Page 30 of The Death Dealer (Sentinels of Magic Book 2)

Soleil was going stir-crazy.

She’d been cut off from Trevor for two solid days and had no idea how his trial was progressing. No one saw fit to inform her of the details. She figured she had two choices: continue to sit and stew like a turnip or defy the Aether and attend the hearing.

The first made her itchy, and the second made her nerves raw. Who in their right mind would defy Damian? But she wasn’t in her right mind.

“Sure, and why don’t ya just go, then?”

From her spot by the floor-to-ceiling windows, she glanced over to see Ronan O’Connor watching her from the entryway with those disturbing silver eyes of his.His armswere crossedoverhis brawny chest, and he acted as if his suggestion wouldn’t land them both in trouble. Her for going, and him for allowing it after he’d promised to keep her safe.

“I was just asking myself the same thing,” she said with a rueful smile.

His grin made his already arrestingly handsome face heart-stopping in its beauty, and she sucked in a breath.

“Stop scattering the girl’s wits to the wind, ya scut,” Dubheasa O’Malley scolded with an elbow to his ribs.

“I’m doin’ nothing of the kind,” he denied with a panty-melting smile for his mate. “But to kin you’re éad is heartwarming, to be sure.”

Flinging her long black locks over her shoulder, she snapped, “Feck off.” Yet there was affection in her tone, solidifying Soleil’s guess that they were teasing.

As bonded Guardians assigned by the Goddesses Isis and Anu, RonanandDubheasa wereaformidableteam.Damian entrusted them to watch over Viv and his children, and his trusthadn’tbeenmisplaced. Soleil hadbeen addedto their list of charges, which led to her feelings of uselessness.

Dubheasa strode to her side in her standard no-nonsense fashion and rested her hands on curvy hips as she studied Soleil’s face with keen emerald eyes. “The oversized wean is right. You should go andbe donewith all your worrying.”

Ronan growled, and Dubheasa chuckledhertriumph at having scored a direct hit. Her eyes flew wide as his arms encircled her and he buried his face against her throat.

“I take exception to ya callin’ me a baby, I do,” he told his mate with a laughing glance and wink for Soleil. “Willyabe excusing us, then, love? I’m after showing my darlin’ Dove my oversized?—”

Dubheasa slapped her palm over his mouth with a gasping laugh. “Ronan O’Connor! You’ll be watching your tongue, or I’ll remove it from your head!”

He peeled back her hand and kissed her knuckles.

“Oh, I’ll be watching my tongue soon enough,” he assured her.

Feeling like a naughty voyeur, Soleil blushed in the face of Ronan’s sexual banter. “Yeah, on that note, I’m heading out. If you two come up for air anytime soon, let my sister know where I’ve gone.”

His molten silver eyes held approval. “Take no prisoners, love.”

“Give ‘em hell,” Dubheasa added with a husky laugh.

Soleil squinted at them consideringly. “Why do I feel egging me on was your intent all along?”

“Because you’re clever,” Vivian said from behind them, surprising a squeak from her.

“You, too, sister dear?”

“Me, too.” Viv handed her a piece of paper. “Damian said to use this spell, and it’ll deposit you right outside the doors of Hall B, where the trial isbeing held.”

She cut her sister a dry look. “He knew I was done waiting, huh?”

“I think he suspected, at the very least.” Viv tucked a wisp of Soleil’s unruly hair behind her ear. “Be careful, though. I don’t trust those bastards.”

Her ice-blue eyes held worry, and her uncanny resemblance to their mother brought a tidal wave of wistfulness.

Soleil hugged her, giving her an extra tight squeeze. “Promise! I’m learning to be less naive by the day.”

“You’re too good, Lei. Of all of us, you have the purest heart.”

“I don’t know about that,” she protested with a skeptical laugh. “I feel hatred like anyone else. More so for Deni and Agnes Vector.”

“Rightfully so,” Viv assured her with a scowl. “Go on, now.”

Stepping out onto the terrace, Soleil inhaled deeply. All hell had broken loose the last time she was at the Dethridge estate. It was also the first time she’d seen Trevor. To say shewas smittenat first sight wasn’t a stretch.Hell,she’d been obsessed with him since the beginning, and nothing had changed.

For the millionth time, she mentally debated whether she should go to the trial again. Twice in twenty-four hours, Trevor tried to murder her.Nothis fault, but she was feeling a little gun-shy. Again and again, she’d wracked her brain, trying to recall the exact words Deni had uttered to set him off, but they wouldn’t come. What if it happened again? What if he succeeded in snuffing her out of existence for good?

Soleil didn’t want to fear him, but she was beginning to. Had she become one of those brainwashed women who suffered abuse but stayed with their attacker? Trevor had never hurt her in any way before. Even at his worst, he’d been courteous and tried to put her needs first. What did it say about her that she was considering a long-term commitment to a man who was programmed to kill her?

She hung her head.

“You should go, Aunt Soleil,” Sabrina said as she approached.

Soleil desperately wanted to ask her niece what she saw for their future, but she lacked the courage. What if it wasn’t what she wanted to hear? What if Trevor was rightandtheir relationshipwas destinedto end in her early demise?

Sabrina’s pixie face transformed with her smile. “You should go, Aunt Soleil,” she repeated.

“Really?”

“Really, really.”

Kneeling, she gazed into Sabrina’s fathomless eyes. “You’re a blessing to this family, Sabrina Dethridge. Whether you have the gift of sight or not, you’re a treasure to us. You know that, right?”

“I know.” Sabrina lifted her hands and used her palms to frame Soleil’s face. “Uncle Trevor is waiting for you. And you aren’t nothing.”

