Growling, I peeled the robe off as I went to my closet, tugging on an off-the-shoulder cropped sweater. From the drawer,I grabbed the first pair of underwear I could, some black boyshorts, and slipped them on.
I padded toward the noise just in time to hear Lucus’ polished accent crack with fury. “That’s a bunch of fairy shit, and you know it!”
Men.I rolled my eyes.If it weren’t for big dicks and olive jar lids, I swear…
Leaning into the doorway, arms crossed, voice like a blade, I asked, “What fairy shit?”
Every head in the room turned to me, and just like that, I was back in control.
“Ni! How are you feeling? Anything weird?”
Van was the first to rush over, eyes sharp, hands gentle. He placed the back of his hand against my forehead, playing the part of overanxious mother hen.
I wanted to roll my eyes, but instead, I forced my face into neutrality, schooling the shivers that started rippling under my skin. My body wasoff, still humming thanks to those pulsing, golden threads that had rooted themselves in me earlier. I wasn't about to start explainingthatto anyone. Not yet. Not until I understood what the hell it was.
So, I shrugged, letting the mask fall over my face. “I’m fine.”
Van’s all-knowing eyes looked over me, and before he could call me on it, something shifted when I really looked at him. Van. Earth mage. Bomb on floor. Club.
Oh, fuck, what happened to my club?!
A jolt of panic surged through me. My fingers shot out, grabbing his hand and gripping it hard, just to make sure he was solid, here, breathing.
“What about the club?” I asked urgently. “Did your magic hold up?”
His blazing green eyes met mine with calm, grounding warmth. The soft curve of his lips, half-smile, half-reassurance, nearly yanked the breath from my lungs.
“The club’s fine,” he said gently. “As soon as the blast hit, the magic I embedded into the walls wrapped around the shockwave. It couldn't spread. Whoever did this didn’t know the structure—walls, studs, foundation—is laced with reinforced earth magic. Walls, studs, foundation. We’re good.”
I swayed a little where I stood, as if some invisible cord had been cut. “Fuck. Thank god.”
All the tension that had my body in a vise grip finally released. My club, the empire I had built with my blood, sweat, and ruthlessness, was intact.
It wasn’t just a building. It was my sanctuary. My brand. My power. If that place had crumbled… I might have, too.
Just as relief washed over me, a colder sensation took its place, something sharp and simmering.
Rage.
Someone tried to destroy the one place I called mine. Tried to collapse everything I’d built. I was going to make sure they regretted taking a single breath.
My mind kicked into motion, logical thought slicing through the haze as I spoke aloud. “No one outside of you, me, and my siblings knows about the magical security measures in the building. We went out of our way to keep it classified. Calix even burned the blueprints—physicallyanddigitally. Scrubbed everything. There shouldn’t be a trace.”
A strange emptiness suddenly bloomed in my stomach like I’d swallowed a void. I rubbed at it absently, unable to shake the feeling of something unraveling.
“What’s wrong?!”
Alic’s booming voice cut through the room as he practically jumped over the couch to get to me, his massive frame tense, raised arms ready to catch me if I so much as blinked wrong.
“Is it your?—”
I cut off whatever panic-fueled question he was about to ask with a dry laugh and waved him off.
“I’m just hungry,” I muttered, which was true. Kind of. Hunger was easier to admit thanmagical body weirdness and psychological whiplash.
I tried to move past him, heading for the fridge, but Lucus stepped in front of me. That vampire moved lightning-fast, pulling out a chair like I needed to be escorted to dinner.
“Sit down, darling. I’ll make you something to eat.”
