“Jenny...” Annette shook her head, looking pained. She knew me well enough to know what I was about to say.
I ignored her. “Until we get this sorted out, Ronnie—and his mom too, I guess—are staying with us.”
“Go home. I told you, we’re not worshipping the ancient gods tonight. You have a chemistry exam in the morning.”
CHAPTER9
Annette
Iwaited until Ronnie disappeared through the door of the B&B, then dragged Jenny out of the van and out of earshot. Then I dragged her a bit farther, since I had no idea how far a ghost van’s hearing might reach. “What the hell are you doing? Talking to that punk is one thing, but inviting him into our home?”
“Artemis told me to find him. And I’ll be a lot happier knowing where he is and what he’s doing. Would you rather he keep running around all stabby and unsupervised?”
“I’d rather you talk to us before making a decision like this.”
Jenny started to argue, then caught herself. She ran a hand through her short, graying mess of hair. I wished she’d either grow it out or maybe try an undercut, anything to update that old pixie cut. “That’s fair. I apologize. But hopefully, those dreams of his will help us get ahead of whatever’s coming. Also—”
“You feel sorry for him,” I finished. “Even though you saw what he did to the harvester that threatened his mother.”
“He thought it was going to hurt her. Wouldn’t you have done the same to protect Blake or your grandkids?”
For a woman with divinely enhanced senses, Jenny could be thick. “This isn’t about them. It’s about protecting Temple.”
Jenny went still. “What?”
“You had the same thought I did. I saw it on your face. You’re afraid Ronnie’s dreams mean Temple is going to slip up and break the world.”
She shook her head. “Not if we’re there to watch over him.”
“Maybe.” I didn’t like it either, but we couldn’t run from the facts. “But Ronnie’s here to save the world and to prove himself, not necessarily in that order. He’s clearly a slay first, talk later guy. What happens when he figures out one of the most powerful men on the continent is losing control of that power? What’s to stop him from sneaking into Temple’s room and cutting his throat in his sleep, thinking he’s saving the whole damn world?”
Jenny took a step back like I’d punched her on the nose. Which I also wanted to do. All morning I’d felt like a bubbling meatsack full of barely restrained demonic rage. When we’d first entered the B&B and CJ was staring at the ugliness of my injuries, I’d been half a second from popping my claws and ripping the eyes from his head.
It wasn’t the physical pain that had me in such a hateful mood. It was pure vanity. Humans were a vain, prideful lot, but they had nothing on succubi. When I’d gotten out of bed this morning and seen myself in the mirror, I’d cried for the first time since my second husband’s death.
I was trapped in scarred, ugly flesh. I knew it was irrational. I knew it was shallow. I even knew, logically, that I was lucky. A human burnt this badly would spend the rest of their life like this. I’d be back to myself within a week.
It didn’t matter. This body, this skin, it waswrong. Every time I saw the yellowed blisters and the reddened flesh and the dark scabs, I had to fight the urge to claw off my own skin.
“Are you all right?” asked Jenny. “I know how hard this is for you.”
People who knew you were so annoying. “I don’t need pity,” I snapped. “I need you to keep Ronnie Kensington out of our house and away from Temple.”
“You really think he could take on Temple Finn?” Jenny asked. “Especially in his own home?”
“Ten years ago? Not a chance. These days, who the hell knows? Ronnie fought a harvester and lived. We don’t know what other tricks he has.”
Jenny nodded slowly. “I won’t let Ronnie hurt anyone. Neither will you. Neither will the house, for that matter. If he tries anything, he’ll find himself falling down the stairs or knocked unconscious by a chunk of ceiling plaster.”
She had a point, but I wasn’t calm enough to admit it quite yet.
“I don’t feel sorry for Ronnie, by the way,” Jenny continued. “But I know the road he’s on and where it leads. All that anger and grief and righteousness and violence...”
“You want to save him.” I threw up my hands in disgust. “Of course you do.”
“So do you,” she said, grinning. “You’re just too stubborn and grumpy to admit it.”
I flipped her off, but before I could say anything more, my phone rang, making us both jump. I yanked the damn thing from my purse. The phone was on silent, but I’d set a handful of people to bypass that so I wouldn’t miss emergency calls. I checked the screen, and my chest constricted as I answered. “Ava? What’s wrong?”
