable treat they wanted to taste then eat, he knew he’d have to kill all the bastards.
A wave of exhaustion slapped at him, and he ignored it. He knew he was dying. It wasn’t as if it was a surprise. It still pissed him off to no end that he wasn’t strong enough to protect Jamie.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Ambrose shift closer, so Jamie stood behind the angel and himself. The guards had taken all of Balin’s weapons, but they’d been stupid to not realize Ambrose would have more. The angel—who looked damn good, by the way—had his own cache of weapons. Ambrose had even more weapons than most due to his love for his vast collection.
This could work out.
It had to.
“Looks like fresh meat,” one of the other demons growled.
Balin rolled his eyes. “Really? That’s the best you can do? The entire lot of you are supposed to be the first out there, or you wouldn’t be in here ready to tear us limb from limb. You can only come up with ‘looks like fresh meat’? I’m disappointed.”
He thought he heard a snort come from Ambrose, but he wasn’t sure. The angel didn’t seem to smile or laugh, except for that one time that had surprised even Jamie.
Balin would have to change that.
Hades, now he was actually thinking about his future with Ambrose and Jamie as a happy triad. Could that actually become a reality? He hadn’t planned on one mate, let alone two.
Now, knowing the connection he felt between them watching the way Jamie weakened as the consequences of the lightning
attacked her body with more vigor, he knew it was true.
He’d met his mates.
Plural.
He wasn’t about to let them out of his sight. He couldn’t lose them, not now, not when he’d just met them. Great, now he sounded like a whiny ass, but there was no way he was going down without a fight.
Fuck that.
“I would stand back,” Ambrose stated, his voice low, but calm. “You forget that I’m the one with access to weapons, and no amount of brute strength can take that away from me. We mean you no harm, but don’t come near us, or I’ll kill you. Slowly.” The angel did grin at that, but it wasn’t a happy one. No, this one sent icy shivers down Balin’s back, and he for one was happy the warrior was on his side.
Jamie touched Balin’s back, and he wanted to melt at the feel of her hand through his shirt. She was his salvation, but she was also so much more. At least, she had the potential to be so much more.
The other captives gave Ambrose long looks filled with both fear and arrogance, but they backed away. Balin looked around and found a small corner with a bench. Without taking his eyes off the others, he led Jamie and Ambrose to a place where they would at least have a semblance of privacy.
He knew the others wouldn’t kill Jamie. At least, the other captives had probably been told not to do that. Her death was to be a celebration in public, and killing her in a dank cell wouldn’t accomplish anything. The bastards could hurt her…in so many ways.
No, there was no fucking way he’d allow that to happen. He looked at Ambrose and saw the same determination on the man’s face.
Good. He wasn’t alone in his fight.
He didn’t have to be alone again.
That little bit of hope he’d found when he saw Jamie in his father’s dungeon bloomed just that much more.
He could live.
Maybe…just maybe…be happy.
They just had to get the hell out of hell.
Jamie’s paleness worried him, so he made her sit down on the bench, careful not to think about what could be on it. He really, really didn’t want to know.
They were as private as they were going to get, even if he could feel the other demon’s gazes on them. Meaning they had to actually talk about something.
Hades, it was like high school all over again. At least high school in the human realm, since that didn’t consist of torture, war, and battles—well, not as much anyway.
He’d spent his whole life trying to find a way to find a mate, and now that he found himself in the presence of two, he had no fucking clue what to do.
Jamie looked up at him with wide eyes and tried to smile. “Are you always so sarcastic when people are trying to kill you?”
Well then. He hadn’t thought that was going to be the first topic of their decision, but he’d go with it. Then they’d talk about the whole sex-to-live thing.
Hades, they needed more choices.
Like sex-for-fun, for-love, or for-anything-but-duty.
Balin gave a small laugh then sat right beside her on the bench, unable to resist the feel of her against him.
“If I didn’t shoot my mouth off, I wouldn’t be me. I like inserting a bit of humor because it throws the other guys off.”
Ambrose raised a brow. “I don’t have that problem.”
Jamie shook her head, holding back a wobbly smile. Hades, she couldn’t start crying now. She’d been doing so well.
“Ambrose, dear, one look at that stoic expression on your face and they run away,” she teased.
“Did you just call me ugly?” Ambrose asked, his mouth twitching.
Balin threw his head back and laughed then turned to glare at the other demons to make sure they left them alone. Tedious business, dealing with people who wanted to kill and maim.
Jamie looked like she’d swallowed something nasty and shook her head. “Oh, God, I didn’t mean it that way. You know you’re hot beyond reason.” She blushed beneath the pale pallor, and Balin took her hand.
Ambrose knelt in front of her but kept his hand on his sword. Balin could have really used a dagger right then, but it didn’t seem like the best time to mention it.
Ambrose didn’t even look at him. He just handed him the butt of a dagger.
Well then, apparently, he hadn’t hidden his interest in weaponry—or in the way the man moved—very well.
“Jamie, breathe,” Ambrose whispered, his voice rough.
