That explains the screaming.
I look at Silas for the hundred and first time. Any hope that the spell would shake him awake changes into alarm when I see that Baelfire has set the fae down and is checking his pulse.
“He’s fine, baby,” he says quickly, offering a warm smile. “Just wanted to double-check.”
Thank the fucking universe.
Kenzie finally straightens, groaning as she takes in our surroundings. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to send us under the high school bleachers. I just have a lot of fun memories under here when my parents didn’t know I snuck into town,” she tacks on with a wink.
That earns a teasing poke from Luka before he notices Silas. “Is he…sick or something?”
“Or something.”
Kenzie looks at me with an expression I’ve seen on Lillian’s face countless times. It’s a mix of concern and hope.
“Look, now that we’re out of the woods—literally—and you guys just need to lay low, do you want to come stay at my parents’ place? It’s pretty far out of town since you know all those pesky laws about legacies living outside official city limits, so they’ll mostly be away from humans or whatever. It’ll give you a place to rest.”
I consider it, observing my quintet. Baelfire grins like he thinks it’s a good idea. Everett shakes his head, and Crypt doesn’t seem to care as he lights another one of his cigarettes, rolling one of his shoulders as if it’s in pain. All of them are still in bad condition.
We need somewhere Silas can rest, where we won’t be found. But as much as I like Kenzie, I don’t know and therefore don’t trust her parents. All I know is that they may belong to one of the anti-legacy factions. I doubt they’d be pleased if thetelumshowed up at their door.
By now, I’m sure most legacies have heard I’m in the mortal realm.
Aside from all of that…there was howling when we transported. This “Douglas” guy must be one of the bounty hunters and apparently can sense magic somehow, so he may have been close enough to feel my magic when we left. If that’s the case and they’re hot on our tail, I don’t want to be too close to Kenzie or her quintet, or they might get dragged into the crossfire.
“Thanks, but no. We’ll stay in this area briefly and move on as soon as possible,” I decide. “Is there a hotel or something? And somewhere to get spell ingredients?”
“Spell ingredients?” Baelfire frowns. “What for?”
“You four are inconveniently high-profile and well-known.” Not to mention, Everett will be especially easily recognized byhumans, given his supermodel career in their world. “We’ll need to change your appearances somehow.”
Kenzie grins. “I would totally offer to help give your guys makeovers, but I need to stay with Vivienne. Plus, my family willfreakwhen we show up, so I doubt I’ll be going anywhere for a while. There aren’t any stores around here that cater to casters or legacies in general, so I’m not sure about the spell ingredients…but there are a couple of nice hotels you could try.”
Vivienne moans and grimaces, shifting in Dirk’s arms. Immediately, Kenzie zeroes in on her, worry eclipsing her face. The lioness shifter rattles off her parents’ address, makes me promise to at least let her know when we leave town, and we say our goodbyes.
As soon as she leaves with her quintet, I turn to mine.
“Thank gods,” Baelfire grumbles, wrapping me in a very warm hug. “They’re nice and all, but I’ve been fucking dying to hold you. I know how much you hate PDA, so I waited. You’re welcome. Feel free to praise me.”
I fight a smile and relax into his hug for a second. At least his touch doesn’t really seem to trigger my haphephobia now.
To my shock, Everett embraces me from behind and kisses me softly on the back of my neck. The sudden contrast of his cool touch gives me goosebumps, and my brain skips back to Kenzie’s suggestion to try temperature play with these two. I wasn’t entertaining that idea at the time, but now…
No. Nope. I can’t let myself eventhinkabout that right now when Baelfire is far too good at sniffing out the tiniest hint of my arousal. Besides, Silas is lying fevered on the ground nearby, and he’s my top priority. There will be no fucking around until I know he’s okay.
Crypt catches my eye over Baelfire’s shoulder and grins crookedly. “I’d happily join the huddle, but you look as if you’re plotting. Care to share?”
I extract myself from the tempting duo and clear my throat. “Yes. We’ll stay at a hotel tonight while Silas rests. I also need to buy a phone.”
Baelfire’s brows go up. “Youwant to buy a phone? You hate phones. Why don’t you just use Crypt’s enchanted phone that Silas set up?”
“Lost that somewhere,” Crypt corrects.
Bael huffs. “You’re as bad as Maven. Just use mine, Boo. I brought it just in case.”
I shake my head. “It needs to be a burner phone. I don’t want the demon to have your number.”
Everett rears back. “Demon?No. Absolutely not. You are not getting in touch with a godsdamned demon.”
