“I will.”
“Keep yourself safe in the meantime. Make sure your wards are strong.”
I nod, although he cannot see me, but he says goodbye and hangs up as though I replied in the affirmative. I place my phone gently aside and let my blessing out to probe at the wards.
They are far stronger than they were last night, though at first glance, they seem not to have changed at all. I feel the push of Grant’s power and gasp. He sleeps on, but apparently, his magic is still keeping us both safe.
I settle back down beside him and when he lets out a quiet, satisfied noise, I curl around him, drawing him even closer.
Perhaps he will wake and regret all of this. Perhaps he will not remember it happened at all.
Until then, I will soak up every moment I can.
Asher and Quinn arrive five hours later. Asher calls ahead when they are half an hour away, so by the time I hear a faint knock on our room door, I am as prepared as I can be.
Which is to say I am still in bed next to Grant. Every time I attempt to move away, he makes a distressed sound, and I pull him closer, hold him tighter.
I reach out with my blessing and the lock snicks as it opens. “Come in,” I murmur. They will both hear it.
Asher enters first and stops dead once he catches sight of us. Quinn walks into the back of him, then peeks around his shoulder, eyes going big and round. At least Asher has the grace to catch himself quickly.
“You… You’re both all right?”
“I said so on the phone.”
Asher presses his lips together. He and his mate exchange a look that I do not waste any time interpreting. “Should we come back?”
I sigh. Grant has shown no signs of waking, and I have only slept a few hours myself. The faster I explain things, the faster we go back to resting, as I wish to be awake again at sundown. “No. Sit. Please.”
Asher cocks an eyebrow atpleaseand gestures for Quinn to take the stool. They silently glare at each other for a few seconds before Quinn sighs and sits down, though he pulls Asher to stand alongside him.
“What happened?” Asher asks.
I do not mean to, but I explain all of it. Grant skilfully luring Jakob in. Running into his cousin and her partner. Grantdisappearing and returning here, only to find the fae, and this morning—
I leave out the kiss. There are things I would rather keep to myself. Besides, I think Quinn at least has it figured out from the blush that floods his cheeks.
Asher’s focus is elsewhere. “He was out in thesun?” The horror in his voice echoes what I felt only hours ago. Perhaps I have underestimated how much the other members of the Hunt have come to care for Grant, despite the distance I have placed between him and everyone around him.
“He survived,” I say, then shake my head. “No. It made him stronger.”
“How?”
Quinn tilts his head to one side. “Fae magic?”
“What?” Asher and I both speak at the same time, and Quinn shrugs.
“I mean, I’m not a witch or a mage or whatever.Obviously. But it seems like…” He frowns, thinking, then shakes his head. “Wolves and fae both have some kind of earth magic, right? Ours came about in response to theirs, so we’re resistant to it. And we’realsopoisonous to vampires because they have death magic and earth magic is all about life and light…”
He trails off, still frowning. Asher and I stare at each other in surprised silence. When that goes on for too long, Quinn hunches his shoulders.
“I mean, it’s probably not that, right? Not like I know about magic. I—”
Asher cuts him off by taking Quinn’s face in both hands and kissing him softly. Quinn holds on to his wrists, tension instantly melting from his frame, and I am reminded of the way Grant leaned against me earlier this morning, clinging to me so desperately.
“I think you’re onto something, pup,” Asher says, and Quinn smiles up at him.
“That is what Eirian is looking for,” I say, nodding. Not all the pieces are in place, but enough that I know she will seek out Grant again. “She wants a vampire who can withstand the light.”
