“I’m not sure why I grabbed it,” Alastair says. “The rest of your things were taken to the Market with your truck.”
I grin. “I know why. It’s because it was meant for you. I traded it with a merchant before leaving. It made me think of you.” I place it back on the dashboard.
Alastair is surprised for an instant, then he smiles warmly. “Thank you. I’ll cherish it.”
We follow theBeetledutifully along the road with the truck. In the dark, she looks even more like an old god roaming the land, and my first instinct is to get as far away as possible. Her giant six feet shake the ground at every step, and dead trees fall like dominos around her. Stellan’s face is almost glued to the windshield as he looks up at the incredible machine, eyes sparkling, reminding me of the day when we saw the Traveling Market for the first time, a behemoth in the wastelands.
Alastair’s hands are tight on the wheel, and I touch his forearm. “We’ll be fine,” I say to him. “Griffin is a sweetheart.”
He smiles, relaxing a little. “I’ve met a few of my brothers and sisters over the years. It rarely ended well. Old habits die hard.”
“He thinks the same. All he cares about is to protect Helios and Beet.”
“And all I care about is to protect you two,” Alastair says. “So I can relate”
My heart does a little jig. “Gods, you’re so romantic, my King. It’s no wonder I fell for you.”
He chuckles, eyes meeting mine for an instant. “You fell for me? Tell me more.”
I squeeze his forearm. “Later, maybe. If you both behave, there’s no reason for trouble,” I say, getting back on the subject of the two mutants. “We can have a nice dinner, all together.”
He grins, giving his masculine face a rare childlike quality. “I promise to behave.”
“Thank you.” I lean in and kiss his neck. He hums appreciatively.
I can feel Stellan’s eyes on us, and I turn to give him a wink. He smiles and grabs my hand to kiss it, and I’m so fucking happy I could die.
TheBeetlefinally finishes her short journey at the end of the foretold road, just before a copse of dying trees. She lowers her metal body to the ground, giant legs bent, before turning invisible, to Stellan and Alastair’s amazement. A moment later, the hatch opens out of thin air, and Helios jumps down, arms carrying what looks like a carpet. Griffin follows right on his heels, a folded table under his arm. They set camp for the feast, and Alastair brings his camping wood-burning stove out and a few solar lamps. Stellan digs a hole in the dirt to build a fire.
The evening unfolds awkwardly at first, with the two mutants barely exchanging a few words and Stellan being as stoic as ever. But Helios brings out three bottles of wine—from surviving vineyards somewhere along the Californian coast—and at last, they start to relax. Beet comments on everything, being her usual sassy queen, and it helps defuse the tension. She watches over us, invisible beyond a shimmer in the air, so none of us have to stay vigilant.
We still need to rescue Vex, and ordeals probably await us in the upcoming days, but the joy of being reunited with Stellan and Alastair is too good to ignore, and I let myself go just a little.
Soon, Helios and I get alarmingly tipsy, and we dance around the fire as the stew reheats over the wood-burning stove. Stellan’s smile is bright, his eyes a little glassy, as he watches us. More than once I stumble to him and cover his face in kisses. Alastair watches us hungrily, and eventually I make my way to him and kiss him, too. Helios makes a sound of astonishment, eyes wide, and I burst out laughing. I might have forgotten tomention how peculiar my love life is to him. He seems to be burning with questions, barely holding back.
Beet, of course, has no such restraint.“Do you have one of these polyamorous things going on? Are you a throuple?”
“Poly-what?” Helios squeaks.
I grab his hands and spin us around the fire. “You could say that.”
I catch Stellan’s eyes, and he’s frowning at me. He knows what I’m thinking, what I’m hinting at, and he’s shaking his head as if to say,“Not happening.”
We’ll see about that.
I glance at Alastair, who’s deeply engrossed in a quiet talk with Griffin, at last. I wonder if he heard us. Probably. The man has sharp hearing.
Helios and I prepare bowls of stew, and pass them to the three men while Beet pretends to be offended we didn’t make her one. We all gather around the fire to eat. Warmth spreads from the top of my head to my toes, and I feel more alive than ever. After dinner, Griffin brings the dirty dishes inside, and Beet plays some music through Helios’ wristband, and we both dance some more. I drink my fourth glass of wine and the night sparkles around us.
Eventually, I find my way to Stellan’s lap and we kiss for a while, with more tongue than is appropriate in the company of friends, but I can’t seem to care. I almost lost him forever. His fingers dig in my waist, pulling me to him.
I’m vaguely aware of Helios, Griffin, and Beet bidding us good night.
The silence settles around the fire, until Alastair walks to us and says with a chuckle, “Come on guys, off to bed. Get in the truck. I’ll take the first watch.”
I want to protest and invite him to bed with us, but Stellan bites my shoulder before hoisting me into his arms, and mywords die in a gasp. He carries me to the truck, and in the matter of seconds I find myself inside the dark camper, landing on the mattress. I bury my face in the soft sheets, and to my surprise, they smell not only of Alastair, but of Stellan, too. For some reason, it suddenly turns me on even more, and as soon as Stellan gets in bed with me, I’m all over him.
14
