“There goes her no almost-swearing record,” Tor said in amusement.
“She was doing so well, too,” Grace added sadly.“Take a seat and chow down before your food goes cold,” she ordered.
Vic glowered at Wynter, who’d taken a seat and was pouring herself some coffee.“It’s your fault it hurt so much,” Wyn said in self-defense.“You’ve been training me too well.”
Camriel hovered next to his mate, waiting for her to explode again.He relaxed when she snickered.“I had that coming,” Victoria said, patting him on the butt.“It’s okay, I’m fine now,” she said, using a tissue to wipe the blood from her face.“I’m still not on team GG,” she announced as she took her seat to eat her second breakfast of the day.
“We know,” Zoe said.“You don’t need to be best friends with her.Just try not to start fights with Wyn just because she and GG are besties.”
Vic muttered something beneath her breath, but grudgingly nodded.Cam sat down beside her as the rest of the males filed into the room.They’d wisely stayed out of the females’ drama.Kochab had woken early when he’d felt their tension.He would fill Qiana in once she woke up.She liked to be kept in the loop whenever she missed something.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
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“WE’RE NEARLY THEREnow,” Oaklie said in relief.She’d slept longer than she’d intended to.They hadn’t left the house in the suburbs until seven.It had taken them four hours to walk to the bridge that would lead them to Manhattan.They’d decided not to sprint, just in case Rahab and his squad had set up ambushes.
“I don’t like the idea of using a bridge to enter the city,” Arkas said.The Henry Hudson Bridge stretched ahead of them.They’d opted to detour around New Jersey and enter the city from the north.Oaklie figured the Lincoln Tunnel would be a nightmare to traverse.At least they could see if anyone was lurking ahead of them on this structure.
“We could always swim across the river,” Oaklie suggested, grimacing at the idea.“But I’m not a fan of swimming with corpses,” she added.They could smell the heavy scent of waterlogged decay even from where they were standing.
“Let’s go,” the knight said in resignation.“We’ll use the vehicles for cover and try to stay out of sight of any guards who will be posted at the far end of the bridge.”
Oaklie had never been to New York before.No longer a place of wonder, it looked dreary in the wintery gloom.It had snowed a couple of inches overnight, but not enough to impede them.They crossed the bridge and exchanged confused glances when they heard people cheering.“What the hell’s going on?”she murmured.
“They appear to be celebrating something,” Arkas mused as they continued on.
A mob of twenty men and women were waiting at the far end of the bridge.They were all wearing white armbands and were stopping people as they approached or tried to leave the city.
“They must be some kind of militia,” Oaklie guessed as they took cover behind a van.
“So it would seem,” Arkas agreed.“I still can’t sense Amaros or my brothers,” he added in frustration.
“Do you think we can get past the humans without them seeing us?”Oaklie asked.
“Childs’ play,” the warrior replied.He took her hand and they sprinted past the group.
