“Leave her alone, Tanit,” said Adonis.
Kur waved at the carnage all over the floor. “Doesn’t look like she’s afraid of a bit of blood. We could have used her at the Battle of Plataea. She could have fended off half the Greeks where they’d trapped us.”
Ignoring them, I crossed over the blood-slicked floor to the doorway, my entire body shaking. “Bath time for Ruby.”
“Don’t take too long,” Kur cautioned. “We need to leave here as soon as we can in case that surviving angel manages to pass along a message.”
Ten minutes ago, when I’d been feral, a strange sort of calm had quieted my mind. But now, dark memories roiled just below the surface, and a lick of dread danced up my spine.
The Heavenly Host might be coming for me. As archangels, they wouldn’t be quite so easy to kill—at least, not without the Stones of Zahar.
I had no idea what might happen now, only that there was no going back.
Chapter 21
In Adonis’s bathtub, I scrubbed a bar of soap over my skin. It smelled faintly of anemones, and formed a pink foam over my forearms. It felt good to clean the stench of death off myself.
We had two ticking time bombs on our hands now—Johnny, and the injured angel who could be limping his way back to the celestial realm.
In the bath, some of the battle fury began to seep out of my body, and the shaking in my legs went still. But when I closed my eyes, my mind flashed with images of the fight—the angelic sword slicing into flesh, through bones. When I’d fought the angels, I’d wanted more death, more blood. I’d wanted to hear the crush of bones under my sword’s steel, to feel the hot rush of their blood in my mouth.
Adonis seemed strangely fascinated by the fae, but he also thought we were savage beasts, driven by the worst, basest impulses. That we worshipped a lack of control. After he’d seen me dripping with angelic blood and gore, I doubt his opinion had changed on that front.
Reddened suds dripped off my arm. Maybe the Old Gods were sparking something in me—a complete rebellion at the presence of angels on earth. They didn’t belong here—not the horsemen, nor the angels. The earth belonged to the gods of nature, not these nightmarish, heavenly creatures.
I rinsed off the pink, bloody foam in the bathwater. My jaw clenched as a dim memory flickered in my mind—sharp, bestial teeth ripping into flesh. As I ran the soap over my legs, my mind whirled with images of blood that turned to something darker—blood dripping down a pale arm, streaming over the pavement. Dragons, maybe. I was remembering a dragon attack.
No wonder Drakon unnerved me.
I clamped down hard on the unwelcome memory, gripping the soap so hard my fingernails dug into it.
This was no time to lose myself in haunting memories—I might have an angelic horde coming for me. I rose from the warm bathwater, letting the suds drip off my skin. As I unplugged the drain, goose bumps rose over my body.
The shock of the cold castle air pulled me from my dark thoughts, and I stepped from the bath. I grabbed a towel and dried myself off.
In the stone alcove, I had a fresh set of clothes laid out, courtesy of Tanit—a wool dress that looked like it would fall just below my ass, and wool stockings that would reach up to mid-thigh. And apart from the boots, that was it. I’d asked for something warm, and that was what she’d brought me. At least she’d found something made of thick material.
Freshly dried, and smelling of anemones, I pulled on the woolen stockings, the fabric rough against my bare skin. The dark dress hugged my body, sleeves reaching down to my wrists. I pulled on the thigh-high boots, then slipped my sheathed knife into one of them—the leather loops making a perfect holster. I’d reapplied the Devil’s Bane poison to its blade.
My heels clacked over the floor as I crossed into Adonis’s room.
Tanit and Kur sat on the edge of the bed.
Tanit leaned back. “Oh, the feral one is here. Ruby, did you manage to civilize yourself in there with a bit of soap?”
Adonis paced the stony floor. His sword—Ninkasi—hung over his back, ready for battle. His icy gaze met mine. “Tell us about the angel who got away. How bad were his injuries?”
I closed my eyes, shuddering as I remembered the flashes of savagery from our battle. “I think I cut into both of his arms, but I didn’t take them off completely. I don’t think he can use them. I sliced into one of his wings. He’d have a damn hard time flying, and if he were human, he’d bleed out. I’m not sure how mortal angels heal.”
Adonis stroked his chin. “Drakon and I followed his trail of blood while you were bathing. It ends just at the edge of the cliff face. Either he plunged to his death in the ocean—or he managed to fly off to report what he saw.”
Tanit’s eyes burned into me. “He was half dead, his arms hanging off, wings severed, and you let him get away? Why?”
My jaw tightened. “It was four against one. And I started with a knife against their swords. I think I managed fairly well, to be honest.”
Tanit rose from the bed, her predatory eyes locked on me. “I don’t think the numbers were the problem, though, were they? Did you feel mercy for that angel fucker?” She laced the word mercy with disdain.
I shook my head. “No. Not mercy.”
Adonis’s midnight wings spread out wider as he assumed more command over the room. “This is hardly the time to nitpick a battle.”
Tanit’s dark eyes shone. “We’re going all the way to France to search for the Stones of Zahar, just to hand them over to someone who can’t handle the bloodshed.”
Adonis raised his hand to silence her. “That’s enough.”
I sucked in a deep breath. “I can handle the bloodshed. I just go a little crazy when my fae side takes over, and it’s hard to think clearly.”
“I thoroughly approve of your crazy side,” said Kur in his deep, rumbling voice.
Tanit wasn’t letting this go. “It’s not the craziness that I object to.” She took another step closer. “With the Stones of Zahar, you’ll be wielding an overwhelming power. You’ll need to be able to control it, which means you can’t be afraid of it. You can’t be afraid of killing people.”
“She’ll be fine,” said Adonis sharply. He handed me a leather bag, stuffed with Tanit’s clothing. “Or at least, she’s our best option.”
“A ringing endorsement. Is someone going to tell me how we can get to this castle?”
“We’ll be flying,” said Tanit. “Only, you don’t have wings like we all do, so Kur will have to carry you.”
Adonis shot them an irritated glare. “I’ll carry her.”
“With that shattered wing of yours?” Tanit protested.
Adonis ran his fingertips over his feathers. “It’s nearly healed.”
“Don’t worry,” said Kur. “If he drops you, I’ll do my best to catch you.”