The Sweetest Burn. Jeaniene Frost

shrugged. “It’s a map of sorts, and perhaps if you would have looked closer, you would have discovered it when you were searching for the slingshot, too.”

      Archons and their cryptic-speak, not to mention their lack of initiative that bordered on apathy. Figures there had been a map back then and Zach hadn’t told me. For all I knew, he had another map in his pocket now, yet couldn’t be bothered to mention that, either. “Or, why don’t you just tell me where the staff is, if you know?” I said to cut through all the crap.

      â€œBecause this is your task to succeed or fail at, Davidian,” was Zach’s inexorable reply.

      Don’t hit the Archon, I reminded myself while clenching my fists. We still needed him.

      Zach’s mouth twitched, as if he found my impotent rage amusing. “Adrian is coming with you, Ivy. Don’t bother to list all the reasons why you don’t want him to. The fact remains that he must or you will not only fail, you won’t survive. That’s why I rescinded his ban from seeing you earlier today.”

      My gaze swung to Adrian. “What do you mean, he rescinded your ban from seeing me?”

      A low, almost growling sound left Adrian. “Zach put a supernatural restraining order on me. I couldn’t get within a mile of you without suddenly becoming paralyzed, Costa supernaturally forgot every message I tried to send you through him, and if I attempted to call, text or email you, my phone would blow up.”

      â€œReally?” Costa looked bewildered. “You and I have talked several times since then, and I don’t remember that.”

      Adrian grunted. “Exactly.”

      â€œCock-blocked by an angel,” Costa muttered. “That’s new.”

      I ignored Costa’s comment in favor of giving Zach a disbelieving look. “First you supernaturally prevent Adrian from so much as texting me, then you insist that he come along on the search for the staff. What kind of game are you playing?”

      Zach’s dark brown eyes gave nothing away. “No game. Only fate.”

      Fate. My teeth ground. I really hated that word.

      â€œWhy didn’t you tell me about this on the beach?” I asked Adrian, giving up on getting a more definitive answer out of Zach.

      Adrian’s coloring was darker than normal, and when I caught the look he flashed Zach’s way, I realized why. Pride. He’d rather let me think that he was a total jerk than admit that Zach had shut him down so effectively, he’d been helpless. Yes, for longer than I cared to remember, Adrian had had both minions and demons scurrying to do his bidding. Plus, with his incredible strength, speed and fighting skills, almost no one had been able to stop Adrian from doing something he’d set his mind to. In that light, his bruised-ego silence about the way Zach had shut him down was almost understandable.

      Almost. Adrian should have told me why he’d abandoned me when I needed him the most. The fact that he hadn’t only highlighted that he was thinking more about himself than me. Plus, if he couldn’t admit something so small to me, how could I trust him with the really big things, like our fates?

      And Zach. He got the other end of my stink eye. He could have said something before now, too. Men. They were the same whether they were Archons, humans or Judians.

      Something else occurred to me. “Zach lifted his restraining order on you the same day I came across the first minions and demon I’ve seen in months?” It couldn’t be a coincidence...

      â€œIt isn’t,” Zach said, using his intrusive skills again.

      My irritation died away. His inconsideration paled next to making sure that I was still alive.

      â€œThank you,” I said, hoping for the hundredth time that Archons were more invested in the fate of humanity than they let on. Aside from my bloodline, I wasn’t anyone special, yet Zach had saved me more than a few times. I just wished I understood why so many other people had to suffer and die.

      Zach inclined his head, which was his version of “you’re welcome.” “Preparations have been made. You are to start your search for the staff at once.”

      â€œYou’re forgetting one thing,” I pointed out. “We have no idea where Moses’s staff might be. This is a big world, and that’s not even counting all the demon realms in it, too.”

      Zach glanced at Adrian, and when they exchanged a meaningful look, my hackles rose. “If either of you even think of hiding something from me again—” I began furiously.

      â€œWe’re not,” Adrian interrupted, his gaze piercing as it landed on me. “I told you, Ivy, no secrets and no holding back this time. Moses’s staff controls nature, which is why we need it to repair the realm walls and the demons also want it so they can use it to send those same walls crashing down. So, our best bet is to start with places that have natural anomalies. Even while dormant, the staff will affect what’s around it.”

      That made sense, but, “I doubt it’ll be as simple as googling places that are known for large congregations of locusts, frogs, lightning bolts or partings of seas,” I said tartly. “If so, demons would’ve found it centuries ago.”

      Adrian raised a brow. “They’ve spent a lot of time scouring places with unusual natural phenomena, but they can’t sense hallowed objects. Only you can. That’s why we’re going to find the staff and they’re not.”

      He sounded completely confident. Then again, he was overlooking the most dangerous part of this mission. It wasn’t whether or not we could find the staff. It’s what could very likely happen if I tried to use it.

      â€œI’m going with you, too,” Jasmine said, her words distracting me from a topic I didn’t want to dwell on.

      I turned to my sister. “You’ve been through enough. We’ll find you another place to stay at on hallowed ground, so you’ll be safe—”

      â€œYou think I’ll ever feel safe again?” Her voice filled with more pain than any eighteen-year-old should ever have. “I’m barely holding it together with you and Costa around me 24/7. If you leave me by myself, I’ll lose it for sure. And I spent months trapped in a demon realm, so I know what we’re up against.”

      â€œJasmine,” I tried again.

      â€œI’m going.” She cut me off with a flash of her old stubbornness. “Either help me pack or get out of my way, Ives.”

      She hadn’t called me her pet name from our childhood since we’d rescued her. That, plus the glimpse of her former spunk, melted my resistance away. Who was I to lecture her? She was right. In some ways, she’d been through a lot more than me.

      â€œFine, then you can help me pack,” I said, trying not to think about how I was going to find the staff while not getting myself killed, my sister hurt or my heart broken again.

      â€œI’ll pull our ride around,” Adrian stated.

      I gave him a doubtful look. “You think we can fit four adults and a winged gargoyle into your vintage metal baby?”

      His smile was threatening and promising, like a lion licking its prey while deciding whether to eat it now or later. “We’re bringing my Challenger, but we’re not riding in it.”

      Huh? “What’s that supposed to mean?”

      His smile widened into a grin. “Get packed and you’ll find out.”