“Good,” said Adonis. “All your iron toys will come in handy.”
Aereus smiled. “Yes. We will make them submit. No one must rebel against the mission of the horsemen. You and I both know that. The heavenly horde rule as archangels in the heavens, while we may rule as archangels on the earth.”
Adonis lifted his glass. “As it was meant to be.”
Tanit leaned in to Adonis, then stroked her hand up his thigh. “You two are both so strong.”
I narrowed my eyes. She didn’t need to go quite that far with her hands to prove that she was his lover—Aereus had already bought that story.
Not that I cared.
I glanced at Kur, giving him a quick nod. Time to get this show on the road, so Adonis could make his discreet exit.
Chapter 28
Kur spread out his arms, flexing his muscles within his leather clothing. “I’ve heard you’re known for your wrestling ability, Aereus... Is it true?”
Adonis lifted his wineglass, staring at the wine as he sloshed it in the chalice. “You know, I do think Aereus may have spread those rumors himself.”
Gods below. He just couldn’t help himself, could he?
Aereus gripped the edge of the table, face reddening. “Just as you spread the rumors about your legendary seduction abilities?”
The easy smile never left Adonis’s features. “Is that what you tell yourself?”
Aereus’s snarl told me he didn’t believe his own claims. His anger curled off him, rippling over my skin. Unconsciously, I’d started gripping my knife, ready to plunge it into something. No one else seemed quite as affected by Aereus’s magic as I was. But then again, none of them were feral.
The horseman of war’s face had become dead serious, flecks of red burning in his eyes.
Kur cleared his throat. “Wrestling. How about it?”
Aereus turned to him. “No one has ever beaten me in a wrestling match.”
Kur cracked his knuckles. “Really? No one?”
“No one.” Aereus’s tone brooked no argument. “Do you doubt me?”
Kur leaned back in his chair. “It’s just that I’ve never lost a wrestling match, either. And I’ve wrestled some of the high lords of the shadow kingdom.”
Aereus’s lip curled in a snarl. “But you’ve never wrestled the horseman of war, have you.” His chair scraped across the floor as he rose, and he marched into the center of the hall. “It’s not often that I have a formidable challenger, though a shadow demon could never win against an angel such as myself. These two shadow demonesses have probably never witnessed prowess such as mine. We’ll wrestle now. Let’s find out how long you can last.”
Kur rose from his chair. “Do think now is the best time for this?”
“Right now.” Aereus held out his arms to either side. “Servants!” he barked.
Instantly, two male servants hurried over to him, pulling off his brocade coat. The swiftness with which they executed this maneuver suggested that this was something Aereus did often.
Kur strode into the center of the floor and held out his own arms. Another set of servants pulled his coat from him. Then, the angel and the demon pulled off their shirts, tossing them on the ground.
Kur’s body rippled with muscles, lines of green scales glinting in the torchlight. Still, Aereus had at least a foot on him. The horseman’s skin was a deep gold, his muscles thick as oak trunks.
In unison, they paced to opposite ends of the hall, then pivoted to face each other.
Tension sparked in the air as they glared at each other, and Aereus’s magic hummed across the room. The hot, arid feel of his magic sparked an ancient wrath that burned within my ribs, stoking embers of rage. I gripped the chair, restraining myself from running into the wrestling match to try my own mettle. They’d crush me—I knew that. But the stupid part of me wanted to fight.
In fact, I was beginning to think that angels’ magic gave me a bit of a death wish.
“You know the rules, don’t you, Kur?” asked the angel. “When I throw you to the ground, I will be declared the winner.”
“Likewise.” Kur’s grin was cocky. “If I throw you to the ground, I win. I’m ready for it.”
In the next moment, they ran for each other, feet pounding over the stone floor. They collapsed into each other with the force of hurricane winds, arms grasping for each other’s shoulders.
As they began to grapple with each other, eyes blazing with aggressive intent, violent impulses gripped my body. Aereus’s power was overwhelming me. My gaze darted to one of the human servants who stood pressed against the wall. My muscles tensed, thighs clenching, lip curling in a snarl. It would be so easy to break her neck...
Adonis brushed his fingertips over my knee, soothing some of the rage out of my system. I hadn’t even noticed as he’d slipped next to me. He really could move discreetly within the shadows. In the depths of my mind, his silky presence brushed against my thoughts, and his magic swept over my body like a balm. My muscles began to relax, thighs unclenching.
I nodded at him, letting him know it was okay for him to go now while Aereus was completely distracted.
As I looked at him, he seemed to fade away before my eyes, shadows cloaking him. I felt his presence move from me—disappear, really. Only someone who’d already been paying attention—like me—would notice the departure at all.
Kur slammed Aereus into a wall, and the entire building trembled. The horseman of war roared like an injured beast.
I tightened my fingers on the chair. Please tell me Kur understands that he has to let the angel win this.
They threw each other into the walls, cracking stone. Clanking metal filled the air. I glanced at the ceiling, where the weapons jostled violently in their chains, banging together.
I nudged Tanit, then pointed at the ceiling. “I think we need to move.”
“Good point.” She reacted swiftly, and in the next moment, she’d taken shelter in a doorframe.
In another second, I was by her side, crammed into the arched doorway.
The angel and the demon gripped each other’s shoulders, grunting and straining, fingers digging into flesh. Groaning, Kur pulled Aereus’s neck down into a headlock, trying to dominate him.
I leaned into Tanit, whispering, “Kur knows he needs to lose, right?”
Tanit cocked her head. “Demons can be irrational when it comes to domination.”
“Wonderful,” I muttered. Maybe a bit of a reminder was in order.
“Aereus seems to be winning!” I shouted, despite all evidence to the contrary. “How thrilling to see an angel dominate a demon!” I punctuated each word carefully.
The interjection actually seemed to work, because in the next moment, Kur released his grip around the angel’s neck. Then, Aereus was able to grip the shadow demon by the shoulders.
With a wild roar, Aereus threw Kur onto the ground. The crack of demon bone against stone echoed through the hall.