A Crown Of Shadows And Secrets - Sloane Murphy Page 0,113

Azriel.” He runs a hand through his hair and sighs.

“You like her,” I say to him and I almost burst out laughing when the Demon blushes. He blushes. I didn’t even think that was a thing.

“She’s nice.” He shrugs. “She doesn’t deserve the shit Azriel will put her through.”

“Okay, so say Azriel lets down his guard because you take Remy. How do we get to him?” Levi asks, looking to Caleb then Deacon.

“Deacon here is going to help with that too. We can’t just have Remy captured. He’ll know you’re with her. You’ll all have to go, but with Deacon in charge of the prisoners, he can make sure nothing happens to you. Once you’re on the level, and in the palace, then we can infiltrate, but we’ll need you guys fighting, because if you think he doesn’t have a battalion stationed at the palace you’re insane. He’s the most paranoid Demon I’ve ever met,” Caleb tells us, and I stiffen.

“You can’t put the guys in cages. What if something happens to them? No offence Deacon, but Azriel caught you once trying to help, why would he trust you with us?”

“Because of Fallon,” he says softly. “He knows I’ll do pretty much anything to make sure she isn’t harmed.”

The table falls silent, and I realize Morgan hasn’t weighed in at all. I look at her, and she looks like her thoughts are going a mile a minute.

“It could work, but it’s not without risk,” she says. “We’ll need to strategize, luckily, we have the Archangel of War alongside Conquest. There isn’t much between them that I doubt they can’t figure out.” She smiles, and it’s so cold I almost shudder.

Caleb grins at Levi who nods. “I’m on board to work with the Angel. Not every day you get to work alongside the guy who almost destroyed our world.”

The guys disappear to talk strategy, and Deacon goes with them to work out exactly how to “capture” us, leaving me alone with Morgan again, which Malik seemed uneasy about, but after a dressing down from her, he left with the others.

“Are you okay?” She asks, waving her hand and clearing the table. I freaking wish I had her powers, I can just imagine how much easier cleaning my house would be. Sigh.

“I’m fine, like it’s a lot, and I am beyond pissed off about it all, but I trust you guys when you say it’s fixable. I can’t lose hope now, because if I do, what was the point of any of this?”

“Okay, well then, let’s actually unlock the power inside of you, because with everything you just found out, you’re going to need it,” she says and I nod.

“If it helps us with Azriel, then it’s worth a try,” I agree.

“Perfect, let’s get to it.” I close my eyes and open my shield to her. This time I feel her as she enters, but this time she’s more cautious.

“I’m going to need you to take the lid off of your power slowly, Remy,” she says inside my mind, and as uncomfortable as I feel because of what happened before, I trust her when she says she can handle it this time.

I reach deep inside of myself and pull at the box I buried the seed of power in, but when I lift the lid, I shove Morgan from my mind. I hear her gasp as the power rushes through me. The seed grew, so fucking much, and when her and Caleb were looking, I didn’t know. I didn’t feel.

But opening that box myself?

It feels like my insides are on fire as it tears through me. I hear myself whimper as tears run down my face.

I can’t handle this.

Not yet.

I’m not ready.

So I shove it back inside the box, with every piece of strength I have, and when I open my eyes I’m panting, with sweat running down my back and face.

“Holy shit,” I wheeze.

“You could say that,” Morgan says, still a little breathless herself. “You need to learn to control it, to harness it. You let it overwhelm you. The lid wasn’t lifted slowly, but I appreciate the evacuation,” she rasps. “Now, let’s try again.”

We spend what feels like hours as I try to get a grip on the power inside of me, and I fail, epically.

I groan in frustration. I’m tired and hungry, and we’ve gotten nowhere.

“It takes time, Mara,” Morgan says, trying to reassure me.

“We don’t have time.” I sigh when doors appear to the room and Roman storms