I’d been a little surprised when they admitted that everyone within the MC had built relationships with one another, but since they can’t touch the living without killing them, I guess it makes sense.
But it makes me wonder exactly what that means for me and my apparent mates. Because there’s no denying it—Steel, Titan, and Blaze are mine.
I think they feel the pull to me too—they have to, right? It’s hard to tell since I can’t read their facial expressions.
It’s something I plan to bring up once I can get the three of them away from Dragon and Goat.
“We’ll let you chat with Dalia,” Dragon says, the smirk clear in his tone even if I can’t see his face, as he takes Goat’s hand and starts dragging him toward the room they claimed as theirs. “I’m exhausted. Riding for days on end is hard on the body.”
I give the two of them a wave before focusing my attention on my mates. Titan is leaning against the kitchen counter, while Steel and Blaze sit at the round kitchen table in the corner.
Them not having heads is disconcerting, but not for the reason most people would think. I just have no idea whether they’re watching me or paying me no attention. I can try to read their body language, but it’s much easier to do that when you can see someone’s face.
“So…” I start, but trail off. I don’t even know where to begin.
“Come sit down,” Blaze offers, pulling out the chair beside him, his tone flirtatious. “I don’t bite, I promise.”
My eyebrows shoot up. “Somehow, I don’t believe that.”
“Okay, I won’t bite without permission.” He pats the chair.
I shrug and drop into the chair. “There will probably be another council meeting soon, but Phoebe radioed me as we were wrapping up at the last house. There’s an old church near the town hall that has a bell. We’re going to use it to let everyone know when we’re about to be attacked. They’ve called a citywide meeting that’s probably already started.”
“They don’t need you there?” Steel asks, his voice sharp.
“No.” I shake my head with a tight smile. “Everyone thinks it’s best if I’m not there since it’s my ex who is coming for us.They were very sure that everyone would want to help protect me and Iero, but there might be some who… Well, they might have some not-so-nice things to say about me. They didn’t want me to have to deal with that.”
Titan growls, and I spin around to face him when I realize he’s standing directly behind me now. I didn’t hear him move.
“You need a bell,” I tell him huffily. “I don’t know how a man as large as you can move so silently, it’s unnerving.”
Titan freezes where he is, body tense. “Uhh…I’m sorry?”
I wave his apology off. “It’s fine. I was just startled. Now, will you come sit down so I can see all of you at once? Just because I can’t see your faces doesn’t mean I don’t want to see you while we talk.”
There’s another momentary pause before he takes the last seat at the table.
“You’ll be in charge of handling the MC during the battle.” My eyes are on Steel as I speak. I’m guessing where his eyes would be, but I’m attempting to act like I would with someone whose head I can see. “Those who wish to fight but don’t have offensive powers like me and my sisters will only fight if they’re competent with a weapon.”
“And are you?” Titan rumbles.
I scoff. “Of course, I am. My weapons are at my cottage—as are my sisters. Moirai are taught how to defend themselves because we can’t rely on anyone else to do it for us. During the time we were born, people would often come looking for us in an attempt to sway fate in their favor—no matter what they have to do to make it happen. We’ve killed many people who thought we would be easy to overtake.”
“Of course you did.” It sounds like Blaze is smiling, and I wish I could see his smile. I wish I could see what my mates look like overall. But that’s just not in the cards. “The three of you are badasses. I knew that the minute we saw you.”
I shake my head but don’t fight my smile. “I don’t know about all that, but we can take care of ourselves. We wouldn’t have lasted this long if we couldn’t.”
Steel grunts. “And the rest of the town?”
“Right. Those who can fight may—whether that’s with magic, sword, gun, or claw—but those who can’t or won’t, will be guarded. One of the first things we did when we arrived was build an underground shelter. It’s big enough for all of us to hide in, but hiding won’t do us any good in this case. Renwick knows I’m here, and he’ll tear apart Iero to find me.
“Some of our warriors will remain behind to protect them—both inside and outside the shelter. It’ll mostly be the elderly and children. Or people who have taken vows of peace—we have a few of those. We’ve stationed sentries further out than usual, so we’ll know when they’re near. The goal is to keep them off the island completely. We’re going to be waiting for them on the other side of the bridge.”
“That’s smart,” Steel grunts with a nod. “The MC will back you all. We’re good with weapons, but we also have a deadly touch.”
I nod. “Tell me about that.”
Blaze shrugs. “There’s not much to tell. It’s both a weapon and part of our punishment.”
