“What’s up?” Keisha asked the next morning during breakfast. She sat across the table from me and sipped from her coffee as if nothing was wrong with the world. “You look tired. Didn’t sleep well?”

“I’m not tired,” I said a little too harshly. I busied myself by stuffing my face with a forkful of boiled eggs.

What could I tell her? That I had barely slept all night because I had another nightmare with my family dying around me? That I woke up and had a conversation with Victor in the middle of the night? She didn’t know the whole story of what happened a few months ago, and I wasn’t in the mood to fill in the blanks for her.

“… if we have time,” Keisha’s voice cut through my thoughts. She frowned at me. “Did you hear what I said?”

“Yeah, something about training.”

“Sorta. I was saying training will have to wait because Lady Ceris is back, and we have a meeting. Where is your head?”

I shrugged. “When did she get back?”

“About an hour ago. She called the meeting as soon as she stepped foot in the bunker.”

Twenty minutes later, we huddled in a conference room. I sat in a chair near the middle of the oval table. Keisha sat at my right side; Morgan sat to my left.

Victor entered the room and our eyes met. He nodded at me then at the others.

“My Lord,” Keisha and Morgan said together.

Sometimes I wondered if I should be calling them Lords and Lady too, but I always decided against it. It felt awkward treating them that way. Almost as awkward as I felt looking at Victor right now, as if we had done something wrong, like sneaked out in the middle of the night to make out.

Victor took a chair at one of the heads of the table as Micah stepped into the room.

“Morning,” he said.

“Good morning, my Lord,” Keisha said at the same time Morgan said, “Morning, my Lord.”

I didn’t say anything as his eyes breezed past me. His expression was bothered, as if he had gotten out of bed too early.

He offered me one of his smug grins, his black eyes shining with mischief. My cheeks warmed, and my heart skipped a bit. I looked down at my hands, embarrassed by the way my body reacted to a simple look.

Keisha nudged her elbow on my arm. I glanced at her, and she raised an eyebrow at me. What? She couldn’t possibly have noticed that. She stole a quick peek at Micah then stared pointedly at me.

Oh, God.

Shaking my head, I sunk into my chair.

Micah took the chair at the other end of the oval table.

Edgy silence occupied the room the entire two minutes it took Ceris to burst through the doors. Her white dress and long hair trailed behind her, making her look every inch the goddess she was, but what intrigued me was her expression. Tense and worried.

As if we weren’t even there, she paced.

Three minutes passed before Micah leaned back in the chair and rested his heels on the edge of the table. “Ceris, are you going to tell us what’s up, or do you prefer to just leave a mark on the floor?”

Sighing, she stopped and looked at him. “I … I’ve never seen anything like it. Imha and Omi declared full war. They attacked Chicago, Los Angeles, London, Paris, Rome, Dubai, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Sydney, and any other major city you can think of.”

“But …” I couldn’t process it. “That’s millions of people.”

“Yes.” She avoided my gaze. “All dead.”

“By the Everlast,” Morgan whispered.

“And they aren’t hiding anymore,” Ceris continued. “People have seen them. News shows, where they still have one, recorded them. Humans have seen them, with their powers and all. Humans are going crazy over it.”

“They know about us?” Victor asked.

“Yes, and the creed fanatics are acting up too. Some are sided with Imha, and they are performing her crazy acts on their own, be it with their neighbors, at schools, at churches, and so on.”

“That’s horrible,” Keisha whispered.

“It is,” Ceris said. “And I’ve never seen this many demons before. There are too many, everywhere. I couldn’t stay in one place long, or they would have found me.”

“Okay, okay,” Victor said. “We get it. It’s terrible and because of that we have to do something.”

“Exactly.” Ceris smiled. “Which is why I looked for allies. I didn’t approach them; I just watched them. I wanted to know where they are hiding, or fighting from, which ones seem to be on our side. Things like that.”

“And?” Micah asked.

“I couldn’t find the other gods, but I found some deities that are fighting against Imha. In particular, a forest protector, Zelen. His forest is the only one still green and abundant. He’s doing a fine job, and he would be a great addition to our team.”

Team? That was the first time I had heard Ceris call us a team. Thinking about it, I guess she was right, though the word still sounded foreign to my ears. Us, a team? The way everyone seemed ready to jump at each other’s throats? It was almost a joke.

