hurried over, searching their pale faces. “You know,” I said.
They turned to me, shocked, their gazes going from my clothing to Hades.
Carrow, her wild golden hair messy from dragging her hands through it, gave me a quick hug. “I’m glad you’re back.” She pulled away and turned toward Hades, poking a finger into his chest. “Is this your fault?”
He frowned briefly, then said, “In a distant way, I’m sure it is. Not directly though, no.”
She glared at him and stepped back, sizing him up. He absolutely towered over her, but she didn't cower. Carrow was our guild leader, and she was made of steel.
Behind her stood the Devil of Darkvale, Guild City’s resident mob boss and the most powerful vampire in town. Hell, the most powerful supernatural in town, until Hades showed up. He was dressed impeccably as usual, though he’d given up his three-piece suit for simple, sturdy black clothes that I knew meant he planned to help Carrow find our missing friends. He studied Hades, his expression calm and cold. I’d always called him the Ice Man. He said nothing as he stared. Though Hades’ form had been flickering earlier, he was solid now. Hopefully, it stayed that way.
“You’re the one who abducted our Seraphia,” Quinn said. The shifter crossed his big arms over his chest and glared at Hades. “You’re not welcome here.”
“On earth or in this establishment?” Hades looked around, slight curiosity in his gaze. He’d probably never seen a proper pub.
“Either,” Quinn said.
Hades merely nodded, as if this were expected, and met my gaze. “Shall we go?”
“Where to?” Carrow demanded. “Do you know where they are?”
My fist clenched. “I have an idea.”
21
Seraphia
It was obvious that Hades and my friends had no idea how to talk to each other. Fortunately, no one tried. We were all to focused on the goal at hand.
“Where are we going?” Carrow demanded as Quinn locked up the Haunted Hound.
“To Cyprus.”
“Where you were born?”
I nodded. “This all has to do with me.” A shiver of guilt ran through me. “It’s my fault, really.”
“It’s not.” She squeezed my arm. “Now, tell me what to expect.”
“I have no idea.” I looked at Hades. “Do you?”
He shook his head. “No more than you do.”
Shit. I looked at Carrow, Quinn, and the Devil. “We’re going to a field. I think. Somehow, I’m supposed to spread the darkness of the underworld to earth. At least, that’s what the kidnapper wants me to do.”
“I assume that’s not actually on your agenda?” Carrow asked.
“No.” I hiked a thumb at Hades. “It’s on his, though.”
Hades just stared at them. He really wasn’t the best with people. Didn’t care what they thought, and it showed. It had never been so obvious that he was on a godly plane and everyone else on a mortal one.
“We won’t be letting that happen,” the Devil said. They were the only words he spoke, and his tone was so cold that it could give Antarctica a run for its money.
Hades just stared at him but said nothing. He didn’t need to prove anything to strangers. Unfortunately, the silence of his utter confidence was unnerving.
“We’re going to go and save them,” I said. “From what, exactly, I do not know.”
“There was a report of a dark shadow, and that was it,” Carrow said.
I nodded. “That tracks, given what I’ve seen.”
“Well, you deal with it, and we’ll save them,” Carrow said. “Just let us know if you need any other backup.”
“Deal.” I handed her a transport charm. “We’ll go to the same beach we went to last time, all right? It’s near where I think they’re being held.”
She took the charm and nodded. “I know where it is.”
It hadn’t been more than a couple months since we’d gone to Cyprus to sort out a problem she’d had. Fortunately, she knew enough about the location to get herself there, which would make things quicker.
Hades looked down at me. “Now?”
I nodded, struck anew by how out of place he was here.
He gripped my hand, and I didn’t fight it, just held on tight. It was all so screwed up between us—our goals, our feelings, all of it. But still, his touch was comforting.
I reached into my pocket and withdrew the transport charm, then threw it to the ground. It exploded upward in a poof of glittering silver smoke. A few yards away, Carrow threw hers to the ground as well.
Hades and I stepped into our portal. Carrow entered hers with Quinn and the Devil of Darkvale. The ether