“Ouch,” Drako’s voice rings out behind me. I turn to see him already inside the fence, a few steps away. “That hurt, Nero. And Nina, I can’t believe you were leaving me out of hugging time!”
She laughs.
The sound hypnotizes me.
She opens her arms and hugs him. He whispers something in her ear—again too low for me to hear.
What the hell are they saying?
She rolls her eyes as she pulls back, amused—until she looks at me again and the amusement vanishes.
“We’ll be in the car,” Atlas says.
She gives him a questioning look. He nods silently.
My brow furrows as my friends move away.
Nina’s jaw is set, her stare sharp enough to scare grown men. It probably should scare me too. All I can think is that I don’t know how I survived without this woman.
“I don’t want you here,” she says. “I don’t trust you.”
I nod. I don’t bother being offended—there’s nothing I don’t already know, nothing I don’t deserve. I’m too busy breathing her in.
“I don’t know what you think you’ll get by showing up like this. I can barely look at you without feeling violent.”
Her measured exhale and grim expression make it clear she isn’t exaggerating. And God—she’s beautiful.
“What more could you possibly want from me?” she asks—and doesn’t wait for an answer. “Haven’t you already taken everything?”
She keeps going, her tension obvious, bracing for me to strike back.
I shove my hands into my pockets—insurance against touching her, against sliding my fingers through her hair. I don’t doubt she’d respond with physical violence.
I’d accept it gladly.
“I’m not going to fight with you,Little Fae,” I say.
Her eyes widen. She steps into the doorway and shuts the door behind her, raising a finger to my chest.
“What do you want—me to lose my clean record? Is that the plan? Get me arrested so you can take my son?”
“I’m not going to fight with you.”
“If you think you can come here and steal the peace I worked so hard for, you’re dead wrong!”
“I’m not going to fight with you, Nina,” I repeat.
The words have the opposite effect.
I meant to calm her—offer assurances. Seeing her this angry shifts something in me.
I’ve never seen her like this before. We didn’t have time. And standing here, in front of a Nina who looks ready to breathe fire, all I can think is how absurdly beautiful she is when she’s furious.
“Can I hug you?” I ask.
Her glare sharpens. She clenches her teeth.
“Sure. The day after I swallow three tons of rocks and throw myself into the nearest well.”