“Good.” Morgan nodded. “A forest protector is a powerful deity. If he and his accolades join us, we’ll have better chances.”

Keisha spoke up. “Is it possible there’s more than one hero out there? I mean, if there is, we could bring them in too.”

“It is possible,” Morgan answered.

“How do we find them?” Keisha asked, sounding eager.

“We don’t,” Ceris said. “It has to happen organically. He, or she, has to find us. Just like you found Nadine.”

I stilled. Ceris had said “us,” and then my name in the same reference. She would never put me, a mortal, on the same level as her and her beloveds. I watched her, but she acted normal, as if she hadn’t said anything out of ordinary.

“Oh.” Keisha’s shoulders sagged.

“I know who else we can contact,” Micah said, looking pointedly at Ceris.

She shook her head. “I told you, I don’t think it’s safe.”

“And contacting the other gods or deities would be? They are my kin. I know them.”

His kin? “Who are you talking about?” I asked.

Micah turned to me, his expression business-like. “My Death Lords.”

"Who?”

“Death Lords are—” Morgan started.

“Soon, this bunker will be too small,” Victor muttered, interrupting Morgan.

Micah glared at him. “I bet if I was talking about any other deity, you would give up your own bed. But my Death Lords?”

“Mitrus, it has been thirty years,” Ceris started. “You don’t know how they turned out.”

“We have a chance here,” Micah said, resolute. “Would you rather we didn’t contact them and confronted Imha on our own?”

Victor held his gaze with the same venom. “I should let you confront Imha on your own. You’re the one that started this whole mess!”

Micah punched the table. “I was tricked!”

“That’s bullshit!” Victor stood up. “You knew exactly what you were doing. You killed me because you wanted to.”

“And you killed me, bastard.”

“It was self-defense,” Ceris protested.

“And that excuses him, how?” Micah asked.

“You’re such a hypocrite,” Ceris mumbled.

Micah laughed. “And you’re not? Look at all the shit you have done the past few years. You’re as evil as Imha.”

Ceris turned red. “Don’t you dare compare me to her.”

The same words she had said to me when I compared her to the goddess of chaos. Apparently she really didn’t appreciate it.

“Why not? You killed, you lied, you tricked, you—”

“Mitrus, shut the fuck up!” Victor shouted.

Micah stood, ready to charge Victor or Ceris. Or maybe both. I stood too and rushed to his side, grabbing his arms and holding him back. “Stop! All of you. My goodness, you don’t sound anything like powerful gods right now, jeez!”

Micah stopped pulling against me and looked at my hand around his bicep. Self-conscious, I let go of his arm and stepped back.

Morgan cleared his throat. “I hate to say this, my Lords, but Nadine is right.”

“I understand what you went through, sort of,” I said. “I know it’s hard to get past it, but you have to. Like Victor said before, we’ll only win this war if we stick together, if we stop bickering and hating each other and actually do something.”

With annoyed pouts and frowns, Micah stood by my side, Victor sat down, and Ceris took a few steps back.

“We’re doing something,” Ceris said. “I was looking for allies, and I’ll go after them as soon as we decide which ones we want on our side.”

I frowned hoping she wouldn’t blast me for speaking up. “I don’t think allies are the most important thing right now. If the scepters aren’t found, what is the point of having allies? We need Victor and Micah with their full power during this war.”

“I know,” Ceris said. “But we can’t find the scepters, and I don’t know where else to look for them. I would rather do something useful, like gathering allies, than sit here and wait to find out where the scepters are.”

I nodded. “I agree, but I feel like you’re wasting all your energy on allies. It should be at least fifty-fifty. Look for scepters while trying to contact allies.”

Ceris crossed her arms. “I am the only one who can come and go. I am powerful, but I still can’t be in two places at once.”

“I know. I know. And that’s why I think you should take us with you next time.”

“What?” Victor and Micah said together, the same astonished tone in their voices.

I didn’t let their stances intimidate me, though. “Ceris can drop us somewhere. We can look for the scepters while she goes and tries to contact whoever she wants to, and a few hours later she comes to pick us up.”

“And what if something happens while I am away? What if demons attack you?”

I smiled. “Then we fight.”

