He looked at Avi and Felix. “Are you coming?”
They looked around at the others like they were surprised that Asa was speaking about their plans in front of the whole family. Thomas supposed that knowing they were all in a relationship was different from hearing it confirmed aloud, in plans that had them spending the night together, theoretically in one room…and one bed.
“Yeah,” Felix said. “She doesn’t deserve this level of vigilance.”
To Avi, he said, “Let’s go.” Then, with a faint, exhausted smile: “Carry me. My feet are killing me.”
Avi smiled, sweeping Felix up bridal style. “You got it, kitten.”
As they disappeared toward the door, the glow from the bull licked across their retreating silhouettes, haloing them.
“Come on, Lois. Let’s go to bed,” Asa said gently.
They all watched, looking as awestruck as Thomas felt by Asa’s softness with Zane. The way Asa spoke to him—low, coaxing, reverent—felt like witnessing a solar eclipse. The kind of thing you shouldn’t stare at directly, but couldn’t look away from.
It was only after the four had left that Adam jerked away from the wall. “We all saw that, right? That wasn’t some kind of mass hallucination, right?”
“It’s kind of weird, right? Seeing Asa act all…human?” Levi commented.
“Zane,” Bev gasped from inside, the sound a warped, animal wail. “Zane, please—please?—”
They all looked on, unimpressed. Her voice was no longer recognizable, just a guttural plea scraping against metal. A last, pitiful echo of something that once thought it was power.
Thomas walked as close as he dared. “He left. He didn’t even care enough to watch you die. You’re nothing to him anymore.”
The bull’s belly glowed faintly in the dimming light. The air still shimmered, heat coiling upward.
“You can all go enjoy the rest of your night,” Thomas said, before looking at Atticus with a smile. “Or retire for the evening. The kids are likely already tucked in bed and asleep for the night. Aiden and I will take care of this.”
Once they were alone, Thomas crossed to Aiden, wrapping his arms around him. Aiden smelled faintly of smoke and cold metal. Beneath it was something grounding, spicy. Home. Another bizarre sound exited from the bronze monster in the center of the room, a wet hiss, almost a sigh.
“Should we let it keep going?” Aiden asked.
Thomas turned to glower at the metal coffin. “She doesn’t deserve an easy death.” He paused, head tilted, listening. Somewhere under the hiss, he thought he could still hear the faint echo of the bull’s bellow. After a moment, he said, “But I’m sure she’s suffered enough. If she’s even still alive. Douse the fire.”
Aiden nodded, dampening the flames. The roaring softened to a cavernous growl, then a hiss. The air cooled by degrees, the heat bleeding away. The bronze ticked as it contracted. Inside, the sounds dwindled from animal to nothing at all.
Aiden donned a thick fireproof glove, moving toward the bull. Silence expanded, a pressure change you could feel in the sinuses. Neither spoke as Aiden carefully opened the hatch.
A limb flopped into view, the flesh seared to the point it appeared to have hardened, black and charred. Thomas only knew it was her arm by the lack of fingers. The smell that escaped was chemical and final.
Aiden pulled his knife and sank it into the side of her neck.
“She’s already dead,” Aiden muttered, pushing her arm back inside and locking the hatch. His tone was matter-of-fact, like checking a box on a list. “Let’s go to bed. We can deal with the leftovers in the morning.”
Thomas nodded, serene. “Agreed. We don’t need any more ghosts tonight. Let’s go shower, then check on Theo.”
“Shower together,” Aiden murmured, biting Thomas’s lower lip.
“Mm,” Thomas said, then groaned softly. “I forgot to remind the others that brunch starts at 11:30.”
“That’s what the family chat is for,” Aiden said. “How about we stop worrying about your children for a while?”
Thomas smiled, the first real one in hours. The tension in his shoulders finally uncoiled. Outside, the night was cool, alive with the distant hum of night creatures and the rustle of trees. They stepped into the darkness together, closing the door behind them.
“Do you think the party went all right?” Thomas asked as they turned off the lights to the workshop and secured the solid doors, before engaging the heavy lock.
“The party is just starting. We have a full house until Sunday.”
