Page 24 of The Death Dealer (Sentinels of Magic Book 2)

The atmosphere around her turned into a sparking, snapping live wire of energy an instant before time froze. The only two unmoving were Trevor and Deni, yet Soleil couldn’t break his hold. The highlight? Whoever had used their ability to halt time encapsulated Trevor’s killing magic and suspended her soul’s extinction.

“Now, Ben!”she heard Damian shout.

Benjamin, along with her brother-in-law, rushed to where Trevor held Soleil in his death embrace. The lack of air was burning her lungs, and dancing black dots filled her vision. If they didn’t separate Trevor and her soon, she would die.

Her knees grew weak.

“Restore her, Ben. I’ll call the Healer to help you while I take care of Trevor.”

She wanted to plead with Damian not to hurt him. To tell him that Trevor hadn’t known what he was doing and Deni’s compulsion spell had caused this. But she knew there would be a price to pay for this day’s work.

In a flash, Trevor’s hand was gone from her throat, and Ben had her cradled in the circle of his arms. With one palm pressed to her chest, he performed whatever magical trick it was Death Dealers possessed to reverse the damage his son had wrought.

Burning began deep within her cells, and it felt like someone had poured acid on her organs. A screamwas wrenchedfrom her soul, but it never left her damaged trachea. She attempted to shove him away, but he held fast. What the hell were these Blane men made of? Granite? What made them impossible to dislodge?

Tears streamed from her eyes as she silently implored Ben to stop the torture and end her suffering. His eyes lacked the warmth of his son’s as they stared at her with dispassion.Herewas ajadedman who was only doing as ordered, with no careone way or anotherif she lived other than the consequence he faced from the Aether should he fail.

In another instant, the Healer, Jordan Brothers, knelt next to her, and the pressure of his hands on her throat made her wince.His kind eyesand friendly smile, along with hisspattering of assurances,eased her worry.

Oxygen filled her lungs, and she greedily sucked it in as if she’d been underwater for an hour. Great gasping gulps provided the life-giving air she needed. The bruised feeling in her throat eased with every second the Healer continued his ministrations.

Still, the inferno within her cells raged. With her newly healed throat, she screamed, threatening to undo Jordan’s repair and shatter the eardrums of those closest to her. Her horrific noise was nothing compared to Trevor’s, and when she heard his cry, her instinct was to get to him. To help in any way she could.

“Damian, no! Please. Don’t hurt him,”she sobbed. “Please!”

“Hush, girl,”Ben ordered, not unkindly.“All will be well.”

“He’s your son! Damian’s killing him!”

An amused twinkle entered his flat blue eyes.“He’s not. He’s only taking away what no longer serves.”

His magic.

Trevor would hate that.

“No!”She struggled harder, intending to stop it.

“All will be well, child. Trust the process.”Ben drew back his power in slow increments.

He didn’t release her to assist his son, and the knowledge she was weak as a newborn kitten was torturous. Soleil’s entire body throbbed, and she experienced a freaky sense of discombobulation.Likeher physical and spiritual selvesweretrying to reconnect butwere unable to.

Touching a hand to her head, she said,“I feel weird.”

“It’s a side effect.You’ll recover well enough, and ifyou don’t, I’ll be back for a second infusion.”

A loud pop echoed off the walls, and time restarted with a resounding bang.

“What the fuck?”Deni stared down at Sabrina, who held an uncapped bottle in her hands.“Who are—”Eyes widening in horror, she shifted her gaze to Damian and Trevor, then continuedon, meeting Soleil’s hate-filled glare.

Trevor bucked under the magic-removal procedure and shouted his agony, drawing everyone’s notice. His painful cry ripped Soleil’s heart from her chest, and her tears began again in earnest.

“Please help him, Ben,”she whispered.

“I am.”

She shifted to meet his gaze and saw genuine concern for his son but resignation, too.

“He’ll hate everyone after this,”she predicted.

“Perhaps, but I’m betting not.”

When Damian climbed to his feet, Deni’s instinctive need to save herself kicked in, and she turned to run.

Alexander Castor stepped into her path with his beefy arms crossed over a muscular t-shirt-clad chest.

“Going somewhere?”he asked, grin menacing. His platinum hair was mussed and fell over one of his two raised brows, and challenge lined his breathtaking face.

Facing a six-feet-six Greekgoddescendant had to be daunting, but Deni, crafty bitch she was, put her hand on her hip and cocked it in that I-can-have-whatever-I-want-if-I-demand-it-with-a-smile way that hot-as-fuck women understood from birth.

“Well, hello, gorgeous!”Her voice was nothing short of a purr.

Castor’s grin widened.

“I fucking hate her,”Soleil muttered as Ben stroked back her sweat-drenched hairandJordan held a glass to her lips, containing an herbal concoction that smelled like ass.

“Ditto,”Ben replied.“Now be a good girl and guzzle that nasty shit so I’m not subjected to the odor any longer.”

“Stop, or I”ll fall in love with you.”She found herself liking the curmudgeon.“What will it look like if I dump your son for his irritable father? People will question my sanity.”

A grin flashed across his face, and the soul-weary light lifted from his tired eyes.“That’s incentive for me to keep going.”

