"Enjoying the show, Crane?" he drawls.
"Very much. Where's Baelfire?"
Everett loosens his tie ever so slightly, looking exhausted. "He didn't want Maven to see all the blood."
Damn it. "How bad was it?" I ask Crypt.
"If you're offering to kiss my boo-boos away, you can go fuck yourself instead. Frost told us the elixir didn't work on Maven." He stands and goes toe to toe with me, his violet eyes murderous. "For your sake, you'd better hope the next draught works. If you're useless to her, I see no reason to keep you around."
Everett rolls his eyes. "Back off, dream eater. We all know you won't hurt any of us because it would upset Maven. Your bark has lost its bite."
Did Everett Frost justdefendme? I make a face. "Just because I'll watch you kiss our keeper doesn't mean I want your friendship, you frozen ass."
The elemental's face turns bright red, and he mutters something under his breath about my creepy-ass red eyes before storming toward Maven's room.
"I'm not covered in blood, so I'll be with her. Crypt, wash that shit off of you."
Her door closes, and the Nightmare Prince looks at me. "Did fuckingFrostjust try to give me an order? So much for him not being covered in blood."
Before he can move to go after Everett, I hold out an arm to stop him, shaking my head. "Don't stir up shit tonight. Maven is tired. We're all fucking tired."
"Especially you," he smirks cruelly. "How many days has it been since your insanity last let you sleep? Three? Four?"
I grit my teeth, my freshly-powered magic tickling at my fingertips. I'm always on edge around Crypt, and if he keeps insisting on needling me, I'm going to end up hurting him and upsetting Maven.
Just a little murder won't hurt, a voice in my head insists.
He'll kill you if you don't get to him first.
Avenge me. Do something useful for once, my father hisses.
Baelfire steps out of the hallway shower wrapped in nothing but steam and a black towel. He doesn't bat an eye at the standoff between me and Crypt. He just shoves us apart so he can walk through the hall to Maven's room. Obviously, his inner dragon is making him moody.
When her door opens, I can hear Maven's sigh of relief, and then she pokes her head out into the hallway to look for the rest of us. I quickly step in front of Crypt to hide his bloodied clothes from her.
She's too smart for that and rolls her eyes. "As long as no one is hurt, blood on clothing won't bother me. Both of you come here. I have a request."
We exchange one more glare before walking side by side to Maven's room. Crypt shoves me into the wall to go in first, and I repay him by discreetly kicking him in the shin when I pass by him on the way into the room.
Baelfire, the big brute, immediately picks up Maven and sits on the edge of the bed with her in his lap, burying his face in the crook of her neck. The rest of us scowl and glare at him for not even asking first, but she gently traces the collar around his neck as she glances over the rest of us. I notice that she’s put gloves on again, to hide her blackened fingertips from the others.
"What did you want, love?" Crypt asks. "Anything, and it's yours."
She squirms a little, and Baelfire promptly takes her off his lap and sets her beside him. At the very least, I can be glad the assholes I'm in this quintet with know how to sense when Maven's haphephobia is acting up.
"Don't be too sure. It's a weird request," she mumbles.
She's usually so confident. Seeing her unsure makes me move to sit on her other side, smiling gently. "There's remarkably little the lot of us wouldn't do for you."
Maven fidgets, clearing her throat. "Would you all sleep in here tonight? With me? I just…" It seems to take effort for her to get the next words out. "I need to know that you're all safe. And close. If you don't mind."
I blink. Everett and Crypt look equally surprised, but Baelfire's face lights up like the sun.
"You want a sleepover? Abso-fucking-lutely, Mayflower. Also, that's not a weird request at all. Most fully fledged quintets sleep in the same room, you know."
Our keeper looks between us and arches a brow pointedly. Her meaning is clear: most quintets aren'tus, with all our ongoing squabbles.
We all exchange looks and come to a silent agreement: if Maven wants us to play nice and stay in the same room, we can manage it.
