For the first time since we met, I find myself in complete agreement with Callum.
Somehow I get connedinto joining their luncheon, which is night and day different from the last meal we shared. The kitchen table is cluttered with bread, deli meats, and assorted condiments. There are elbows flying, discordant chatter, and an absence of any clearly delineated organizational structure.
Within seconds, I’m violently overwhelmed. Shame floods my chest when I realize I’m not even sure how to construct a sandwich.
I’m trying to figure out a way to excuse myself without offending Sarah or Joshua when Sheena slides an occupied plate in front of me. She cuts the sandwich in half, smiling a bit when I stare. “Give that one a try,” she encourages me.
I bite into her creation, pleasantly surprised to find it’s not as bad as I expected. Sheena turns back to the chaos in front of her and starts assembling another sandwich. I watch, intrigued, as she grapples with the nightmare over the mustard and laughs at a joke Gideon makes. Even pale with exhaustion, she’s radiant.
When she finishes making her own sandwich, I take the knife from her hand. She looks at me in confusion, but I simply incline my head, cutting through the bread and meat carefully just the way she did for me. When I pull back, I’m rewarded with a conspiratorial smile as she swipes a bag of chips from the melee. She tucks them between our arms and out of anyone else’s reach.
“How are you so comfortable with...” I struggle for the right words, hesitant to offend her with an unfair characterization, and eventually settle for gesturing with a sweep of my hand to the mayhem.
“Foster kid.” Sheena grimaces. “You learn how to get your elbows out pretty quickly in the system or sometimes you don’teat.” She looks fondly at the people stuffing their faces around the table. “This is different, but the skills are transferrable.”
She pops a chip into her mouth, but I can’t keep my mouth closed. “It’s not like this in my realm.” I’m not sure what possessed me to say it. Sheena looks over at me with curiosity.
“I guess it’s more formal.” She prods gently while also providing me with an easy out if I choose to drop the conversation.
“Yes, that’s true, I suppose. There are a lot of ceremonial customs that accompany most meals, even among family.” I don’t tell her about testing everything for poison or the constant assassination attempts. “Dining in the fae realm... Let’s just say, this warmth is absent.”
She nods at me, her smile falling. I curse myself for removing it.
“I haven’t experienced much warmth in my life either.” She looks around at the crowded table where multiple conversations are peppered with boisterous laughter. “Maybe this is a new beginning for us both.” Her voice is soft, like she’s afraid if she says it too loud, she’ll spoil it somehow.
Perhaps she is right.
I grab a handful of the salty chips from the bag in between us and put them on my plate. We continue the meal until most of the assorted shifters who live in the compound have left the table and the noise reaches a more manageable decibel.
“Gideon tells me the hunters hit the southern enclave,” Joshua says, his face grim as he turns to address me.
I wipe my mouth and take a sip of water, then pass on all the information from the earlier report, stopping only when someone asks me a question. Sheena listens in silence, her face crumpling as I give more details.
“They burned them all alive? Why?” She asks.
“The hunters are a very driven group,” Joshua begins, tactful as always, although his jaw is clenched.
“It’s a fucking cult,” Gideon growls.
Joshua doesn’t contradict him, and I pick up the explanation.
“Hunters have been around for hundreds of years, long before the enclaves formed. They’re incredibly secretive, but from what we can tell, they raise each new generation to track down and kill supernaturals.”
“This is a deviation from their usual pattern,” Callum points out, and I’m impressed to see he picked up on that so quickly. “The leaders in the south keep their shit close to the belt. Very few people would have known about that house, right? So how the hell did the hunters find out about it?”
No one has an answer for him, a fact that’s deeply unsettling.
“Could they have a mole?” Sheena asks, and we all weigh her words.
“It’s a good idea, but I don’t see it working,” Sarah says, her lips pursed as she passes around a plate of cookies. “The hunters are zealots. I don’t think they would partner with a supernatural willingly, even for a strategic advantage.”
Nods follow her assessment, but Sheena’s suggestion sinks into my brain and stays there. Hunters could become a real threat if they are indeed updating their tactics. Moreover, we have an even bigger problem on our hands if someone in our community is choosing to sell out our most vulnerable members.
As everyone finishes their meal and pushes back from the table, I catch Sheena’s arm and press a kiss to the delicate skin of her wrist.
“Thank you for the sandwich, little djinn.”
I leave the room without another word, enjoying her stunned expression and the waves of aggression coming off of her demon and shifter.
