“If your sire won't help us, where do we go?” Stephen asked.
Kilian had been avoiding that question. They didn’t have the resources to hold off either Kilian's attacker or Stephen's demon for long, which meant that they would have to go back to the Army. Kilian was not looking forward to that.
“Yeah, that's what I thought,” Stephen said softly. “I'm sorry I dragged you into all of this.” Stephen’s characteristic irreverence was gone, and without it, he appeared infinitely younger.
“You didn’t drag me into anything,” Kilian said.
Stephen huffed. “I'm pretty sure I did. Mia requested you because we had a relationship. You babysat someone twenty years ago, and that bit of bad luck has set you up for a court-martial, assuming you survive whatever weirdness has sunk its hooks into you. That sounds infinitely unfair.”
Stephen was definitely minimizing their relationship. Kilian wondered if self-doubt fueled the comment or if Stephen was trying to make sure that he was the one under the bus if the Army caught up to them. “Life isn’t fair. You didn’t cause that. Are you going to argue the shit that fell on your head was fair?”
Stephen wrinkled his nose. Kilian held his hand out, and fingers spread. He waited as Stephen stared for a long time. Finally, Stephen threaded his own fingers between Kilian's and tightened his grip. Kilian squeezed back. “Even if it isn't fair, we’ll figure a way to deal with it. That's all we can do.”
Stephen gave him a tiny smile. “You always did make me feel better, even though I knew you were lying when you told me there was no such thing as monsters.” Kilian kept his eyes on the road, the setting sun behind them as he made for Chicago as fast as he dared without risk of drawing the wrong kind of attention. “Sometimes I like it when people lie to me a little. Not a lot, just a little.”
“It’s going to be fine,” Kilian reassured him. He tried his best to make sure it didn’t sound like a lie, but he suspected he wasn’t all that successful. A neon sign advertised a truck stop in two miles, and the number of houses with their twinkling yellow lights in the distance suggested they were coming to a town. Hopefully they could steal some cash and get gas and grub. Right now Stephen was fueling both the engine and the illusion disguising the car with his magic, but the circles under his eyes were darkening into bruises. He couldn’t keep this up for long.
Neither of them could. If Silas didn’t help them, they were screwed. Kilian tightened his hold on Stephen’s hand. He hoped they were screwed together as opposed to Stephen being the mastermind behind this attack. If that was the case, Kilian didn’t know how he would handle it.
Not well. He would not handle it well at all.
Chapter Fifteen
Kilian pulled the vaninto the back of the dirt lot on the south side of the café. Two semis were parked in the lot, their engines idling while the drivers probably got a bit of sleep. Even with his superior endurance, Kilian was running on fumes. They had grabbed fast food earlier, but Kilian needed sleep. He needed some blood too, which was far more problematic. But with some sleep, he could recover enough to get the rest of the way to Chicago.
“Take turns sleeping in the van?” Stephen asked. “I should've slept as you drove, but riding in a car makes me jittery. It has since I was a baby. Sometimes I feel like Stephen Nguyen, the amazing opposite boy. Riding in a car keeps me awake, caffeine puts me to sleep.” His laugh sounded forced. “But I can take first watch while you get some sleep. I should have done more of the driving. Sorry about that.”
“I am fine with you sticking to the passenger seat,” Kilian said. Stephen’s driving was an exercise in terror. Never before had Kilian seen someone get so distracted while driving a vehicle. If Kilian hadn't grabbed the wheel, Stephen might've actually sideswiped another car before it occurred to him that he should look at the road.
Kilian wondered if the demon was aggravating the ADHD or if this was normal. Either way, Kilian was not in favor of ever letting Stephen drive again. Ever.
“So do you want to take turns sleeping in the back?” Stephen asked. Even now, his leg was shaking, his toes tapping a frantic pattern against the side of the foot well. One hyperactive demon-infested witch plus a vampire with supernatural hearing did not make for a good sleeping arrangement.
Kilian nodded toward the disreputable motel on the other side of the line of scraggly trees. “We need to find some beds. Will the glamour you put on the van last the night?”
Stephen patted his stomach. “I am full up on greasy potatoes. Give me enough French fries, and I can run my illusion forever.”
