A Dangerous Demon King (The Sentinel Demons Book 4) Read Online Free PDF Page B

looking like somebody had dragged her through Hell—which was, unfortunately, actually a pretty accurate description of what had been happening to her for the last few hundred years.
    “I can’t believe my sister is meant to be mated to Kristoff,” he grumbled aloud.
    “I thought you’d be happy,” Athena commented, her brow raising expectantly as she looked at him.
    “I’m happy and grateful to see my Sophie again. I thought she was dead a long time ago. But I’m not so sure I want any guy attached to her. Hell, she was just a kid when she disappeared. It’s going to be rough thinking of her as an adult.”
    Zach knew what happened between mates, and just the thought of Kristoff messing with his sister that way made him wary. Granted, he was going to have to accept her as an adult woman, but it wasn’t going to be easy.
    Hunter commiserated, “You took care of her. You were her big brother. It is going to be hard to forget she’s all grown up because you didn’t see her becoming an adult.”
    “I agree,” Drew added. “But Kristoff will take care of her. There’s no one you’d trust with her more than him, and you know it.”
    Athena spoke in a quieter, thoughtful voice. “He is the right mate for her, Zach. I don’t know any Sentinel who deserves a mate more than he does, even though he doesn’t think so. He’s waited a long time for this. I think he gave up on ever finding his mate a long time ago. He doesn’t think he deserves one, so he’s going to be resistant to the idea himself.”
    Zach frowned, wondering why someone like Kristoff would feel unworthy, but he sensed that Athena wouldn’t answer that question. “I know,” he agreed. “I couldn’t ask for anybody better. But I just found Sophie. I guess I want some time to make things up to her.”
    “It wasn’t your fault,” Athena answered. “If the Evils wanted her, they would have found another opportunity. It’s obvious they knew she was special.”
    “Yeah, that’s another thing. What’s her gift, her unusual power? We have everything we need.”
    Athena shook her head. “That hasn’t been revealed to me. I’m sorry. We won’t know unless she mates with Kristoff.”
    “Is he going to make it?” Drew asked quietly, absently rotating Kristoff’s ring on his finger uncomfortably, like he wanted it gone and back where it belonged.
    “I should hope so,” Athena replied. “If he was able to survive the torture of the Evils, he can certainly deal with the toxins. He has a lot more immunity to them than a regular Sentinel.”
    “I still feel like the balance is off,” Drew remarked, sounding concerned.
    “It will be off until Kristoff is well. With the amount of Evils we destroyed and after I drained Goran of his stolen power, we should be okay for a while. All we need is our king to be strong again. Just because the balance is restored, that doesn’t mean that it always will be. The balance is a fragile thing, and we’ll always have to be ready to deal with the Evils. Things will go on the same way they did before the gross imbalance started. Kristoff will need to recruit more Sentinels, and new radiants will be born. The Evils won’t give up. They’ll try harder than ever to gain power, and we’ll still need to corral them. However, this time we’ll be a lot more prepared.”
    “Will you lead us?” Zach asked curiously, wondering if the hierarchy would change now that their goddess creator was among them.
    She shook her head emphatically. “No. Never. The power to lead has always been Kristoff’s. He’s critical to our survival now. If something happened to me, the world would go on. If something happens to him, we’re all screwed. He has powers I don’t possess; powers I gave to him that can never be given or taken back. Not to mention thousands of years of experience.”
    He nodded. Her explanation made sense. Athena had given Kristoff the power to create new Sentinels, broker deals, decide what