Unmade (Unborn #4) - Amber Lynn Natusch Page 0,10
and the gods had not been there.
“It will suffice for now—until we come up with a plan.”
I walked over to smooth the quilt on the bed before sitting. Oz leaned against the kitchen sink and stared.
And so it began.
“I’m not really sure where I should even begin my interrogation,” Oz said, his gaze unwavering, “so why don’t we start with you telling me why the fuck you’re not at the Hallowed Gates with your mother—where I told you to go.”
“You could start by thanking me instead,” I replied, folding my arms across my chest as he did.
“For what? Endangering yourself?”
“For rescuing you from endless torture and dragging your massive frame out of that mountain,” I said, uncurling my body to stand.
“You mean for going to the last place I’d ever want you to go to do something I would never have wanted you to do?”
I stared at him blankly. “Yes. That.”
“Tell me why you left the Hallowed Gates and I’ll consider it.”
“I left the Hallowed Gates,” I said, taking a step toward him, “because the one whose name we do not speak attacked it in search of me. Is that not reason enough?”
His casual lean turned into a defensive stance in the blink of an eye. “Explain.”
So I did. I relayed the story to him as I had my brothers, including the strange circumstances surrounding my mother’s disappearance.
“Jesus—”
“I do not wish for a lecture from you on the matter,” I said, interrupting what I could only assume would have been a scathing analysis of what I had done. “I fled because I felt it was what you would have told me to do in that situation.” His brow furrowed deeper. “I did not wish to leave without securing her first, but I am not convinced she was there to secure in the first place. And by the time I escaped my warded room, using the Dragon’s fire to melt the glass, it was impossible to see much beyond my face.” Shadows danced in his expression. “What are you thinking?” I asked.
“I’m thinking that I don’t like anything about what you just said. I’m thinking that Deimos’ piece of shit brother should never have been able to reach you there. And I’m thinking that something bad has happened to your mother.”
“Do you think that I abandoned her there, or do you think that perhaps her business was outside the Hallowed Gates and some other fate has befallen her?”
Silence.
“I think we need to find out.”
I let his words sink in, heavy though they were.
“It is my turn to ask questions now,” I said, closing the distance between us. I looked at his bare chest, the wounds healing but some still raw and open. My fingers drifted up to lightly trace the edge of one marring his throat. “Are you all right?” My voice was soft and low and empty as I contemplated what might have happened to him had I never left the Hallowed Gates. He would have either died there or been tortured for an eternity—both options unacceptable.
His hand encircled mine and pulled it away. “I’ll be fine. I just need time to rest.”
I looked up at his face and the small cut splitting his bottom lip. My thumb brushed it gently, willing it away.
“I do not like seeing you this way…”
“Now you know how it feels,” was his reply. My arm fell limp at my side. “Once I’m better, we need to go to your brothers and figure this shit out.”
“We cannot go to the Underworld,” I said, my spine straightening. “Kaine can go there—”
“I’m not talking about the Underworld.”
“But that is where my brothers are.”
Confusion settled into Oz’s expression. “Why are they in the Underworld?”
“They went there to find Casey and figure out a way to go after you.”
A wry smile tugged at his lips. “Awww, that’s sweet. They do love me. I guess we’ll have to let them know you succeeded so we can reconvene in Detroit, provided Pierson can get the wards under control.”
“We cannot go to Detroit, either,” I said. “At least not the Victorian.”
He settled back against the sink, arms once again folded against his healing chest. “Why not?”
I took a breath in preparation for the other story I had to tell. “Because it is no longer.”
“What does that mean, new girl?” His agitation was growing by the minute, an excellent sign that he was indeed healing, even if I did not enjoy the way he stared at me.
“I went there after I left the