Perhaps he shouldn’t have ordered her to do his bidding, but damn it, remaining human wasn’t an option for her. But he definitely should have waited to force the issue until he had a way to change her.

“What?” he repeated with just as much heat.

“I heard yelling, and thought I could help you out. I didn’t realize offering aid would be such a terrible crime. My mistake.”

“I don’t need your help. Also, what happens in my life isn’t your business.” Cultivating a friendship with the keeper of Distrust? Not ever going to happen. He may have given her advice, but that had been at Katarina’s request. Now he just wanted to kill someone.

“I’m not your enemy, Baden.”

“You’re right. You’re worse. You’re a reminder of a past I cannot change.”

“Yes, and you should be grateful! You’re stronger now. You’re wiser. And I’m a fucking mess.”

“Through fault all your own. You welcomed the demon. You wanted it.”

“I wanted power. You have no idea what life was like for me, an immortal born without—” She sucked in a breath, quieted. What had she stopped herself from revealing?

She was an immortal of indeterminate origin. She’d never shifted into an animal form that he’d seen. Her voice wasn’t a weapon, like a siren, and she didn’t have wings like a Harpy, Sent One or angel. She had no fangs to mark her as vampire, or whatever Pandora had become, and no aura of power, like a witch.

“I wanted power,” she repeated.

“You acquired an illusion of power. And a new weakness.”

“I know that. Now.”

True power was friendship—strength in numbers. True power was love—a willingness to sacrifice for others.

Love often ran red.

True power was hope for a better tomorrow—which he no longer had. True power didn’t have to spring from violence, he realized. It could be as gentle as a woman’s touch.

Perhaps he was wiser now. And yet, he’d still allowed his determination to possess Katarina to drive her away. To keep her safe, yes, but also to care for her on his own terms.

He yanked a shirt from a hanger and pulled the material over his head. “You need to go.”

“Look. Whether you want my aid or not, you’re going to get it. I know something about Hades’s sons.” She rubbed the back of her neck, shifted from one booted foot to the other. “William and Lucifer used to wear the bands, too.”

How could she know that? And William would never keep such a secret—

No, not true. William was a selfish prick, easily amused by the ignorance of others. Even his friends.

William had even warned Baden away from Fox. Because she knew his secret.

“You should have told me sooner,” he said.

“I didn’t want you asking questions about my past.”

“Oh, I won’t. I’ll be too busy killing the man I thought was my friend.” Baden grabbed two daggers and made an adjustment in his mind.

Home—wherever William is. He ended up in a spacious bedroom. The walls were covered in claw marks, the furniture busted into jagged pieces, shards of glass littering the floor.

Maddox, Paris and Sabin were doing their best to pin William as he raged, while Strider and Lucien guarded the door to prevent an escape. Did they not remember the male could flash? Or could William not flash while his emotions were in such turmoil?

He fought with a skill beyond lethal, his every movement precise and methodical despite his volatility.

By some miracle, Maddox was able to latch onto one arm while Strider was able to latch onto the other, allowing Paris to come in from behind to perform a headlock. They wouldn’t be able to restrain the male for long. Already William was close to gaining his freedom.

Baden closed the distance in a hurry and slammed one of his daggers deep into William’s heart. Finally, the male stilled, glaring at Baden as literal flames flickered in his eyes.

“Mistake, Red. Big mistake.”

Baden slammed the other dagger into William’s gut.

William laughed with manic glee while the others gaped in astonishment. “I’ve been meaning to come to you. To collect the favor you owe me.”

Baden sensed the opposite was true. “You want your favor? Tell me to release you, and I will.”

Eyes of crystalline blue darkened until jet black. Black that spread to his cheekbones, reminding Baden of one of the kings he’d seen in Hades’s chamber.

I’m staring into the abyss.

“No,” William said. “I think I’d rather wait.”

“Very well.” Baden twisted the daggers deeper. “Then let’s discuss the reason for my visit. Were you or were you not once bound by Hades’s bands?”

In a shocking move, William surged forward, pushing both daggers deeper. One more step, and Baden’s hands would come out the other side.

“Does this feel like a sharing moment to you?” the warrior demanded, deceptively calm, even as bolts of lightning flashed underneath his skin.

“Answer me, anyway,” Baden said.

“Or what? You’ll stick me with a third dagger?”

Bastard. Was there nothing he feared? “You think you’re the only one with problems?” A question the male had once asked him.

“I’m the only one with a problem I care about.”

“Tell me what I want to know or—”

“Or what?” The words were whispered, more lethal than the blades. “Tell me. I’m figuratively dying of curiosity.”

This was Hades’s son. Threats wouldn’t work, as proven. Appeals to a softer side wouldn’t work, either. He had no softer side. Or rather he’d had a softer side, but she’d been taken away from him.

Baden yanked out the daggers, one at a time, removing bits of heart and liver, too. Oops. “Do you know if Gilly and Puck registered? Want to make sure I buy the right toaster.”

William narrowed his eyes, and it was clear he struggled to retain his composure. “Yes, Red. I wore the bands, just like you. They made me Hades’s son, and if you live long enough, they’ll do the same to you—brother.”

25

“Go ahead and eat your weight in ice cream. You’ll just give him more of you to love.”

—Haidee, former keeper of Hate

GALEN, THE CHRUNO, refused to take Katarina and the dogs to Bratislava, where she could find a new place to live and start over. Instead, he took her little ragtag group straight to Keeley and Kaia. According to Galen, Keeley had horrifying powers her enemies feared so greatly, they wouldn’t even speak her name except in hushed whispers, and Kaia could chew through an entire army without breaking a sweat. Details Baden had left out during intros.