“Makes sense. Technology evened the gaps between humans and the fae, witches versus the non-magical.” Kit sounded philosophical, smart.
And fuck if that didn’t do it for her. He’d killed for her, was handsome and charmingly polite. Now he was smart? Life wasn’t fair sometimes.
She then remembered her dying father with a wince. Selfish. Cold. Only out for herself. That’s what she was, to be lusting for a witch before her father’s body was even cold.
Before her self-hatred could torment her further, a gush of wind caused her sweaty strands of hair to whip her cheekbones. One strand hit her in the eye. Sand whispered in the distance. Gentry shielded her watering eyes to watch as the tiniest sandstorm she’d ever seen approached them in a terrible flurry of sand and debris. It stood about at the height of Kit, and it moved so quickly that she suspected it approached bullet train speeds.
Right. The mobile bunker. Moving through impenetrable bedrock. Magic never made sense.
Gentry swiveled to watch both the X on the ground and the storm. It showed no signs of decelerating.Could it de-rail and kill us?she worried, but pride kept her feet planted as she watched Kit’s nonchalant reaction. He was standing closer than her, the tip of his shoe toeing the X.
Sand sprayed over them and Gentry shielded her face with her arms. The whispering stopped. She peeked between her fingers. The X had been replaced with a wooden hatch, its wood interlaced with bright green vines with white flowers.
“Welcome to Bunker Five,” Kit said, “we’ll be safe here.”
twenty-one
Kit
Kit felt a little unnerved when he saw Visha’s vines protecting the bunker’s hatch. He’d been too worried about losing any pursuers to text his ex about their arrival at the bunker, and he knew better than to tell her about Gentry ahead of time. They’d been broken up for only two weeks, and Visha’s jealousy had been one of the many reasons he’d ended things.
He glanced back at Gentry, hoping the smile on his face would put her at ease. The woman didn’t notice as she hugged herself and stared at the hatch. She looked the perfect mix of exhausted, heartbroken, and the tiniest bit fascinated.
I wonder what she’s thinking about.But then again, he always was. The girl was wickedly smart, concocting plans that would put any coven leader to shame. He pitied Visha if she tried any of her usual shit with this girl. Even if she had been through hell and back in the last day, she’d put his ex in her place.
Of course, maybe he should’ve told her about Visha. But he hadn’t wanted to unnecessarily stress her out. The poor girl had been through enough.
“Are you going to open it?” Gentry asked, still not looking at him.
He flushed, but obeyed. Infusing his hand with as much magic as possible, Kit knocked on the pink cherry wood between the vines. He prayed Visha had added his magical signature as an exception, or else he’d get a very unpleasant zap.
Thankfully, he felt nothing but cool, sandy wood as he rapped his knuckles. The leaves retreated back into the bunker, and Kit grabbed the knotted rope to haul the lid open. Wild, dark ebony hair and beautiful caramel eyes greeted him.
"Where have you been?" Visha hissed, immediately grabbing his wrist. "I texted and called a hundred times."
"The job went wrong," Kit said, feeling off-kilter and full of relief now that he could see she was actually safe. He could see no bruises, no scratches or scars.Thank God,he thought,Raja’s daughter is safe.
"I figured as much when the Weavers started asking questions." Visha looked annoyed with him. "They came by the day after your job was supposed to be done. I didn't wait around to see if it had gotten any better."
Resentment gnawed at Kit’s heart as he looked down at his ex-girlfriend. "Jobs go wrong sometimes," he said, trying to keep his tone even. "That's why you shouldn't risk everything on whatIcan do. The others are getting babysat by a Weaver apprentice right now. Did you know that?"
Visha’s face immediately collapsed with regret. “No, I hoped they’d leave them alone after I left. I thought they just wanted me.”
Disgust made his tone sharper. “Well, that's not what happened." He could see the exact moment Visha spotted Gentry, his ex’s tall build freezing and her hands flying up as if to cast a spell. Kit caught them before that could happen. "Easy," he said. "It's not what you think."
"Who is she? How could you bring her here?" Visha gave him such a betrayed look that Kit felt his hackles rise.
“She’s the problem you gave me,” he snapped, “and now I have to keep you both alive.” He heard Gentry gasp behind him and immediately felt like a colossal piece of shit for dragging her into their dirty laundry.
But his opportunity to apologize disappeared as Visha caught on. “She doesn’t have any magic,” she breathed, her eyes widening with horror. “The idiotic magic-less person who ended up on the Weavers’ shit list.Yourescued her and then brought herhere?” Visha screeched.
“I didn’t piss off the Weavers. Do your research,” Gentry said.
Visha sent a death glare at the other girl, but Kit wasn’t having it. He felt his magic, albeit weakened, flare to his hands. Visha stiffened, giving him her attention once more.
Kit smiled and spoke through his teeth, “Well, I thought it was time that you shared in the responsibility you dumped on my shoulders. Now let us inside. Now.” He pointed his thumb at the hatch. “Or else I’m kicking you out in the desert. Without water or a ride.”
Visha gasped, “You wouldn’t.”