* * *

I grabbed a one-and-a-half sword from the wall and tested its weight in my hand. When we moved on to train with wooden swords, Keisha gave me a full lecture on them. One-hand swords were used with shields or another one-hand sword. Two-hand swords were long and meant to be used alone, with both hands around the hilt. A one-and-a-half sword had a hilt and blade long enough to be used alone, or with a shield or other sword. I liked these because they weren’t so short I needed another weapon, but they also weren’t too long and heavy for someone of my height and weight.

“Darling, you’re crazy.”

Not in the mood to argue, I kept my back to him and swung the sword. It was on the heavy side, but I needed to get used to it.

“You’re going to ignore me,” Micah said, sounding closer. On purpose I turned around, swinging my sword at chest level. He jumped back. “Whoa there, darling. Don’t damage the goods you love so much.”

I rolled my eyes. “Can you be a little less cocky?”

His smug grin spread over his lip. “Why would I? It’s not like I’m lying.”

Seriously?

I took a step back and focused on testing the sword. In the end, this one was too heavy. I reached for another one, but Micah was faster. He appeared before me with a one-and-a-half sword made with a darker metal that he had taken from the other side of the wall. I would probably have skipped it, but well, he had lived for too many years and probably understood swords.

He extended it to me, and I reached for it. My hand ended up closing over his because he didn’t let go of it.

Attracted by a force stronger than me, my eyes met his. The air in my lungs whooshed out. I could jump into those endless black pools and live there, lost forever.

Then cold bit my palm, and my energy slipped away. I narrowed my eyes at him. He was shaking. Slightly, but he was shaking.

Letting go of the sword, I stepped into him and cupped his cheeks.

The cold bit my skin again, but I welcomed it. My healing kicked in, and the extra energy transferred from me to Micah. With eyes closed, he tilted his head back, relishing in what I believed was a nice sensation.

I didn’t think he noticed when he raised his left arm and clasped my wrist. In the same unconscious manner, he put his right arm, the one holding the sword, around me, pulling me closer.

The energy intake reduced until I knew he was fully healed. I let my free hand fall to my side, but Micah held the other one to his cheek. He straightened, took a deep breath, and with eyes still closed, he leaned into me, resting his forehead to mine.

“Thank you,” he whispered.

His scent washed over me, and I inhaled deeply welcoming the comfort it brought me.

“Why didn’t you ask for it?”

His eyes fluttered open. “You’re not an object to be used like that.”

“But that’s the only reason I am here.”

With his jaw set, Micah let go of me and retreated a step.

What was it with him? A few months ago, I would have accused Victor of having insane mood swings, but he was actually behaving lately. Who inherited the mood swings? Micah. He was driving me insane.

With every intention of being upset with him for another week, I took the sword from his hand. Instantly my frustration faded away. “It’s light. I mean, as light as a sword can be.”

“Test it.”

I thrust it into the air, amazed at how perfect it was. “I love it.”

“I knew you would.” I lifted my eyes to his. He had a half-smug grin on, and even like that, my heart skipped a beat. “I still can’t believe Ceris is letting you come with us.”

Of course he would kill the mood.

My sword and arm froze mid-swing, and I gaped at him. “Wait a minute. You’re the one who supported me when I wanted to learn how to fight.”

Micah took two giant steps and halted right in my face, looking into my eyes. “It is one thing to know you can defend yourself if danger comes to you, but it’s another thing to go looking for it.”

“Oh, so now you think I’ll be a problem?”

He groaned. “I don’t want to see you risking your life.”

I refrained from snorting. “My life already has a timer. I don’t care about the rest.”

“But I—”

“Hey, there you are,” Keisha said, stepping into the gym. Micah stepped back and looked at my feet. Keisha looked from me to him and back to me. “Oh, sorry, my Lord.” She bowed to him. Micah looked annoyed by the gesture. “Am I interrupting something?”

“No,” he snapped. Without looking back, he marched out of the room.

Keisha raised an eyebrow at me. “What was that about?”

I focused on the sword in my hand. “Nothing.”

“Okay.” She didn’t sound convinced, but let it go. She extended a large brown bag to me. “Well, then I brought you these.”

I stared at it suspiciously. “And what would that be?”

She dropped the bag on the floor and showed me she had another for herself. “Gifts from Lady Ceris.”