Balin had to swallow hard at the man’s words. He’d been attracted to men in the past but had never gone beyond a few touches here and there. Now it seemed fate had decided he needed both a man and a woman to make him whole.
He didn’t know entirely how he felt about that. Ambrose was attractive—okay, that was a mild word for the strength and masculinity the man radiated. With his strong cheekbones, his firm jaw, and even firmer body, he knew the man possessed more power in his left pinkie than some demons did in their whole bodies once they’d gorged themselves on souls.
“I am breathing,” she complained. “I think that’s the problem.”
Balin grimaced. “I swear not all demons smell like them.” He gestured to the angry demons behind him and tried to smile.
“I know that. I mean you smell really good.” She blushed again, and Balin let his smile come out in full.
“See? I like that you noticed. I think we’re on the right track here. Also for telling Ambrose he’s handsome, which, by the way, you are.” He said the latter to Ambrose, who merely lifted a brow. For some reason, that stoic attitude was hot on the angel. They’d have to do something about that, sooner rather than later, considering they were running out of time before Jamie had to fight. Another reason they needed to actually talk and get to know one another.
“I can’t fight,” she whispered. “I don’t have any training….or powers.”
She glanced at Ambrose, and he brushed a lock of hair behind her ear. Again, she seemed surprised at this action. Balin knew that Ambrose had left for a fucking year to deal with angel crap so he couldn’t be with his true half. A whole year without seeing one another and no touching? The other man better have a better excuse than that.
“Plus,” she continued, “I’m getting weaker by the moment.” She looked between them both. “I think it’s because of the whole needing-to-bond thing.” She blushed again but didn’t look either man in the eye. “I know Lily had attacks when her true nature was trying to get out. With me, though, it’s always been like I’ve been getting over the flu or something.”
Ambrose closed his eyes, and Balin watched as the older man framed her face then leaned in, letting his lips slightly rest on hers. He didn’t feel jealous at the contact. No, rather, he felt as though it was right, like these two were meant to be together as much as they were meant to be with him.
He’d never met another triad, but Hades, he wanted this to work out.
Fate couldn’t be as cruel now as it had been his whole life.
He needed this. Needed them.
“You have no idea how sorry I am that I left you alone for so long, Jamie,” Ambrose whispered, his voice hoarse. “I left because I was a coward but stayed because the council forced me. You know I didn’t even make it to Lily and Shade’s wedding.”
Tears slid down Jamie’s cheeks, and Balin wanted to punch him for making her cry, but he knew they needed to get this out. Then they could find a way to keep themselves alive. With only so few moments together, they needed to use them as well as they could.
“I know,” she said as she wiped her tears away. “I know you didn’t want to be with me. I guess it took me being taken away for you to notice me.”
Ambrose shook his head, and Balin gripped her hand. “No, that wasn’t it. I’ve always noticed you, Jamie. I lost everything before, and I was afraid to take that chance again. I thought if I stayed away, it wouldn’t hurt you.”
“You know it did,” she countered.
Ambrose closed his eyes, and Balin held back the urge to comfort the man. H
e couldn’t show weakness in front of the other demons. They were far enough away that they couldn’t hear the conversation, but they could still see them.
“I didn’t think I could stand to lose what I had again, so I ran away,” Ambrose said.
“What are you talking about?” Balin asked. Curiosity about the man who could be his mate overrode the decency to step back and let Ambrose talk only to Jamie. After all, if they were going to be a triad, they better learn how to work as three, not just two.
Ambrose took a deep breath then met Balin’s gaze. “I’m over five thousand years old, Balin. I’ve spent countless years fighting for my people—for their safety, for their freedom. In those years, I also found a woman I thought I could spend my life with.”
He met Jamie’s gaze, and Balin watched as he again framed her face. “She wasn’t my true half, my mate, my everything,” he continued. “She was someone I loved and cared about, deeply. We always knew there could be others out there for us. That didn’t stop us from getting married, from watching my best friend and her brother fall in love. That didn’t stop us from having our two children, Nathan and Laura. Ilianya was pregnant with our third when the wars came to our front door.”
Ambrose closed his eyes, and Balin watched as a shudder ripped over him. Balin’s mouth dried, and there was nothing he could do but listen. Hades, this man, this warrior, had had a life; he’d known that. He also saw the pain in the other man’s eyes. There was no coming back from that whole.
“When they died…” Ambrose’s voice broke, but he continued. “I thought I’d lost everything. I didn’t want to go through that again. I’ll be dammed if I lose you the way I lost them. I can’t go through that again, and I won’t have you suffer for my past. Pyro took you to punish me, and I won’t let him have you.”
Balin blinked at the promise in his tone but nodded. “And I’ll be dammed if either of you suffer because my father can’t give up on me. I may be of his blood, but I’m through being his pawn.”
“Won’t we all just be pawns if we fight like they want us to?” Jamie asked. “Or at least try to fight.” The tears came again, and she shook her head. “Damn it, I don’t want to cry. I hate crying, but it’s all too much. I wanted my happy ending with flowers and a man to sweep me off my feet. Is that too much to ask?”
Her Warriors' Three Wishes (Dante's Circle) Page 10
