of the room, they stop on the youngest council member. If I had to guess, I’d say he was in his late twenties. Honey-blond hair. Green eyes that seem to glow as if there’s a candle lit behind his irises. Crooked grin.
“You,” I whisper in shock, the word tumbling from my lips before I can contain it.
Conversation ceases as the young man turns towards me, his grin widening.
“You,” he says in wonder, cocking his head to the side.
“Peony,” Nana prods warily. She takes a step away from the two sisters until she’s standing between Christian and Polo, both of whom take one of her hands in theirs for comfort. “How do you know Councilman Joshua?”
“He…he…” How can I tell her that I met him five years ago? When he saved me? When he confronted the bullies for me when I was too scared to? How can I say that he was the first man I ever truly had a crush on?
“Peony and I are old friends,” the man—Joshua, apparently—says with a conspiratorial smile and wink.
I’m suddenly pressed against a hard body as arms encircle my waist and someone rests his chin on my shoulder. Cassian.
Elias and Karsyn move to stand on either side of me, muscles flexing, and I hear rather than see Lucas shift so he’s behind me. I half want to look over my shoulder to see if he’s in Uriel’s clothes, but I refrain myself.
“What is the meaning of dragging us out here?” the older councilman barks angrily.
“We’ve come to pay our respects to a fallen witch,” one of the black-haired sisters snaps. Her twin nods once.
“A fallen Blood,” the old man sneers, giving Christian and Polo the side-eyed. I bristle, ready to defend them, when Joshua holds up his hands placatingly.
“It was you who called us, Darlene,” he says, addressing my mother. I stiffen automatically. She would only call them…
“Yes.” Darlene gracefully rises to her feet and stalks around the table, flashing a sultry smile in Joshua’s direction. The handsome councilman continues to smile at her indulgently. “As you guys already know, these four humans were made aware of the existence of witches and warlocks.” She scoffs the word human as if it leaves a sour taste in her mouth.
Elias’s grip tightens on my hand, and Cassian’s chest begins to rumble with something resembling a growl.
“Is that so?” Joshua turns to stare at the guys, expression decidedly curious. I wonder if he recognizes them as my childhood bullies. As soon as the thought appears in my mind, I dismiss it. I doubt he remembers much of that day. I’m honestly shocked he still remembers me.
“I must insist we perform the memory spell.” Darlene lifts her chin snootily into the air. “For the protection of our kind.”
“Let’s get on with it then,” one of the pretty, middle-aged witches says dismissively. All of the men begin to nod, as do most of the women. Only the twins appear hesitant, glancing between me and the guys.
“Maybe we should ask them what they want,” one of the sisters suggests.
“Ruby, don’t be ridiculous,” the old man snarls, and the twin, Ruby, simply steps around him, towards my guys.
She offers us a kind smile, one that reaches her eyes, before taking my hands in both of hers. I can feel Cassian stiffen behind me, hands tightening on my waist as if he’s prepared to throw me over his shoulder and run away. But before he can do that, Ruby begins to speak.
“I would like to apologize on behalf of the council for what happened to you,” she says softly. “I know that you lost Gabriel in the battle, and I offer you my deepest condolences.” I search her pretty blue eyes for any hint of deception, but she appears sincere.
“Thank you,” I whisper hoarsely.
“And I’m glad to see you’re okay,” she adds with another soft smile. She then turns to stare at the Devils. “And as for you four…”
“We want to do the binding ceremony,” Karsyn blurts out. When every eye turns to stare at him, his cheeks tint pink. He clears his throat uncomfortably, squeezing my hand tighter. “We talked about it, and…it’s what we want. If we have a choice.”
I pull myself out of his arms to whirl on them, shock causing my heart to race faster than ever.
“What?” I gasp. “You don’t know what you’re asking—”
“We understand completely,” Elias says gently, with the quiet confidence he always possesses. “Your grandma talked to us about it when you were unconscious.”
“Being