“How’s Rone?” I asked Larissa, desperately needing anything to focus on other than gods killing the entire world.
“We’re in a good place,” she said with a small smile and a shrug. “A really good place. We talk all the time, share our feelings, eat food together, and co-exist in every way a couple would.” She paused with a harsh sigh. “Except for sex. We’re basically friend zoned, and I have no idea how to get out of there. It’s shit in this zone.”
“Dude,” I said. “I feel that. It’s certainly not fun when your feelings go deeper, and you want more, but you’re also scared to lose what you have now. I guess you just have to ask yourself, will you be happy if things stay the way they are forever?”
Larissa’s white teeth worked across her lips, the slightly pointier vampire fangs visible against the pinkish brown. “I’m torn. Maybe one day I’ll get over my attraction for him in this way, and then we can existhappilyas best friends. We’re very good at being friends. I wouldn’t want to lose him in my life. But…”
She trailed off, and we both knew what she hadn’t said.What if she didn’t get over her attraction?
Could she live a half-life like this forever?
I hugged her quickly. “You don’t have to make any decisions today,” I reminded her, when I pulled back. “Hell, you don’t have to make a decision in the next hundred years. We live for a long time. And right now, in these tense, high stress situations, it’s like being in a constant state of intense emotions. It’s hard to know your true feelings. I say give it some time and see where it naturally leads.”
Look at me being optimistic about having hundreds of years. If the gods got their way, we might not even have two days, but no one should go into these battles without a little hope.
And here was mine.
“Should I go on dates?”
She didn’t particularly look thrilled by the prospect of dating again.
“You deserve to be happy,” I reminded her. “If Rone’s not giving you what you need, if he’s not stepping up, then it’s up to you to grab at whatever means to happiness you can. If I’ve learned anything over the past few months, it’s that life is unpredictable, and sometimes you just have to take a risk.” Probably a contradiction to my last piece of advice, but I wanted her to be in control of her own happiness. “If there’s someone you want to date, then I say … yes. You should go on a date.”
The shower shut off and we straightened, waiting for Ilia. “I don’t want him to think I’m doing it to make him jealous,” she said softly, “but I also won’t wait forever. A really nice guy asked me to go to town with him, have dinner, maybe catch a movie. I think I’ll say yes. If things go south with the gods … at least I gave it a shot.”
My throat was tight as I wrapped an arm around her. “Movie and dinner sounds kind of perfect.”
Ilia groaned as she entered the room, shaking her head, springy curls back to their usual perfect disarray. She dressed and straightened, looking more herself in leather pants and a red tank. “I feel so much better,” she said with a smile, rubbing her hands across the smooth black pants she wore. “I might even come and watch this little SSW match today. It’s been so long since I’ve seen a decent few rounds.”
“I’m heading to the fields, too,” I said, “Asher and the others are there. We want to stay together to wait for Louis’s call.”
Like he’d heard me, his voice was in my mind.Louis just called, baby. He’s ready for us.
The world seemed to both slow and speed at the same time, and it took a concerted effort not to pant in rapid breaths as panic rocked through me.
I’m on my way,I sent back to Asher, successfully managing to hide my emotions from him and my girls.
A tingle of his energy ran along my spine and I almost closed my eyes so I could enjoy it uninterrupted. This new bond between us, it was like a long-forgotten muscle that we’d just started to use again. At first it felt heavy and sometimes painful to control the energy flow, but the more we used it, flexed that “muscle” the easier it became. I could see one day I wouldn’t even have to think about my intentions. The muscle would just know, remember, and it would be like breathing. A reflex.
If we lived that long, of course.
We started walking again, moving faster than before. Just as we were leaving the edge of the paved path, ready to step onto the grassed area toward the students visible around the SSW fields, there was a crack of what sounded like thunder above us.
I reacted immediately—it was a perfect, cloudless day, and I knew this wasn’t natural. Last time something “not natural” cracked above my head, it was energy that killed Asher. I would not let that happen to my friends. They didn’t have a second life to come back with.
Shoving them aside, I used my power to protectively surround them, before I rose into the air, heading straight for the strong presence I could feel hovering above. Whoever they were, they were powerful, but not familiar. It wasn’t any of the gods I’d met, and Louis would have been here sweeping us away if they were legitimately free.
This was something else.
The barrier above the Academy extended high into the sky, but I was fast, hitting it in seconds. I would not let anyone hurt this school. I might not know and love all the students, but they were mine to protect. As I burst through the barrier—no match for my power—it reformed behind me, and I was left to face the last thing I actually expected to be above the Academy.
A fucking dragon.
It was gold, almost blindingly bright as it glittered in the sun. I had to squint to make out the gigantic body with heavy, thick scales. It was also rocking four claw-tipped legs, huge powerful wings, and a jaw as large as my body, with teeth the size of my palm.
Gold.It flashed at me again, and … I was pretty sure I knew who this was. She wasn’t a threat, as far as I’d heard.
Letting my energy fall, I cautiously moved closer.
