I focus on tuning him out until it feels like a door shuts between us in the bond, cutting off whatever he's saying. He laughs again.
Now that he's not tortured by voices and paranoia, is he going to tease me all the time?
Fucking miscreant.
Baelfire frowns, looking between Silas and me as he realizes he's missing something. "More time for what, Raincloud? We came here to wait for Silas to recover, so what's the plan now?"
Now, I need to get my hands on etherium. "Tomorrow morning, we'll leave to find another place to lay low until I find a way to contact the black market dealer I'm looking for. He's notoriously difficult to trace."
Everett studies me. "I have connections. They may know who you're looking for."
"Big fucking surprise that theFrosthas shady connections," Bael scoffs. "I bet your family practically owns the black market."
"So what if they do? Connections come in handy."
The elemental turns back to me, trying to adjust my torn sweatshirt to better cover me. When that fails, he slips out of his bulky coat and wraps me in it. It's not warm coming straight from his body, but his soft mint scent clinging to it soothes me.
"Tracking the dealer can wait until tomorrow. Let's finishthis—" Everett pulls a face at the motionless, one-eyed Undead. "So we can get back to our actual date."
His squeamishness about the Undead is too funny not to tease. "Thisisour actual date. So far, it's the best date I've ever been on. Maybe we should invite our Undead friend to join us."
"Gross. Stop it."
"Taking him home is the least we can do after raising him from the dead."
"Stop. You know it's freaking me out, Oakley," he grumbles.
"Is that a no to inviting him into bed? You could all have a fivesome while I watch."
Everett gags and throws his hands in the air, turning to stalk away. "That's it, you two deal with her. I'm going to go puke."
I burst into laughter, and then gasp when I'm immediately hauled up against Baelfire. He cradles me against his toasty-warm chest and nuzzles the side of my neck. I can feel his smile against my skin.
"Holy shit, I love your laugh. Just love everything about you."
Mayday, mayday—that word is being tossed aroundwaytoo fucking much tonight. It makes my chest tight, and my stomach twists into knots.
Again, I desperately try to ignore it and look over at Silas as I wrap my arms around Baelfire's neck.
"Send Gibbons to wait anywhere near the Divide in Maine."
"Why Maine?"
"That's where I originally entered the mortal realm when I left the Nether. The Legacy Council will piece that together, track Gibbons there, and assume I have a connection or an ally in that area. That should throw off the bounty hunters for a bit longer."
He nods and turns back to the Undead mage, instructing it in the Nether tongue. Although he doesn't speak it as fluently as the necromancers who experimented on me for years, I'm still surprised how much he picked up just from studying.
Meanwhile, Baelfire bundles me closer, kisses my cheek, and heads back toward the hotel. His singed cedar scent wraps around me, cozy and warm.
“All right, hellion. Let's find a scary movie for you to watch while we cuddle."
9
BAELFIRE
"They picked literallythe dumbest place possible to hide," Everett huffs, making a face as the monster rips two more humans apart offscreen.
We found this old holiday-themed horror movie while scrolling through the channels. It's complete with cheesy acting, gratuitous amounts of fake gore, and a ridiculously fake monster chasing screaming humans and legacies around an abandoned mansion decked in lights and mistletoe.
