to jump out of his way before he bowls her over.
Morax takes advantage of her split-second unsteady stance. He moves in, but instead of him trying to attack her, grabs her by the face and presses his lips to hers.
She’s so stunned for a moment that she doesn’t move, which I’m sure is exactly what he was counting on. As soon as she gets her wits about her, she brings up her sword with fire in her eyes, but the fucker dodges her with a graceful spin that I’m surprised he’s capable of.
Nefta is fit to be tied as she spits at the ground, like his kiss offended and disgusted her. “You’ll pay for that,” she declares, vengeance dripping from her tone.
“Come now, Nefta. You always liked playing Seven Minutes in Hell with me when we were younger,” he says with a wicked grin, his teeth flashing in the lightening sky.
“AHH!” She warrior cries toward him, but it seems he was expecting her to lash out in anger, because he’s ready for it. With a precise, aimed kick at her middle, he sends her shooting back, where she lands against a tree, the force of it cracking the trunk on impact. She crumples to the ground and doesn’t get back up.
Taz tries to rush him, but once again Morax deflects the sword and renews his defense and attack. Without another moment of hesitation, I skirt around the edges of their mock-fighting ring, careful to keep my steps even and quiet. I’m going to scythe this bastard, once and for all.
“We’ve got your back,” Crux says quietly as he and Echo follow behind me.
The moment Morax’s back is turned, I close the distance.
Let’s try this again!
I lift my scythe and swing like it’s a Louisville Slugger. Morax spins, catching the wood in his grip, and my momentum is suddenly cut off as he presses his own blade against my chest, aimed right at my heart. I freeze as do the guys behind me...but so does Morax.
Because Taz is holding a blade to his throat.
“Drop it,” Taz snarls, and to my surprise, Morax actually does.
The blade falls to the ground with a thud, and Echo immediately kicks it away, out of reach.
The snakes hiss and snap at Taz, but one growl from Morax and they instantly calm. Morax clearly doesn’t want them provoking Taz into slicing his head off his neck.
“Hands on your head and drop to your knees,” Taz orders.
The Ophidian does that too, though he has a manic grin on his face that makes me uneasy. “Not the first time you’ve said that, huh, Pride?” he mocks.
Luckily, Taz doesn’t rise to the bait, and he’s careful to keep his blade pressed tightly against Morax’s throat. “Tell me why you want Delta.”
Freaky white eyes snap up to me from the ground. “Because of her bloodline, of course.”
Taz nods. “Because she’s half Abdicated Pride and half Angelic Legion?”
The Ophidian lets out a laugh that sounds more like a hiss. “You don’t know, do you?” He looks to me next, and when he sees the confusion on my face, it makes more of that unnerving laugh fall from his lips. “Oh, this is even better.”
Taz doesn’t enjoy being out of the loop, and I have to admit, I’m with him on this one. He leans down, wrenching Morax’s head back with a vicious yank of his snakes, making the creatures hiss and shriek. “Tell me!” he demands, the blade cutting into his skin and sending a dark trickle of blood down his throat.
“Yes, she’s half Heaven, half Hell,” Morax tells him, his voice slightly strained from the angle Taz is holding him. “But she’s so much more than that.”
Iceman and Jerif slip in beside me, just in time for me to send my guys an uneasy look.
Morax settles his eyes on me again. “Funny how your mother hasn’t told you. But then, she always did like to keep family secrets.”
I don’t know what to make of that, and it’s obvious that Taz doesn’t either.
“What were you going to do with Delta?” he asks again.
“Use her, of course,” Morax says with a slight lift of his shoulder. “Heaven, Hell, the Mortal Realm...it’s all wrong. Untapped. Wasted. I’m going to change that. My new realm is ready to take over, and she’s going to help me do it. You all will be kneeling to me very, very soon. Now, hold still.”
Morax’s voice has that eerie edge to it again, and in the next breath, I