Bloodline Diplomacy: A Young Adult Urban Fantasy Academy Novel (Bloodline Academy Book 3) - Lan Chan (thriller books to read .txt) 📗

He eyed me warily. I was a blurt-it-out kind of girl, not a hedging-her-bets one. “Sure.”

“I’ve tried to ask the Nephilim, but they have this annoying habit of shying away from topics about Luc…” My voice cut out. A warning shot of pain splintered through my mind.

“Lex?”

I groaned softly. An internal inspection showed me the well of my magic in turmoil. I was startled by the erratic pulse of the darker magic. It was like somebody had thrown an electrical charge into a pool of water.

“Lex!”

His frantic voice receded to be replaced by a sinuous tone. Don’t fight it, Alessia, Lucifer crooned. You and I are the same. You don’t need these lower beings. I tried to breathe through my mouth. The hedge magic layered itself over the black. It gave me a moment of reprieve. Seizing the opportunity, I hissed, “Lucifer.”

The pain amplified until I thought my head was going to explode. “Lex!”

I scented something metallic in the air. Dampness dripped down from my left nostril. “You’re bleeding,” I heard Basil say. I swiped me sleeve over my nose and held it there. My eyes were watery. Basil’s were wide. He glowed an iridescent orange. The first signs of a portal opened up behind him.

“I’m okay,” I said. “You don’t have to come.” My voice was muffled by my arm. “Just in a bit of shock still from everything that’s happened.”

“Are you sure?”

I nodded as best I could. “Gimme a sec.” I ran to the bathroom and blotted my nose with warm water and a face towel. My blood had created a patch of crimson on my sleeve. I’d be lying if I said it didn’t freak me out. The nosebleed subsided as quickly as it came on. As long as I wasn’t thinking about the Lucifer situation, I imagined I’d be alright. Until I wasn’t. Until we all weren’t.

Basil’s concerned face was still in the mirror when I returned to my room. “Everything alright?” he asked.

“Yeah. Funny how these things happen.” The lie slipped out as easily as they always had. I’d become a master liar on the streets. It was the guilt that I wasn’t used to. I hated lying to him, but there was no other way to explain it.

“You were saying something about Lucifer. You’re not still hung up about that prophecy?”

I remained quiet in the hope that he would go on one of his rants. My patience was rewarded. “You know that of the Seraphim, Azrael is Lucifer’s only match for power. The others gave up some of their strength to create the Nephilim. It is impossible for Azrael to leave the underworld without a replacement. This means that despite his captivity, the Morning Star remains the strongest of the seraphim. But as long as Ariel and Gabriel continue to watch over his containment, we are safe.”

I attempted to clear my thoughts and try to skirt around the topic. “How do you explain the prophecy then? What if he gets out?” I said it in a rush but speed didn’t trick the curse. The feeling of an ice pick burrowing into my head rocked me forward. I pretended to slip off the bed to cover up the whole-body spasm I had. Basil raised a brow at me but didn’t appear alarmed. “Everyone sees things differently,” he said. “And it’s not possible for him to get out. By all accounts, he was bound by a blood pact made by the seraphim and Gaia. Only his blood can release him. His angel blade was also removed and hidden. Without it, he isn’t at full power.”

I was sure Basil was trying to say comforting things. But all I heard was the phrase, “only his blood can release him.”

In the cavern beneath the Fae forest, Lucifer had been adamant that my blood was the key to his freedom. His blood. It couldn’t be.

“I should try and get some sleep. I’ve gotta wake up early to train with the nymphs tomorrow. Could you please see what else you can find about where Gaia might be located?”

I had a feeling he knew it was a lie, but he didn’t say anything as I signed off. “Oh, by the way, when are you going to take this mutt?”

“Huh?”

He rattled the mirror. “The dingo! It’s been chewing on everything in sight. I don’t have time to look after a wild animal.”

“And I do?”

“That’s not my problem.”

“But you live inside a shifter stronghold. Can’t you just let it outside?”

He pinched the bridge of his nose. “Lex,” he said it with a strained tone. Like I was some sort of moron. “You know animals have a greater-than-human ability to detect supernatural energy. If I put the dingo outside, it would go out of its mind barking.”

“Well if I bring it here, I’ll have the same problem!”

“He,” Basil corrected me. “He’s a male. And why can’t you take him with you to Terran?”

I almost choked on the rebuttal. But there wasn’t really anything I could say to that. Why couldn’t I take him to Terran? Aside from the obvious which was that they might not allow animals? It seemed to go against everything low-magic witches stood for, but I couldn’t rule out the possibility.

“That’s the only option,” Basil said. “If he stays here much longer, one of us is going to end up skinned and hung over the fireplace.”

I blew out a breath. “Fine. I guess I can just try.”

“You could just release him out into the wild.”

“I guess.” I didn’t know why I hadn’t thought of that already. Why couldn’t I release a wild animal back into the wild? The image of all his scars hit me again. I shuddered. Feeling more than responsible, I sighed.

When Basil was gone, I walked over to Sophie’s nightstand and picked up a handful of salt from her stash. I could use cafeteria salt, but it didn’t have the same feel as hers. Sophie had that