“Nothing?”

With a sly smile, her niece dropped her arms. “Will you let Papa know I didn’t tell you the future? I found another way.”

Frowning, Soleil watched her skip away. Their conversation was odd, andthere were keywords scatteredwithin it. She only had to decode what the Oracle meant. Rising to her feet, she glanced down at herself and gasped. During her musings, she hadn’t taken any pains to dress for the day.Her outfit would only be consideredfashionable if she lived in the swamps and never saw another human being for the remainder of her days.

Smoothing her hands down her waist and hips, she visualized asmart, cream-colored pantsuit with flared leg bottoms and filmy, see-through sleeves. She paired it with strappy, low-heeled sandals and a tan leather belt. For her hair, she swept it into a high ponytail, leaving wispy curls at her temples and along the nape of her neck. Trevor hadn’t cared for her super-sleek appearance the last time she’d tried to dress up, and rightfully after seeing Deni. This time, Soleil softened her look. Her makeup was subtle but classy as she checked her appearance in the reflection of the terrace doors.

She was ready.

Or so she told herself.

Inhaling deeply, she read through Damian’s elegant scrawl.

“From here to Hall B, I’ll swiftly go,

protected from those who would do me harm.

Through time and wards, my body traverses,

And portals I’ll pass, avoiding all curses.”

“Simple and effective.Seemshe covered all bases,” she murmured. “Here goes nothing?—”

The paper fluttered from her hand as the truth registered.

Nothing.

Deni worked the word in whenever she spoke directly to Trevor!

Running onto the lawn to pick up the spell, Soleil conjured a vial and squatted.With her free hand,she curled her fingers into a ball and envisioned thegrass rootsdoing the same to protectitself.When she’d uncovered the soil, she used the jar to scoop it up.

Solidifying her resolve, she shook the container in her hand and said,

“By the magic of this sacred dirt,

Let silence befall and words not assert.

With this spell, Denillia’s voiceis confined

With my power, this soil shall bind.”

“Simple and effective,” Vivian said with a grin, repeating Soleil’s earlier comment.

“Oh!” She gave a nervous laugh. “I didn’t know anyone was watching me.”

“I wanted to be sure you didn’t have a problem with Damian’s spell. It inspired you to use one of your own in dealing with the panty stain tormenting Trevor.”

“Viv!” But she wasn’t as shocked by her classy sister’s remark as she pretended. Indeed, she loved Vivian’s spitefulness.

“Pfft. Don’t act like you weren’t thinking the same thing. She’s a waste of space.”

The clicking of Vivian’s heels on the stone terrace was as light and rhythmic as her seductive walk. Soleil found it easy to see why men would think her sister attractive. A small flame of jealousy flared to life inside her, but she snuffed it out. Viv and Damian were forever; Trevor had told her he believed she was beautiful. Her sisters held no attraction for him.

“Why the strange look?” Viv asked in her standard, gentle-probing way.

“I was thinking about how drop-dead gorgeous my sisters are and how many times I’ve felt like the ugly duckling in a room full of swans.”

Viv’s expression turned to one of dismay. “Soleil!”

She held up a hand. “It’s okay, sister. I don’t resent any of you.”

With a concerted frown, Viv clapped her hands together and spread them body-width apart. Between them, a full-length mirror formed, and she propped it up against one of the four-foot-high planters dotting the terrace.

“Come here, Lei, please.” The instant Soleil joined her, Viv entwined their fingers. Lifting their joined hands to the sky, she said, “Goddess, grant her the power of objectivity.”

An electrical surge ran throughout Soleil’s body, and she meeped in surprise. “What the hell?”

“Shh. Look.”

When she turned her attention to the two women in the mirror, she didn’t recognize the chestnut-haired bombshell at first. But the moment she did, she gasped and moved closer, touching the glass.

“That’s me?”

“It is,” Viv assured her. “This is how anyone with two eyes views you, sister.”

“But I’m not overweight or frumpy.”

“You never were. Full-figured doesn’t equate to not being sexy, Lei. It doesn’t equate to not being gorgeous.” Viv’s smile was luminous.“Yes, people’s preferences differ, and that’sagreatthing.It would be boringas hellif we all looked the same, wouldn’t it? But your differences don’t make you any less attractive than the rest of us. To some, I’m scrawny, and Josie dresses too slutty.There are those who wouldview Taryn as unattractive with her tattoos and piercings, but we all know she’s bewitchingly beautiful like Josie is beguiling and sex on a stick.”

“I don’t know what to say.” And she didn’t. Vivian had given her a gift. Thegift of self-confidence she nevertrulyhad.

“I’m ashamed we all missed seeing how you viewed yourself. We could’ve boosted your confidence years ago.”

“Maybe it was a good thing you didn’t.” With a melancholy smile, Soleil met Viv’s loving blue gaze in the mirror. “My head might’ve grown to match my bust size.”

“You’d be well within your rights.” Viv’s focus dipped to the cleavage displayed above Soleil’s V-neck. “That bosom is fucking impressive as hell!”

They shared a laugh. Their love of historical novels was mutual.

“Remind me to loan you Kate Bateman’s latest release,” Soleil said.

“Too late. I already own it.” Viv waved a hand to disappearthemirror. “Get going, or you’ll miss the hearing. Oh, and take a few extra charmed vials of dirt with you. Damian texted before I came out here to check on you. He and Trevor believe the Villainous Vectors may have pulled a Manchurian Candidate, setting Trev up for failure.”

“I’m going to murder that bitch.”

“Bitch singular?” Viv asked with a laugh.

“Okay, those bitches, but Deni gets it first,” Soleil promised.