Max carefully sank into the chair, eyeing the half-eaten sandwich on Caius’ plate. It oozed melted cheese with what looked like avocado, tomato, and bacon.
Quinn grabbed a can of Dr Pepper from the fridge and set it in front of Max.
He hesitated a moment before nudging it away with his fingertips. “Can I have a water?”
Quinn gasped and snatched the can, cradling it to his chest. “You decline the nectar of the gods?” he asked, shooting Caius a dirty look when he snickered. “Neither of you are worthy,” he sniffed.
Max tensed as he waited for Caius’ reaction to that lack of respect, but Caius ignored them both in favor of checking his phone.
Quinn traded the can for a glass of ice water. “So, grilled cheese or breakfast? Or we have, like, fifty takeout menus you can browse through.”
Max grimaced, his stomach twisting at the thought of greasy food. “Eggs and toast?”
“No bacon?” Quinn turned back to the fridge for the carton of eggs.
“I don’t eat pork.”
“Aren’t you Italian?”
Max rolled his eyes, ready for any number of jokes or derogatory comments, but Quinn only chuckled.
“Cheese and avocado for your eggs?”
“Yes, please.” He sipped his water and watched as Quinn cracked eight eggs into a bowl and popped four slices of bread into the toaster. “I can’t eat all that.”
Quinn waved a hand at him. “Eat what you can. One of us will finish the rest.”
Max sipped his water rather than argue. “Sorry for freaking out earlier.” He was still freaking out a little, but the last several years had been one constant low-grade panic attack, so that was nothing new.
Caius glanced up from his phone and set it aside. “Freaking out is understandable. Your entire life has been upended.”
“Yeah, you’ve basically gone from one shit existence to another,” Quinn said dryly.
Caius shot a dark look at his back. “He means being a mage, not being brought here.”
Quinn glanced over his shoulder with a frown. “Obviously,” he said, sounding offended.
Max eyed them both, unable to figure out the dynamic between them. Caius spoke like he was the head of the pack, but Quinn didn’t seem overly concerned about pissing him off. His father had disposed of people for any lack of respect. He’d always wondered how his father retained any loyalty. Fear could only control people for so long. He’d imagined killing his father so many times that sometimes they felt like real memories instead of only dreams.
Only now that he’d finally gotten free, he was at the mercy of a pack of shifters.
“I don’t really have a choice in any of this, do I?” He sat back as Quinn set a plate in front of him, piled high with scrambled eggs, cheese, and avocado, surrounded by buttered toast. “I had a ticket to Japan. I could change it for the next flight out.” Even as he said it, his brief flare of hope fizzled out. He was amagenow, and if there was one thing he knew was true of mages, it was that they always ended up bound to someone one way or another.
“Even if we wanted to put you on a plane, you wouldn’t get far,” Quinn said, and Max almost believed his apologetic tone was genuine. “The Order has to know you exist by now, and they’ll narrow down where to find you soon.”
“How? Denver is huge.”
“They put nets over the bigger cities. Like a magical sonar. A new mage Sparks and they know when and where almost instantly.” Quinn pulled a jar of strawberry jam from the fridge and set it beside Max’s plate. “Even if the plane took off before they get here, they’d be waiting for you when you landed.”
Max stared at the pile of food, silently seething and blinking the burn from his eyes, breathing through the tight knot of helpless frustration in his chest. He might have been used to it, but it was worse now. He’d technically escaped his father, but he was still trapped.
He picked up a fork and scooped some jam onto a piece of toast even though he’d lost his appetite. “So either the Order takes me, or I let you bind me.” He didn’t miss the quick look Quinn and Caius shared, but he pretended not to notice. Feigning ignorance was one of his best honed skills.
“How old are you?” Quinn asked.
“Twenty-two.”
Max made a face and shrugged. “Technically they could.”
