“Denied!” Cas used his teeth to snap the cap off a pen and underlined the rule twice for emphasis.
The gesture was so Casimir that I had to bite the inside of my cheek to keep from laughing out loud. My older brother, who could rip a man’s spine out without blinking, wielded a pink glitter gel pen against our beloved like it was a sword.
Turning to a blank page, he furiously scrawled something.
“Rule Number Thirty-Three: Seri will never engage in reckless overuse of shadow travel that results in total magical depletion and unconsciousness.”
Her eyes slitted open, focusing on him with surprising clarity given her state.
“Oh, did you add that one just now, Simmy?”
“Oh, c’mon, Director General of Everything.” Zane waved a hand. “She saved our fang-rotted asses! That deserves a little leniency!”
Cas glared at him, then returned to the book, pen flying across the page.
“Rule Number Thirty-Four!” His voice rose. “Seri willABSOLUTELYnot shadow walk through an enemy of any kind whatsoever at any time for any reason!”
“Hardly seems fair,” she breathed against my collarbone.
If Cas tightened his jaw any further, he was going to crush his own molars. This time, he wrote something so forcefully, the tip of the pen punctured the paper on the period.
“Rule Number Thirty-Five,” he said, slowly and clearly. “No talking while I’m reading the rules.”
And Seri laughed.
It wasn’t much, just a soft, slightly delirious sound that lasted only a moment, but it was a laugh. Real and unexpected and alive.
Cas froze mid-tirade, the rulebook slipping from his fingers and landing on the floor with a soft thud. My palm cradled the back of her head, checking for bumps that could explain a concussion. Even Zane stilled, his teasing smile turning into something dangerous, the look he got when he was about to do something profoundly stupid for someone he loved.
“Did you just laugh?” My thumb brushed her earlobe as I pulled back to look at her face.
“Cas, write it down,” Zane whispered with mock solemnity. “August seventeenth. Serafina Rose Cimmerian murdered her husbands with cuteness.”
“It’s the nineteenth,” Cas corrected, bending to retrieve his book.
But I saw the way his shoulders loosened, the ghost of a smile at the corners of his mouth. The sound of her laughter had eased his fear far better than any words ever could have.
“To bed!” Zane declared, raising his arms like a victorious general. “For cuddles and storytime! I’ll start. Once upon a time, three monsters fell in love with a princess—”
“Shower first.” Cas was back in efficiency mode. “Then hydration. Then mandatory rest period for all lunar witches.”
“What about … the camp?” Seri’s fingers twitched against my throat, her eyes barely open. “Those bad shadows?”
My stomach clenched. She’d been at death’s door minutes ago, and still she worried about others, about the bigger picture. Always putting everyone else first.
“Oh, don’t you worry, blossom,” Zane blurted out. “That place is getting power nuked once you’re settled.”
“Nuked?” Seri gasped.
“We have a nephilim friend who we call in cases like this,” I explained. “He’s slopping over with Divine power. He can purify that place in a heartbeat. We’ll just be there to square things up with thecamp director, pick up our SUV, and see if the fire pit has any evidence leading back to who set the trap.”
“Weknowwho did,” Cas spat.
Elbowing his side, I hissed at him to shut up. Our girl didn’t need any more stress right now.
“You don’t have to worry about us, either, bubbles,” Zane was telling her. “Dude’s fiancée is a level ten healer who brought him back from near death multiple times. She’ll keep everyone alive while he sends those moon-damned shadows back where they came from.”
Even though I could see she wasn’t processing half of what we were saying, she nodded, which was good enough for now.
