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“No. I can’t figure out what to give her. I didn't have to give anything to Ollie.”

I pursed my lips, fighting back a smirk. “Not true. You exchanged bruises.”

It made him snort, but his face fell after a second. He looked up at me with a deep frown. “What do you think I should give her?”

It wasn’t a question on whether he wanted to be her friend. He just didn’t know how to initiate it. It gave me hope for him, but it also worried me. We could hide him making friends if their families were influential, but if this girl wasn’t somehow able to offer him information, it might only put Dante in danger spending time with her.

Hoping to stall him until I could look into this girl, I lifted a shoulder. “It has to be something about you. Something you think is important. I can’t answer that for you.”

“What did you give your friends when you were young?”

A fond smile tugged at my lips. “Protection charms. Athena gave me one when I first met her and when I met my friends, I wanted to do the same.”

I’d given Declan and Ollie protection charms, too. Almost like I was offering my friendship, like I did when I was a kid. I hadn’t thought about it before, but I liked the idea of it now.

Dante frowned at his lap, so I squeezed his shoulder reassuringly. “It’s okay if you can’t think of something right away. Come on. We’re going to be late.”

He hopped off his bed, pulling his homework out from underneath his bed with a sheepish grin. We were just finishing packing up his bag when my phone rang. I answered it, dread filling my gut when my cousin spoke on the other end.

“Family meeting. Bring the boy,” Iluz snarled.

He hung up before I could reply, and I let out a heavy sigh. “Fuck. Looks like we won’t be going over tonight. That was Iluz. We have to go to a family meeting.”

Dante looked disappointed, but when I put my hand on his shoulder, he shored up his resolve and lifted his chin. “I’ve got lots of information this week.”

“Good. So do I. Offer as little as necessary and save the rest for later. Let’s get this over with.”

I texted Declan about the change of plans, and because I’m overcautious, I asked Callum to move them to his place for the night. The quiet week still made me uneasy, and I’d rather Declan and Ollie be with my friends than alone with wards.

I teleported Dante and me to my uncle’s home, but my cousin was waiting for us and blocked us from going inside.

“Other Realm. The meeting is at our family home.”

That surprised me. Once we crossed over, my uncle only ever went back to the family home to deal with enemies. I could never join because they didn't trust me. At most, during those events, they stationed me here in the human realm to guard my uncle’s new home in his absence.

“Are you sure–”

Kaiser made an irritated noise, scowling at me. “Just hurry the hell up. You’re going to make us late.”

Without much of a choice, I teleported Dante and me to the tear. He looked worried, he wasn’t great at masking his emotions yet, so I kept my hand on his shoulder as I led him through. When we came out on the other side, a few soldiers were waiting for us like an escort. A sense of foreboding settled in my gut and I tightened my grip on Dante as they marched us to our family home. The same home I picked Dante up from all those months ago. Dante didn’t look any happier about being here than I was and without my steady guidance, I knew he wouldn’t be able to come closer.

Another layer of dread settled in my gut as we passed the dining room. When I was younger, that was where family meetings were held. This wasn’t going to be a family meeting. I knew deep in my soul that this wasn’t going to end well. Athena’s vision was wrong.

We followed Kaiser to the basement, and the crowd parted as he moved to join my uncle. The entire family was there, and they all glared at us as we followed behind him. Kaiser stopped us with a dismissive wave at the front of the crowd, giving us a front row view of the man and woman tied up and kneeling on the concrete in front of my uncle. I couldn’t see who they were by the backs of their heads, but I could make guesses based on the information I’d gathered recently. Attacking criminal humans who caused trouble was bad enough. Did he really think he’d get away with killing a politician and a CEO worth millions?

“Is that everybody?” Camus queried. He had a bland expression, like this was just another day for him, having two humans tied up at his feet.

Kaiser dipped his chin in acknowledgement. A smug look crossed my uncle’s face before he turned to the family.

“Excellent. This is an auspicious day for us. When they look back on our history, they will mark this day as the beginning of our reign over the filth of humanity.” He looked at the humans with disgust, but when he snapped his fingers, no one made a move toward them. Instead, pain blasted across the back of my head and hands grabbed me, shoving me to my knees next to them.

“But first, we need to address the traitors in our ranks. You see, Aziel, that lesser demon was a test. A test you failed. You are protecting that human. Care to tell the family why?”

Someone fisted my hair, yanking my head back, so that I was lookingup at my uncle. He stood over me with a sneer, and I met his gaze without flinching. It didn’t matter anymore. I wasn’t going to survive this. I’d been working against this moment my whole life, but it finally caught up with me.

I wanted to resent Athena for giving me hope that I’d be free one day. I knew better. This was always going to happen in the end. But I couldn’t hate her for giving me what little time I had with Declan. To be truly cared for, even if it was only for a week. I’d take that memory with me.

“Tell them, Aziel. Tell them you are not only demeaning yourself by fornicating with the scum of the realm, you are mating with one.”