“We can use your magic to keep the imps at bay,” Rachel said to me. “Based on what I’ve seen, it’s going to be more useful or solid than water or fire, considering everything. I’ve seen imps go through our barriers. If you can move things around, maybe you can create some sort of stronger barrier?”
Tilting my head, I gnawed my lips as I considered it. “It’s worth a shot,” I muttered.
“Really, I’m kind of surprised,” Rachel admitted. “Normally, you’re so confident. It’s one of the things that I’ve always admired about you.”
“What are you talking about?” I asked. “I might be a bit worried, but I didn’t think I was dragging anyone down. I’m positive some good will come of this.”
But Rachel was shaking her head. “I’m not talking about you being positive, though I do love that about you. I wish I could see the silver lining in everything. But no, I’m just talking about your inner strength and confidence. That has nothing to do with being bubbly. You could be an absolute grouch and still have that.” She nudged me. “Though I’m not saying I want you to be a grouch. But your sunny disposition isn’t the only thing that makes you a wonderful person.”
“You’re just being silly now,” I muttered, pink flooding my cheeks. “But I’m sorry if I’m being a downer.”
Rachel gave me an amused look. “You know you don’t have to be happy all the time, Liv. It’s not natural, anyway. No one expects you to be bubbly and sunny every second of every day. Just be yourself.”
“I am being myself,” I argued, though the words didn’t feel entirely convincing to me. Heat flushed my cheeks, and I turned away, trying not to think too hard about what she had said and instead focusing on the problem at hand. Except the fear of being useless, coupled with everything going on with Drake, made it nearly impossible to pay attention.
“I can use my powers to hold off the other demons, probably,” I said. “I can’t be much use against the wraith, not the way you two are at least.”
“Yeah, but keeping the demons away while we work on the wraith would be incredibly helpful,” Emma chimed in. “It’s one less thing we’ll have to worry about, and it will make it harder for the wraith to get away.”
I could feel Rachel staring at me speculatively, then her hand rested on my shoulder. “Is everything all right?” she asked.
“What do you mean?”
Rachel raised a dubious eyebrow. “Did something happen with Drake?”
Once again, she showed just how well she knew me. Heat rushed to my cheeks as I glanced away, not wanting to lie, but not really wanting to get into the whole mess of it, either.
“It’s nothing,” I finally muttered. “We got into a bit of an argument. That’s all. Nothing to worry about.”
Her brow creased, and I could tell she was trying to figure out whether to push or if I was holding back my emotions. I forced a smile. At Rachel’s incredulous expression, I crumpled, no longer able to hold that cheerful demeanor.
“Sorry,” I muttered. “It’s just there’s a lot going on. I know I’m being depressing.”
“You don’t have to apologize for being upset or showing it,” Emma said, her tone sharp, almost angry. “The fact that you have emotions is perfectly natural. You don’t need to hide it, especially considering everything we’re dealing with. Hell, I’d rather you get it all out of your system now.”
Groaning, I ran my fingers through my hair. “I just got into a fight with Drake,” I said, and just admitting it made me feel better.
Rachel went quiet, eyes moving past me to glance at someone. Her eyes darted back to me, then to whoever was approaching. A moment later, my heart stuttered as a familiar scent, one of campfire, wafted from behind me. A prickling rippled through my mating bond, and I could have sworn I could feel his heat even from several feet away. I bit my lip for the briefest of moments as I tried to get my breathing under control. Then I slowly twisted around and came face-to-face with Drake.
A flash of lingering irritation rippled through me as I stared up at him, but it was hampered slightly by my wolf’s tug and longing. The longer I looked at him, the more that pain and anger morphed into something different, more complex. I was still upset with him, but at the same time, given what we were about to do, I didn’t want that hurt or anger to linger between us. Not only would it be too much of a distraction, but should the worst happen, I didn’t want our last words to one another to be angry.
I waited, watching as he approached, his eyes never leaving me as he maneuvered toward us. His lips were a thin line, though the rest of him was unreadable. My heart turned into a jackhammer as I stayed motionless, waiting for him to approach. He came to a halt, his hands stuffed in pockets as his eyes finally pulled away from me for the briefest of moments to look at the scribbled notes of our plans before locking back on me.
No one spoke for a long minute. It might have been my imagination, but I could have sworn Emma and Rachel had taken a couple of steps back, as if trying to give us a bit of privacy.
“Hi,” I said, my voice cautious as I searched his face, trying to read it.
“Hey,” he said. He raised his head to look at Rachel and Emma, giving them a curt but warm nod. “Any chance I can steal her for a few moments?”
“Just a few,” Emma said, raising her eyebrow in question at me, checking to make sure I was okay with this.
I bobbed my head. “Be right back,” I said.
Emma and Rachel waved me off, though I could tell by their glances they would come running the instant they thought I might need it.
I followed Drake a little ways away, keeping my guard up. For once, I didn’t want to bother faking cheerfulness. I had too much frustration, and there was too much going on for me to even try to hide it.
“What is it?” I asked, folding my arms. “If you’re here because you want me to leave, then you’re wasting your time.”
