Temple of Magic and Bone (The Inferno Universe #3)

Chapter 8

8

T he parking lot at the crematorium was empty when they arrived, but Vanth still checked their surroundings before getting out. Elektra didn't strike him as someone who got frightened easily, and he could smell her anxiety whenever Lazarus was mentioned. Whatever she had seen him do at the temple had freaked her the hell out.

Vanth had a million things he wanted to ask her. 'Who the fuck is my father?' was the main one, though how his sweet mother had closed the tear in the Veil was a high second. He knew she was powerful, but maybe, like him, she had been shielding just how deep her necromancy abilities went.

Elektra was carrying a small shoulder bag that she hadn't had before. Vanth assumed it was a work bag of some kind that she had put into her pack during her flight from the temple. Her sickles were shoved down either side of her boots, their blades neatly folded down.

"Try not to scare Andres too much," he said, and her glare eased.

"I'll try, but all of this worries me. I should have stayed and checked the bodies. Buried them," she replied, her guilt evident.

Vanth wasn't used to trying to comfort people. "If you had done that, then this Lazarus asshole would have you too. We will do everything we can to find them, Elektra. That has to be enough."

Elektra's gray eyes softened, and she nodded. "You are right. It still hurts though."

"I know. Try to think about how good it's going to feel to kick their asses." Vanth knocked on the back door of the crematorium before he did something epically stupid like try to hug her. He didn't even fucking know her. Stupid fae instincts . "Open up, Andres."

The door unlocked. Andres took one look at Elektra and let out a surprised yip before bowing low and saying something in an ancient fae language. Vanth knew some of the dialects but had no clue what Andres spouted at her in a gush.

Elektra smiled, and it transformed her whole face. "I have not seen one such as you for a long time, old one. Thank you for welcoming me."

Andres beamed. "If I had known you were coming, my lady, I would have been more prepared. It is an honor to have a reaper from the Temple of Magic and Bone in my establishment."

"You know who they are?" Vanth asked.

Andres gave him a cool look. "I'm surprised a big hotshot necromancer like you doesn't know about them."

Vanth was starting to think that there were many things his mother had made sure he never found out about. He looked at Elektra and cocked an eyebrow. "I've never seen Andres be so excited or polite before. What are you, some kind of princess?"

"Yes," she replied calmly, making him startle. "At least, I was before I joined the reapers."

"The Nova family of the Celestial Court is much loved and revered, even here in the human world. You would know this, Vanth, if you ever bothered to look into your own family history," Andres chided him.

Vanth shrugged. "Why should I? My mother's family disowned her when she found out she was pregnant with me. Bunch of snobbish assholes."

Elektra bit her lip, eyes wide, and then shook her head.

"What?" Vanth asked.

"I don't think they really disowned her, but that's a conversation for later," she replied. She glanced at Andres's turned back and then back to Vanth. Another secret. He nodded, but fuck, he was done with the secrets bullshit.

"We are here to see the bodies. Princess here has confirmed that they were members of her temple," Vanth said, trying to focus.

Andres bowed to Elektra again. "Forgive me. I had no idea who they were. I would never..."

"It's okay, Andres. You have been pulled into a mess you could not know about. Show me the bodies, and then I will allow you to burn them," Elektra replied. She placed a hand on the smaller fae's shoulder, and it looked like Andres was about to faint.

"Hop to it, fan girl. More lives could be at risk," Vanth said, really not liking her hand on him.

Andres glared at him. "For once in your life, show some respect, you animal."

"She broke into my house and tried to kill me. I'm not going to fall on my knees in front of her," Vanth huffed, and Andres hurried down the halls, muttering.

Elektra's mouth twitched as she walked past him. "That's a shame. I think you would look good on your knees."

Vanth's mouth fell open, everything following and falling offline. Elektra kept walking so he could do nothing but stare at her ass and try and get his brain working.

Had she just flirted with him? Or was it a princess thing? Fuck, he didn't know, but damn, was his mind going to filthy places.

"Are you coming or what?" Andres called down the hallway.

Vanth rearranged his shirt to ensure it was covering the sudden and inconvenient bulge in his pants.

She is not for you , he told his dick and then went to join them. Maybe the coldness of the morgue would cool the sudden fire in his veins. He didn't need to be crushing on some fancy princess.

He might not know much about the fae kingdoms if they didn't have representation in Inferno, but he had heard of the Celestial Court. They were a kingdom in Faerie, and they were known for their star worshippers, astronomers, and oracles. Having a name like Elektra suddenly made sense. How had one of their precious princesses managed to get away from their duties and start worshiping Charon of all gods?

Even more fucking questions. Maybe he needed to tie Elektra to a chair until she answered everything he wanted to know. His dick approved of the idea. Yeah, he really couldn't think about tying her up either. He needed to get his game face on. Fuck .