Steal the Sun (Thieves #4)(68)

He led me toward the temple, crisscrossing the courtyard to avoid the bodies. I recognized the fluidity of Daniel’s work. The zombies were in neat piles because if Daniel could take them out in groups, he would greatly prefer it to singular kills.

Declan walked fast, as if it were important we made it to the temple quickly. “Mother will never annul the marriage, Zoey. You are pregnant. You are perfectly fertile and your compatibility has been proven. We just have to make the best of things.”

“Screw you, Declan,” I said bitterly, pulling my hand out of his.

“Things would be infinitely easier on me if you would. Look, Zoey, Devinshea loves you. He does not want your marriage annulled, but he is angry. For the most part my brother is not hotheaded, but when he gets angry, he can burn down his own house without thinking of the consequences. He is a storm of emotion tonight, and you taking reckless chances was the last straw. Daniel took your side and that did not help things either. I worry Devinshea is about to do something he will regret.”

My heart rate picked up. Declan was right. When Dev got really mad he could be irrational. He would say things he didn’t mean just to lash out. “What’s he going to do?”

Declan frowned and walked faster.

“Tell me.” I wanted to know what I was getting into.

“I believe he is going to call for his priestesses,” Declan finally admitted as we opened the door to the temple.

I came to a full stop. His priestesses were there for one thing and one thing only. Their job was to please their priest sexually and aid him in his fertility magic. I turned back to go to my rooms. Jealousy burned in my gut. “If that’s what he wants, then who am I to stop him?”

“You are his wife,” Declan said savagely, hauling me around. “You are supposed to love him so much, Zoey. Well, prove it. Get in there and stop him from making the biggest mistake of his life. He will never get over losing you. I will not let him fade because your pride left him alone.”

Declan pulled me through the gilded halls of the glorious temple. He stopped at an ornate door. “This is the priest’s chambers. Go and fight for him. He would fight for you. Prove me wrong, Zoey.” He pushed the door open and I found myself in Devinshea’s private pleasure dome.

The marble room was lit with soft candlelight from wall sconces. I was in some sort of entryway. I could hear feminine whispers and the sound of water running. The entryway was separated from the rest of the rooms by a series of filmy curtains. I could see the outline of a group of women standing around.

Tears pricked my eyes. He had done it. He’d actually called for them. I took a deep breath. If he was going to burn our marriage down then the least I could give him was a witness to the act.

“He thinks he’s going to die, Z,” Daniel said quietly from a bench a couple of feet from me. I hadn’t noticed him sitting there. He looked incredibly tired and he was beyond filthy. “I wouldn’t take anything he says or does seriously.” Danny reached out and briefly squeezed my hand. “I’m sorry I let Declan find you. I just finished with the last of the zombies.”

“I wouldn’t want you to leave his side right now.” If something was coming for Dev, Daniel was his best bet.

“I can’t leave either of you. This stunt tonight, Z…” His jaw clenched down.

“I was trying to help him.”

Daniel damn near stared a hole through me. “I tried to explain that to him. If you do it again, I swear I’ll lock you up. I can’t take care of both of you.”

I touched his face. “I’m sorry.”

He nodded, letting go of his anger. “It’s over. You’re alive. He’s alive. Just fix him, okay? He won’t listen to me.”

“And if he’s in there f*cking his harem?” I was kind of surprised Danny would ask me to accept that.

Daniel shook his head, squeezing my hand. “Dev would never do that. He’s posturing. He’s scared and angry at the world. If I know him better than you do, we’re in trouble.”

I stepped away and pushed back the curtain quickly because I needed to see where he was at before his mask came down. I caught a quick glimpse of Dev as he sat in what looked like a hot spring flowing through the room. It reminded me of the grotto in our penthouse, though this stream had been caught in a large pool complete with steps leading down to it. Dev was sitting in the water alone. There were four women whispering among themselves as they looked down at their priest, obviously wondering what they were supposed to do now. For his part, Dev didn’t look like a man who was anticipating a five-way with some hot chicks. His face was blank, like a man who was about to lose everything and he couldn’t figure out how to stop it.

The minute he saw me his mask fell firmly into place and his gorgeous face took on the countenance of a dude who couldn’t care less. His eyes went a stony blank and quickly shifted from mine.

He could pretend all he liked, but I knew the real Dev. He was terrified and when he got that way he would fight because it was infinitely easier for him to yell than cry. What he didn’t seem to understand was that if he couldn’t cry, I would do it for him.

“You look like you’re down a couple of priestesses.” At one time they numbered six.

Dev arched an eyebrow, his voice lazy and uncaring. “The trouble with the Unseelie sent two of them home. I will miss them terribly, of course. They were unique and a pleasure to f*ck.”