The Darkest Lie (Lords of the Underworld #6)(27)
Author: Gena Showalter

Amun knew that, because of Wrath, the warrior had sensed a person’s sins the moment he’d neared them. He’d then become filled with a need to punish them, hurting them the way they’d hurt others.

You’ll adapt.

“Soon, I hope.”

“The good news is that he’s not as moody,” Olivia added.

Lips twitching, Aeron kissed the tip of her nose. “All thanks to you, sweetheart.”

“You’re welcome.”

Amun’s heart gave a little lurch. In happiness for what his friend had found. And yes, in jealousy. He wanted a female of his own. Desperately. He’d found one he could have enjoyed, too. Kaia, a Harpy. She was a liar and a thief, but she was open about it, her sins there for everyone to see. She kept no secrets.

But she’d also slept with Paris, keeper of Promiscuity and one of Amun’s closest friends. Not that Paris wanted her again or could have her even if he did. Once Paris slept with a woman, he couldn’t get hard for her again. That was part of his curse. But while Amun knew the little Harpy was intrigued by him, he also knew she would not be settling down anytime soon. And Amun wanted forever.

With other women, human women, well, it was too difficult. He knew what they were thinking every minute of every day. He knew when they found another man attractive. He knew when they said something nice to him but were thinking something cruel.

Aeron sighed, drawing his attention back to the present. I’m here. I might as well ask him, the warrior thought.

Amun straightened. He’d known Aeron would approach him sooner or later with the coming question, but hadn’t known how to respond. He still didn’t. Don’t ask me, he signed. Not yet.

A muscle ticked beneath his friend’s eye. “I hate when you read my mind.”

Then conceal your thoughts. He didn’t think there was a way to do so, though. No one had ever managed such a feat.

“I can’t,” Aeron confirmed. “Which means you already know that Olivia and I are leaving tomorrow.”

Actually, no. That wasn’t true. Aeron planned to leave Olivia behind, she just didn’t know it yet. The warrior was desperate to keep her safe. Which, in his mind, meant leaving her here, even though she would be pissed.

Where are you going? he asked, though again, he already knew the answer.

“To hell,” Aeron replied. It wasn’t a metaphor, either. The man meant exactly what he said. “We want you to come with us.”

Legion, the little demon Aeron viewed as a daughter, was currently trapped in the fiery realm, and Aeron had ever intention of rescuing her. Had the warrior asked Amun to go anywhere else, he would have said yes without hesitation. But hell…he shuddered. His demon had lived there, once upon a time. That same demon had fought to escape, had succeeded, and had been punished for that success.

But the memories of that place had never faded. The heat, the screams, the rank odors of sulfur and rotting flesh that permeated the air. Disgusting. Add in the vile thoughts of the demons still living there and the tormented thoughts of the souls suffering there, and it was a new kind of hell for Amun.

What about Baden? he asked. Another of Aeron’s pressing burdens.

Aeron arched a black brow. “You know about that, too. Great.”

Baden. Once their best friend. But thousands of years ago, Hunters had beheaded him. Unlike Aeron, he hadn’t been given a second chance at life. He hadn’t done anything to deserve one, apparently. But Aeron, who had recently spent a little time in the afterlife, had seen him. Talked to him.

Baden was out there. Baden could be freed, returned to them like Aeron. They just had to find a way to convince any deity who would listen to bring him back to life.

Aeron had kept this information to himself. But then, that was a habit they shared. Aeron liked to weigh all the facts, find any possible solutions, before mentioning a potential problem to the others. That had never been more evident than now. Aeron no longer suffered but all the others did, and he didn’t want to add to their suffering until he could offer a resolution.

“Once Legion is safe,” Aeron said, “I’ll tell the others about Baden. We can then concentrate on freeing him. But Legion has to come first. She’s suffering. He is not.”

And the Hunters? The artifacts? Pandora’s box? Will you forget those? Now that you’re without a demon, they must not concern you anymore.

A scowl darkened Aeron’s face, shadows seeming to seep from his eyes. “You’re wrong. They concern me greatly. I don’t want to watch my best friends die because I allowed my enemy to find the artifacts. I don’t want to watch my best friends die because I wasn’t there to protect them. But I love Legion, too. She’s being tortured down there and I can’t stand it. I have to free her, or I’ll be no good to anyone.”

Even after what she did to you?

“Yes,” Aeron replied without hesitation.

Olivia nodded. “Yes. Me, too.”

Amun expected such forgiveness from Olivia. She was an angel and, as he’d already realized, didn’t know how to hate. She couldn’t even hold on to a good anger. But Aeron? Forgiving a female for making a bargain with the devil, nearly ruining his life by almost killing his angel? Shocking. But maybe forgiveness came more easily to him now that he was without his demon’s need for vengeance.

“The sooner we find her, the sooner we free Baden, and the sooner I can concentrate on the artifacts and the Hunters,” Aeron added.

Many reasons to go, yes, but none overshadowed Amun’s reasons for staying behind. Are you asking anyone else to go with you?

The back of Aeron’s head banged against the tree, once, twice, and he peered up at the ocean of sky. “No. I hated even asking you. I don’t want to leave the fortress unprotected or task the warriors with something else to do.”

So, why me? Aeron had never thought the answer outright, and Amun had never pulled it from his friend’s mind, so he honestly didn’t know. The other warriors were just as strong as he was, just as skilled at warring and killing.

“Secrets,” Olivia said with a sad little sigh. “Your demon will be able to learn where Legion is being held.”

That made sense, and Amun nearly moaned. Because it meant they needed him specifically. Not for his brawn, but for his demon. No one else would do. How, then, could he tell them no? He couldn’t.

He scrubbed a hand down his suddenly tired face. Though everything and everyone inside him began screaming in protest, making him wince, he nodded. If I agree to do this, you’ll have to ask one more. To take Olivia’s place and better their odds of success. “Who?”