“Well, give your boyfriend our greetings, then.” The Crusader said.
“Sure,” I said, barely holding back the urge to gag. “Wyatt will love that.”
“No, not that one,” the Crusader said, flashing a grin. “I meant the one with red hair.”
Chapter 26
Wyatt
I staredat my father’s mansion from the guard’s box a hundred yards away. Today, the house looked like it belonged in a horror movie. According to the weather man on my hotel television, there was no end in sight for the torrential downpour I’d woken up to.
It matched my mood, really. I didn’t enjoy coming to see my father. I typically avoided it at all costs.
Rafe had dropped me off after dinner last night, but I hadn’t wanted to come see him until it was absolutely necessary. I needed the hours overnight to myself to mentally prepare for this visit. The hotel I’d stayed in had been nice, but it wasn’t Skye’s apartment.
Not that I’d been able to actuallystayin Skye’s apartment more than once. I just preferred being in the islands where I was close to her. Everywhere else seemed dull and lifeless by comparison.
“You’re all set, Mr. Craig.” The security guard said, giving me a nod as he put down the landline phone.
I nodded back, swallowing thickly and mentally preparing to not only see my father, but get absolutely soaked beforehand.
Might as well give him a lengthier list of things to berate me over.
Just as I pushed open the door to the guard’s box, a shrill voice rang out, cutting through the pounding rain.
“WYATT!?”
I groaned.
There, in the doorway, was my younger sister Willow.
She wore a bubblegum pink, velvet tracksuit, no doubt with rhinestones across the butt. Willow was the definition of a girly-girl, just like her mother.
Willow waved her hands wildly at me, like I wouldn’t see the bright pink dot that was her from miles away.
I waved, then stepped out into the rain. I looked around when no cold rain pelted me, and then I glanced up to see Willow waving again, and it hit me.
Willow was using her affinity to keep the water off of me. While cold, I walked across the massive lawn without getting a single drop on my coat.
I hummed to myself as I made my way up the dozen stone steps leading to the front door. Willow’s control over her affinity had grown considerably since the last time I’d seen her use it.
Willow threw her arms around me before I’d made it two steps onto the landing.
“Hi!” She pulled back to beam at me.
She was now holding the rain off of the both of us, and I wanted to scratch my head in confusion. When had I seen Willow use her affinity last? It really had been a while. She could barely conjure up a glass of water, last I could recall.
“Hi,” I replied a little stiffly.
“Come in!” She skipped away in a cloud of floral perfume. I followed after her, going still as soon as I made it inside.
The chilly but humid air from outside followed me in, and with a near-slam of the door behind me, the roaring sound of the pouring rain cut off abruptly, leaving the foyer stiflingly silent. Even Willow’s fuzzy slippers seemed to echo on the marble tiles.
But that wasn’t what gave me such harsh pause.
Lauren, Willow’s mother, was halfway up the stairs, and she’d stopped midway to gaze at me. Her knuckles were ghost white and shaking even as they held the banister in a death grip. Her newestnurse, an older white woman with partially grown out colored hair, stood beside her, bearing most of her weight.
“Hi, Wyatt.” Lauren slurred out, giving me a crooked smile. “Good to s-see you.”
