“Biting guys? Of course, it would,” Shadow teased, and Hedori snorted, but a smile tugged his mouth, making Ely grin as she ate more of her cookie.
Jenna stared at him for a second before glancing at Ely again. “I’ll teach you,” she offered, a smile in her soft dove-gray eyes. “Shae bakes wonderfully, too.”
But Shae rarely did now, not when her mate’s diet fell along the lines of plasma. Dagan was a vampire. Heck, she still couldn’t wrap her mind around that. And she came from a mystical world.
“Would you? I’d like that.” She finished her cookie, got a glass of water from the faucet, and sipped the icy liquid. Jenna was speaking to Shadow, and Shadow’s pale features lit up.
“Yes, she’s kicking now.” She gently caressed her little pregnant belly.
Her friend was about seven months along and not very big from what Ely had seen of expectant women in this world. Still, it had to be tiring being on her feet.
“Can I help?” Ely asked, setting the glass down and joining them.
“Nah, I got this.” Shadow waved her offer off and continued icing white buttons on the gingerbread figures.
The kitchen door opened, and Darci glided in, her curly honey-brown hair pulled back in a casual ponytail. Her gorgeous caramel skin glowed like she’d worked out in the gym or had a sexy tussle with her mate. Ely suspected the latter.
“Hmm, gingerbread cookies…” She sniffed, a huge smile lighting her striking sunflower-hued eyes. Then her eyebrows drew together. “Shadow, don’t tire yourself. I’ll finish this.”
“Christ, Darci!” Shadow groaned. “Nik’s not around, and I want to do something, or I’ll run screaming into the snow from boredom—”
A cell beeped. Shadow glanced at the counter, set the piping bag down, and picked up her phone from the countertop. She stared at the message, her features tensing.
“What is it?” Ely asked.
She looked up, eyes dark and troubled. “I don’t know. It’s my brother. He wants to see me.”
“Liam?”
“No. The one from the garage. He saved me by giving me these, remember?” She gently rubbed her sternum where her symbionts resided, her attention back on her cell. “He’s never messaged me before. It must be serious. Darn, Nik’s in Romania with Race. He said he needed to fight that dragon.”
Ely knew one of the warriors went over daily to train with the dangerous male. Heck, she had to put in time with him soon, too.
Shadow chewed her lower lip. “He won’t be back until this evening, and I cannot wait that long.”
Ely couldn’t blame Nik, not with Shadow being a beacon of hope to demons because of her odd ability. The symbionts keeping her alive needed to feed on the darkness in demons’ souls, giving them the light they desperately sought. And they would come after her.
Besides, she didn’t want Shadow alone anywhere downtown, either. “I could go with you. I have nothing pressing going on for the afternoon.”
“You will?” Relief brightened her pale face. “Great. Maybe I should text Nik and tell him. I don’t want him getting any gray hairs,” she mused, stroking her stomach. “Anyway, demon activities are practically nonexistent during the day.”
“So what are you going to do?” Darci asked at Shadow’s torn expression. “Wait till Nik gets back.”
She scowled. “I’m quite capable of protecting myself.”
“I know,” Ely said quickly, not wanting her agitated.Vae!She’d seen what Shadow could morph into. That girl was dangerous when pissed off.
* * *
Ely slipped on her long coat and waited outside on the front portico for Shadow, inhaling the sharp smell of evergreen and snow. But thoughts of her friend had her mind slipping back to the past and two other females she’d cared about…
Giggles drifted to Ely where she sat by the window in the music room, dabbing paint onto the canvas, capturing the wet, misty garden. Oh, good. Her friends were here and probably heading for the private lounge where they usually spent their time.
She set her brush down, grabbed a cleaning cloth, and hurried for the entrance, wiping her paint-smeared fingers on the damp linen. As she opened the massive door, Kacela’s low voice reached her. “Do you think he’s here?”
Ely sighed. Were they talking about Reynner again?
“The guard said he was home, so he must be.” Osara smoothed her amber hair. “Elytani barely tells us anything when we ask. It’s a misfortune we have to be friends with his sister. Urias, she’s so boring, a dullard.”
