Page 65 of Princess of Bael

Gleason’s obvious lack of surprise caused my brow to furrow. “Most Nephilim would be quick to argue that point,” I told him. “You seem resigned.”

“Lord Zebulon clearly didn’t tell you about his ex,” Gleason replied, causing Ezra and me to share a look.

“His ex?” Ezra prompted.

Gleason just shook his head. “It was a long, drawn-out game of cat and mouse that involved a Nephilim helping her disguise her identity. They attacked Gwen, all in an effort to hurt Lord Zebulon. The Nephilim in question is dead now.”

“He helped disguise her identity… through concealment?” Ezra asked, clarifying.

“More or less. He was able to alter her appearance and her aura. But not on camera.” Gleason turned to start brewing more coffee. “They framed Gwen for several murders, but it’s all been sorted.”

I shared a look with Ezra. We might need to learn more about all that.

“And with Eve missing in Hell, who the fuck knows anything anymore? She was taken with an ease that shouldn’t be possible, and now no one can sense her aura,” Gleason continued, the coffee maker sputtering to life as he faced us once more. “All right, yeah. I can organize a meeting. You can tell them about the shifting balance, and I can help you both assess the masses for any strange reactions or behaviors.”

“Eve’s aura is missing?” Ezra asked, ignoring the rest of Gleason’s statement.

“That’s what Gwen told me. But Xai is on it. He’ll find her.” Gleason sounded confident. “And I pity the assholes who have her.” His brow furrowed. “Actually, no, I don’t. They deserve whatever Xai plans to do to them.”

Ezra nodded. “He’ll destroy them. She’s his mate. He’ll move Heaven and Hell for her and annihilate anyone who wrongly touched her.” He glanced at me and then back at the Nephilim, causing me to grunt. I wasn’t going to touch that comment with a ten-foot pole. We both knew it was a load of shit anyway.

“I didn’t actually shoot her,” Gleason told him.

“You tried,” Ezra replied.

I rolled my eyes. “It’s history and I’m fine. Let’s talk about the gathering—you agreed to help organize the meeting?”

Gleason and Ezra ignored me in favor of staring each other down.

I sighed loudly. “Seriously…” This was the battle Ezra chose to pick in my favor?

“How long do you need to arrange the meeting?” Ezra asked after a heavy beat of silence.

“Probably two or three days,” Gleason replied. “Everyone is on high alert right now because of Eve and what just went down with Creek, so it won’t be hard to gather everyone. They’re all amped up and ready to do something.”

I frowned. “Like what?” I wondered out loud, genuinely curious. The Nephilim were more powerful than humans, but nowhere near as strong as angels or demons. “What could you do?”

Gleason finally took his focus away from Ezra to meet my gaze. “That’s precisely the problem. We don’t know what to do, just that we want to help in some way. And our two guides—Eve and Xai—are busy in Hell.”

“How did that happen?” Ezra asked, some of his icy facade seeming to break. “I mean, Ashmedai mentioned Evangeline being lost in Hell, and you said her aura has disappeared, but how?”

“All I know is Xai suffered a bullet to the head and someone took Eve. Remy has popped in a few times to give Gwen updates, and she’s sent them to me via text, but no one knows where Eve is or who has her.” He sounded a little less confident now than he had when he’d said Xai was handling it. Which implied a very fucked-up situation indeed.

“That’s actually somewhat similar to how Kristina was taken and killed,” I said slowly, thinking out loud. “We couldn’t sense who did it.”

Ezra’s brows pinched together. “Yes. Very similar.”

“Do you think it’s related?” I asked him.

“Potentially,” he admitted, his mouth twisting to the side for a second. “Which means this meeting may not help us at all if the culprit is in Hell.”

“Not exactly,” I replied. “It’ll help us narrow down the list. Anyone who doesn’t show up will be noted.”

He dipped his chin, conceding my point. “True. While Gleason works on gathering the Nephilim, we should review the demon hierarchy again, see if anything stands out with the power fluctuations.”

“Yes,” I agreed.

Silence fell for a beat before Gleason said, “The power fluctuations are what this is about. The shifting balance, I mean. It’s why some of us are growing in abilities.”