He groaned as those around us laughed under their breaths.
“I love how you just fit right in,” Veri said, winking at me. “Like you’ve always been here.”
I shared a smile with her before looking at Akello again. He was watching me, smiling softly, too. “So do I.”
Swallowing the lump in my throat, I turned back to the matters at hand. Right now, that was weaponry.
Though The Harem Project has been watching Silence for ages, they haven’t actually been working toward challenging them. It was something they determined they’d do when they were convinced that they had all the knowledge about them that they were going to get.
Clearly, there was always something to learn.
But because of that, we’d had to turn inward for weapons and defense. Our friends didn’t let us down. While we knew that what strengthened one species might not actually work the same when attached to another, we’d still been testing different ideas.
Dragon scales resisted penetration by man-made objects. Some claws, like those of other dragons, could tear through. And dragons also shed pretty frequently. Fable and Julian collected all their scales and together with the Valkyries, fashioned some armor for us.
Storm monsters were big. So big that we could spread across the sky. Our hybrid forms, while still formidable, weren’t nearly as effective in devastation. We were handicapping ourselves by going into a building enclosed on all sides. And thus, we happily accepted the armor.
With other magic and blessings and weapons, we were loaded to the gills. Almost to the point where moving was going to be a challenge.
“You remember the layout?” Liev asked. “Where you’re going first?”
Bronte nodded. “I could walk through that place blindfolded.” His face, usually filled with smiles and youthful innocence, was showing his age now. He was hard lines, brows set, eyes determined.
It made my heart beat harder and I had to turn away.
Javan stood in front of me. All darkness and tattoos peeking out of his t-shirt. Hinting at a body that was barely flesh-colored anymore. He took my face in his hands and studied my eyes. We’d only hung out a couple times, but I knew he was a fierce protector. I could see in his dark eyes that he was less than pleased that we refused to let him join us.
He didn’t say anything for several minutes. Around us, we continued to prepare. Weapons were again being explained, for probably the dozenth time. Objectives and agenda being gone overagain.
Since meeting him, I’ve learned a little more about what a fouke is. A stalker. A big beast that is made up of shadows and bad omens, more ethereal than solid. Like a black hole—but not in the same way a void is. Because a void is just that. A dark empty place commanded by the monster it is. But a fouke is something more. The things you find in their depths is that of demons so harsh, it’ll break your mind.
Letting go of me, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a chain. On the end of it was a stone, swirling and empty. Pulling in light. He draped it over my neck and settled it on my chest. Once again, his hands cupped my face before falling down to my neck as he stared at me.
“You going to eat me?” I asked at last.
His lips curled in a half smile. “Sometimes, I think maybe we could all share one woman, Hadley.”
My eyes widened and he laughed. Kissing my forehead, he backed away. Stuffing one hand into his pocket, he tapped the stone at my neck with his other index finger. “I’ll feel your distress. And while I’ve only been making this for a week, I have a limited amount of essence stored in it to respond with any given strength. I can react on my own, depending on how I feel your stress level is. But if you need a quick and vicious blast, put your hand around it and say my name. Okay?”
I nodded. “Thanks, Javan.”
He smiled, small and unassuming before kissing my cheek. His lips lingered there for a minute before he sighed and pulled away. Glancing around the room, I was comforted that we all had our little friendship circles within the big one. Coen was talking to Bronte, hugging him fiercely. There was a length of knotted vines in Bronte’s hair.
Juniper held Zilan’s face in his hands much like Javan had been holding mine. While Zilan was grinning, his hands were tense in Juniper’s shirt. Juniper looked at him with a very serious expression.
The big Aves, Gannon I think, held Tem and Arat in a tight hug, one under each big arm. And they hugged him fiercely. Two of the Malaks and a sea monster were crowded around Notus. There was a shimmering plate at No’s throat. The Malaks’ human was hugging Notus hard from behind, his face buried in Notus’ shoulder.
Raiden was wrapped around a group of guys. I recognized the always smiling demon, Ellis. The unicorn, Calix. An angel and seraphim from the Malak house, Tobiael and Hadrian. And the light-featured thunderbird, Idris. They had Raiden between them, their arms cooked together as if they were having a team powwow. But their eyes were closed. Their expressions stressed.
Arms wrapped around me from behind. I knew without looking that it wasn’t one of my guys. Not just because they were all in front of me, being loved by their friends, but because this one smelled like smoke and wishes.
Yarak kissed the side of my head as I leaned back into him. Tears should be blurring my eyes but right now, I think I was a little numb. Too afraid to even cry at this point.
“It’s going to be okay. We’ll be on call. Waiting for the word.”
“You don’t think we can do this,” I said.
Akello took my hand on one side, and Maryn on the other. “You can,” Akello said. “We have complete confidence in you or we’d not give you the chance to try this on your own, Hadley. While we respect your wishes, we sure as fuck won’t stand aside and let you walk into a suicide mission if we thought you’d not make it out.”
