Dev ached for the pain he heard in her words and the torment he saw in her eyes. "I'm so sorry for what happened."
"What? That my sister was a selfish bitch? That definitely wasn't your fault."
"No, but families are supposed to hang together in every adversity. It sickens me when they don't. I wish I could kill your sister for you."
Sam had to catch herself before she told him how she felt about him. No good could come of that. They could never be together and she knew it. No matter how much she wanted it to be....
Some wishes just weren't meant to happen and all the desire in the world couldn't change that.
I love you, Dev.
Unfortunately, her love wasn't selfish. She only wanted the best for him and the best wasn't her. It was a woman who could have his children and stand by his side here at Sanctuary. Not one who'd sold her soul to a goddess.
The song "You" by Fisher played through her head. Those words had always choked her up but never more than right now when she understood them in a way she never had before.
"You don't know it yet, but you're everything...."
Why did her life have to be a study in losing the things she cared about? It was so unfair and yet how could she complain? She'd chosen this life. She was a defender to the world. There was no higher calling than that. No job more honorable or noble.
Trying to reinforce her resolve to let him go, she cleared her throat. "You ever think about having kids?"
"All the time. I'd love to have a houseful. Then one of my nieces or nephews turns Exorcist on me and spews the most disgusting things imaginable out both ends--things that make the demon snot feel like a bubble bath. That usually cures me of that stupidity for at least a day or two."
She laughed so hard her eyes teared. She'd never quite thought of it that way, but he was right. Kids had a tendency to explode. A lot. "You're so bad."
He shrugged with an innocence he definitely didn't possess. "You asked. I answered."
She shook her head. "Seriously though, don't you want Dev cubs?"
"Honestly? I don't know. It's a lot of responsibility. It's scary and unpredictable. I think about it sometimes. Not that it matters. I'm not a single cell organism capable of mitosis so without a mate it's a moot topic and I don't believe in torturing myself over things I don't have. I'd much rather focus on and be grateful for what I do have."
Gah, he made it so hard to hate him. So hard to push him away even when she knew it was the only practical thing to do.
Most of all, he made her want to reach out and touch him. Just to hold him for one moment.
If only...
Dev felt the sudden awkward silence between them like an iron cloak. "Did I do something wrong?"
"No."
How did women do that? Say a word that was the exact polar opposite of what they meant. Obviously he'd said or done something to destroy her playful mood.
If only he knew what it was.
What ever. He couldn't make it better unless she told him what he'd done to offend her. But that was the one thing about the female gender that made him insane. For a group who prided themselves on communication skills, they could be remarkably silent when it came to things that really mattered to them.
It was the old if-you-knew-me-like-you-should-then-you'd-know-why-I'm-mad game. Well, how was he supposed to learn her if she didn't tell him?
Vicious cycle and it was one he didn't have time for. Not when they were about to launch themselves into something that could get all of them killed. An image of her lying dead seared him. Her current state was a lethal reminder of what could happen if he failed.
And Fang...
Aimee would never forgive him. But there was no way to leave him at home. Fang wasn't that kind of wolf. Bastard.
He had a sick feeling in his stomach that things weren't what they should be. There was something in the ether around him that wanted to warn him.
If only he knew what...
The seen and the unseen. Things were about to get hairy as hell for them all.
Ethon cocked his head as he heard the spirits of the fallen whispering to him. It was a talent that had served him well for the last five thousand years. It enabled him to see his enemies coming and to hear the souls that had been lured by the Daimons.
But what they told him right now left him cold.
Dev and Sam were about to kill themselves.
Two against Aello was a fool's errand. While Ethon had never faced her himself, his grandfather had been with Herakles when Herakles had defeated her. When Ethon had been a small boy, his grandfather had spent hours detailing the vicious attacks of the Amazons as a tribe and Aello in particular.
No one escaped them unscathed without divine intervention. Which both Sam and Dev lacked.
This was going to get bloody and if no one helped them, they wouldn't live through the stupidity.
Reaching for his phone, he made a quick call.
If they were going to battle, they weren't going alone. I won't let you die again, Samia. This time he wouldn't fail her. And if he had to lay down his own life for hers, so be it.
Dev met Fang in the hallway. By Fang's grim visage, he knew the wolf would much rather be tending the bar tonight than joining him on a suicide run. Not that he blamed him in the least. He'd rather be downstairs himself.
But not at the cost of Sam's freedom.
"You know you can stay here," he said to his brother-in-law. "I'd actually prefer it."
Fang shook his head. "I would never leave you do to this alone. You didn't shirk at going into hell to help me, Dev. I've not forgotten it."
Which was why Dev had grown to appreciate his unique family member. Fang had proven himself worth the risk Dev had taken to save him and he was glad to call him brother.
Sam cleared her throat. "We better hurry. We don't have much time until dark."
Dev inclined his head. Just as he was about to teleport himself and Sam to the circle, he saw two people coming up the stairs.
Ethon and Scorpio.
And they were dressed for battle. Both in solid black, Ethon was dressed in a pair of slacks and a button-down shirt. His long coat hid a full weapons arsenal. Knives, at least one gun, and most likely a sword. Scorpio on the other hand was much more overt. He wore a short-sleeved shirt with leather vambraces Dev knew concealed steel spikes he could shoot out and use to punch through just about anything.
Dev scowled at them. "What are you doing here?"
Ethon gave him a shit-eating grin. "Covering your back, Cochise."
Interesting comparison. Cochise had been resourceful and clever, escaping death time and again. Dev only hoped that when this war was over, he was as lucky as the Apache chief to die at peace.
Sam drew up short as she saw the Spartan there. "Ethon--"