"I heard Sasha's getting promoted by You Know Who," Jared continued. "Wonder if he'll be too important for his personal zoo."
"He'll make time for you, Jared," Rhyn assured him.
"I suppose. Not sure why he has a half-breed like you hanging around when he's got a full-blooded demon like me here."
Rhyn knew why well enough. In Sasha's zoo, he was at the bottom of the food chain of the otherworldly collection of creatures. He intended to keep his relationship to their zookeeper a secret. Sasha had an affinity for collecting the worst of the worst -- creatures whose intentions toward humans and immortals alike were as far from the Immortal Code as could be.
Despite Rhyn's fury and occasional diversion from the Immortal Codes, he still believed in them, a weakness Sasha was trying to beat out of him since their eldest brother --the peacemaker and enforcer of the Council That Was Seven --sentenced them both to Hell.
"Fuck you, Sasha," he whispered into the darkness, not caring if Sasha heard him or not.
Fuck you, Kris, for making me do what I did, and fuck you, Andre, for pulling the trigger and sending me here with Sasha.
When he was out of Hell, he'd already planned on kicking the ass of their eldest brother, Andre, and killing Kris. The Council That Was Seven would survive without the three of them: Sasha, who'd sold out long ago; Kris, who needed to die; and him, whom Andre'd kill as soon as he killed Kris.
As much as they hate me for aligning with the Dark One, they hate you more for our father's death,Sasha had told him smugly more than once.
It was true, and only Andre supported his petition to be recognized as one of the seven sons charged by their father with protecting humanity against the Dark One. By the time he came of age, his other six brothers had not only come of age but also had each adopted a continent of responsibility. His late birth in the immortal world landed him Antarctica, where he could do little harm with his wild powers.
As much as he hated Hell, he hated Antarctica more.
Restless, he rose and paced again, wondering why Sasha needed an ancient healer in his zoo, a place where creatures came to suffer.
He sensed what Gabriel wouldn't say: things were about to change for him, and he suspected that meant he'd soon be free. Whoever it was he was to protect, even his promise to Gabriel wouldn't stand in his way of revenge.