my breath gets stuck in my chest, because he looks murderous. I gotta hand it to Nefta though, she doesn’t back away or back down. She stands her ground as he looms over her, and my skin prickles with the angry power that seems to waft around him, suckin’ the light right out of the room.
“Where’s the last one, Nefta?” he asks in a lethal tone.
Delta is watchin’ with bated breath, her eyes as wide as mine.
Nefta blinks up at him, and for a split second, I think I see her hand shake, but then she just curls it into a fist, so I can’t be sure. She swallows hard. “I don’t know.”
I’m not sure how it’s possible, but Taz’s anger spikes up even more, and now there’s no doubt that he’s lettin’ off some kind of demon mojo, because a shadow gathers around him, coilin’ with sinister fury.
Every single hair on the back of my neck stands up at attention, and my hand shoots out to grip Alder’s arm where he’s standin’ next to me, while Flint’s arm wraps around my waist like he’s prepared to drag me out of the room at the first sign of trouble.
“Triplets?” Delta snaps, her furious gaze nearly as threatenin’ as Taz’s. “How could you not fucking tell me that I had not just one sibling, but two?”
“And how the fuck could you lose one?” Taz snarls.
Nefta finally snaps out of her statue-still formation and starts pacin’ around, revealin’ her own anxiousness. “I know,” she hisses. “I know the implications of this, okay? I’ve always been able to keep track of Delta and Medley. I checked in on them every few years to make sure I knew where they were and that demons and angels hadn’t bothered them—made sure that their wards were holding up. But Sable...I lost track of her.”
Delta and I both suck in a breath at the same time.
“Sable,” Delta says under her breath, like she’s testin’ out the sound of our other sister’s name.
“This is unfuckingbelievable,” Taz growls, runnin’ a hand through his blond locks like he’s tempted to yank out every damn strand. “So you’re telling us that you have no clue where our third daughter is?”
“It’s not like I haven’t looked,” Nefta snaps.
“Where’d you leave her?” Delta asks.
“Somewhere in New York. I thought the family was good. Their souls were on the lighter spectrum. But when I went back a few years later to check in, I found out that they’d given her up right after her third birthday.”
The tension in the room is so thick, Mama could carve it up and serve it for supper. Unfortunately, that thought makes nausea rise up in my throat. My mouth waters with the telltale sign that if I don’t calm the hell down, I’m gonna upchuck all over their expensive hardwood floorin’ and Afghan rug.
“I...I need to go.”
Everyone looks over at me at once, and I squirm, backin’ up and slippin’ away from Flint and Alder. Their eyes fill with concern. “You okay, Peaches? You’re looking a little green, and I don’t mean your hair.”
I shake my head and take another step back, my fingers automatically comin’ up to touch the stones on my necklace as a form of comfort. The last thing I want is to be sick in front of everyone. “I just need a minute.”
Flint moves to come with me, but I hold up my hands, and he immediately stops. I don’t miss the hurt that crosses over his face. “I’m sorry,” I say, my breaths comin’ in quicker than before. “I just feel like I wanna puke, and I need a moment to think.”
“She needs a pause,” Delta says decisively, comin’ forward.
I nod my head because, yep, a pause on life is exactly what I need right now. I need everythin’ to slow down so I can catch the hell up.
“I got this,” she tells my demons, pattin’ Alder on the shoulder. “You guys stay here and come up with a plan for Morax. I’ll take Medley to my house. We can talk there without all the mayhem.”
Flint and Alder shake their heads. “No way. It’s not safe,” Alder says.
“She needs to stay with us,” Flint adds.
“She’ll be safe,” Rafferty cuts in.
“Yeah, we’ve warded Delta’s house up the ass,” Echo says.
“Yep,” Delta confirms. “And I know how to shift places now, so if anything happens, we’ll be back in a wink. Besides, look at us,” she says, comin’ to stand next to me. “We both