Read Born To Be Wilde: Immortal Vegas, Book 3 for Free Online Page B

needed you, a mortal, to be the one to give it to him, willingly and without coercion, which is why he waited until you found your way here.” He frowned down at Armaeus, who stirred, his color almost completely restored. “And given that he is mortal again, he has a certain latitude that he did not have before, in so many things.”
    A smile played over his lips. It wasn’t a good smile, exactly. The Devil kept his cards close to his impressively muscled chest. “No one will know this, of course, unless he chooses for them to know.”
    “But he’s mortal ,” I confirmed. Armaeus pulled himself to a sitting position but appeared to be in no particular hurry to stand. Instead, he leaned heavily on me, which was kind of nice in a totally forbidden sort of way. “That’s bad, right? Isn’t immortality a prerequisite of the Council?” When neither of them spoke, I persisted. “How do we change him back ?”
    Kreios placed the box on the table, drawing his finger along the edge. He shrugged. “That’s a very good question.”
    I stared at him. “You don’t know? Are you insane?” I swung my gaze to Armaeus. “Are both of you insane?”
    Before they could answer that one, I waved my hands. “Do you, or do you not need to be immortal to remain on the Council?”
    Kreios tilted his head, his gaze unreadable. “You do.”
    “Does immortality allow you do things that you can’t do as a mortal?”
    “Kreios—” Armaeus began, but Kreios cut him off. He had a thing with honesty. I liked that about him.
    “It does. Armaeus is at risk from many factions now, should they learn of his…altered state. Which of course, they won’t.”
    “But how do you know that?” I demanded. “It’s not like you people don’t have enemies. How hard is it for someone to figure out that one of you has put yourself in Time-Out?”
    Kreios smirked. “Time On, more appropriately.”
    “You know what I mean!” I snapped, but my heart gave a hard lurch. Armaeus was mortal. Would he age faster for some reason? Faster than regular mortals? Would all his years catch up with him at once? And would he fall prey to any stray illness or disease, with so many lifetimes of immunity he hadn’t built up? “He can’t stay like this, right? I’m right, aren’t I. Staying like this would be very bad.”
    Kreios’s lips firmed into a tight line. Then he nodded. “Eventually. Yes.”
    “Then how—”
    “There is plenty of time to consider the problem,” Armaeus interrupted me. He stood in one graceful movement, pulling me up alongside him. He squeezed my hand, then dropped it, and I fought the urge to blush. What was wrong with me? “Thank you, Miss Wilde.” He turned to Kreios. “I assume there’s a reason why you’re here, beyond oversharing?” he asked, his voice both fully restored and plainly exasperated.
    I blinked back and forth between them, then focused on Kreios as he pulled a long slender blade out of his jacket pocket. He brandished it at me. “Would you prefer to do the honors?”
    “Um…what’s that for?”
    Kreios clearly picked up on my concern, and his grin turned a shade darker. “I assure you, I’m not asking you to knife Armaeus in the throat while he has been weakened.” He pointed to the box. “Merely to open the treasure you provided us.”
    “With a kitchen knife? Do you have any idea the kind of knives and picks and levers I’ve already used on this thing?”
    “You’ll find this more effective.”
    I glanced at Armaeus, who gestured me on. “I’m quite recovered for the moment, Miss Wilde. Open it.”
    Kreios spun the box toward me as I approached, then handed me a pair of white cloth gloves. “To allow you to handle whatever is inside without concern,” he said when I looked at him questioningly. I donned the gloves and took his offered knife. “It appears to be held together only with nails, no locking mechanism. I can sense no magical ward on it either.”
    I frowned, tracing my