“Flatterer.”She gagged and sputtered as she downed the drink.“Fucking hell! That’s worse than Trevor trying to kill me.”

Gasps sounded around her.

She wrinkled her nose. “Too soon?”

“Yeah.” Ben”s lips twitched. “Much too soon.”

Trevor groaned, rolled onto his side, and focused on her. “What the fuck happened?”

“I told you not to kiss her.”

“So you decided to sic Damian on me?” He swiped the back of his wrist across his forehead. “Just tell me you’re okay, and we can discuss this later. After.”

A shudder swept through her. She wasn’t sure she could relive the experience, even if it were only a retelling.

His gaze sharpened. “Dalli?”

“I’m fine, Trevor. We’ll talk when this is over.”Avoiding him, she concentrated on Sabrina, who watched Deni curiously as if the woman were a specimen under a microscope.

Her niece faced her direction.“She’s not a nice person.”

“We’ve already gathered as much, child.”Ben eased Soleil into Jordan’s arms and climbed to his feet.“What needs to be done?”

“We can’t kill her. The Authority will be mad at us.”

An irritable expression crossed his countenance.

Soleil rolled to her knees and latched on to Jordan’s arm, at the ready for when she swayed. After he helped her to stand, he assisted her in crossing to Sabrina.“What about me? Isn’t it self-defense or something?”

Her niece giggled, and Ben gave her an approving grin.

“To hell with Trevor,”he said.“Run away with me.”

Stretching up on tiptoe, she kissed his cheek.“You say the nicest things.”

“I can’t chase after you both right now, but when I can, there will be hell to pay.”Trevor sat up and glared their way without any actual heat.“Count on it.”

Soleil covered Sabrina’s ears.

“Damn, now he’s making me hot,”she quipped.“I’m going to need you boys to duke it out.”

His growl made both Ben and her grin.

“He never did like to share his toys,”his father replied with a rusty bark of laughter.

“He still doesn’t,”Trevor assured him.

“All’s fair in love and war, buddy,” she retorted snidely, not quite over what had happened. “You kissed Skankzilla.”

“You’re getting better at those comebacks, Dalli.”

She grinned. How could she help it? Who didn’t love a man who appreciated snark?

Draven checked his watch.“Your hour is almost up, my friends. I’m not opposed to a second visit by the lovely Brooke Ellis, but she’s liable to arrive trigger-happy.”The Guardian narrowed his eyes when Sabrina opened her mouth.“Don’t say it, ma petite amie.”

“Papa said I’m not allowed to tell what I know.”Her offended sniff added to the humor of the situation.

Hanging his head, Trevor grunted.“I’m not sure I can stand, much less teleport to the Authority.”

“I’ll take you.”Ben approached him and held out a hand.“We’re in this together, son.”

Disbelief and something akin to hope flashed across Trevor’s wary face.“Why now?”

“I’ve always had your back, Trevor. You were too stubborn to see it.”

“No, Dad, you didn’t. Simon was the golden child.”He held up a hand.“Not that I’m complaining. Or hell, maybe I am, but I love him and wouldn’t steal whatever you felt for him.I wish you’d have worried about me a little more, though.”

Ben squatted and gripped Trevor’s shoulder.“I always worried about you, son. Why do you think the Authority allowed youthe freedomto pick and choose your marks? I picked up the slack.”

Trevor paled.

“What?”He glanced at Damian.“Is that true?”

The Aether nodded.

“I thought you were in hiding all these years.”Trevor looked devastated, and Soleil desperately wanted to hug him.Wantedto tell him it would all be okay. But she couldn’t. Their family dynamic was wildly different from hers, and healing belonged to them.

Ben shrugged.“I was, for the most part. There were other Death Dealers they could utilize forthe easyjobs. Not many can do what I do, though.”

“That whole kill-a-guy-without-touching-him thing?”Soleil glanced at the blood stain on the floor left by Agnes Vector’s guard.

“That, and other things.”

“You’re a scary dude,”she said with the utmost respect.

His grin flashed, and she saw a hint of Trevor’s standard charm in it.

“Sure, and you’ll be back to work after today, yeah?”Fintan said to Ben.“They’ll be after a Death Dealer to replace Trevor.”

The other shoe just dropped, and Trev’s expressions ran the gauntlet from confused to shocked to outraged. He lifted his arm with his hand flat, palm turned to the ceiling. His concentration was great, but no magical weapon formed.

“I’m powerless?”His eyes held betrayal.“Completely? How am I supposed to defend Soleil? Or anyone else, for that matter?”

“You were the one she needed defending from, cher,”Draven said. His tone was surprisingly gentle.

Where Trevor found the energy to leap to his feet, she’d never know, but he did.Weaving and bobbing, he approached her and raised a hand toward her face.

Her flinch was involuntary.

“Dalli.”His voice was ragged and filled with an aching regret.“What happened?”

“We can discuss it later.”With a tight smile, she wrapped her arms around her middle and nodded toward Draven.“You’ve got to go.”

“Fuck the Authority. You’re more important.”His eyes drank her up, and she felt his desperate desire to touch her. When she stepped backward, he swore savagely.

“I’ll be here when you get back. We’ll talk. Swear.”