Stop it. I have never been the lovesick school-girl type. This is silly.
I shook my head and slipped my phone back in my pocket, then turned around to face my bespelled colleagues. “Okay, Verdant, let’s get you into the truck.”
“I’ve never ridden in a truck before!”
“Can’t say I’m surprised. Come on, step up!” I got Verdant to sit in the bench seat in the back of my cab, then went around to the other side. “Solis, wake up.”
Solis snored on the bench the Paragon had set him on.
“Solis, come on, please?” I nudged his shoulder.
More snoring.
I grumbled under my breath as I pulled him up by his arms to sit him upright. He popped his eyes open, and helped me a little when I yanked him to his feet and frog marched him to my truck.
He leaned heavily on me, and I thought I was going to fall flat on my face. We made it to my truck just in time, and I was able to twist Solis so he fell into the truck.
“Come on. Hop in,” I coached.
I tapped his foot, and it still took a couple minutes before Solis stepped up and collapsed into the seat, almost smacking into Verdant in the process.
Rime watched with some curiosity—she was doing the best out of everyone, but I think she had a massive headache because she was rubbing her head and winced whenever anyone talked.
I rubbed my neck as I meandered around to the back of my truck and lowered the tailgate.
“You’re going to put them in theback?” Rime asked.
“Sure, why not?” I shrugged. “It’s not illegal since they’re over 16 years old, and I’m not going to go speeding around on any highways.”
Headlights skidded across the side of the building as a sleek, black car pulled up. Rigel got out, wearing his Wraith jacket and looking all around fantastic.
He stared at Birch and Fell, who were slumped together and singing a nonsensical song. “You have to take these two, as well?”
“Yeah. Can you help me throw them in the bed of the truck?” I jerked my thumb at my open tailgate.
Rigel shook his head. Effortlessly, he picked Birch up, slinging him over his shoulders in a fireman’s lift. He carried the giggling monarch over to the truck and dropped him in with a clang.
Fell shrieked a little when Rigel carried him the same way, and the assassin might have dropped Fell with even less care, so the Autumn King smacked his head on the side of my truck on the way down.
Once I knew the duo were clear of the door, I closed the tailgate. Rime wandered up and joined me in peering over the side of the bed at the pair.
“This doesn’t seem right for a pair of royals,” Rime said. “Even two as shameful as them.”
Fell managed to peel his head off the rubber mats I put in the back of the truck and peered up at us. He pointed to me, “Weasel,” then pointed to Rime. “Hag.”
“Okay, that’s enough out of you, Fell. Back to sleep.” I pushed him back in the truck bed as I couldfeelthe anger roll off Rime. “Rime, do you have any idea when your siblings will arrive?”
A gate erupted out of the ground. It was made of fogged ice that I couldn’t see through, shed flecks of snow, and was ringed in by icicles. The doors opened with a whoosh of icy cold wind, and a giant black wolf stepped out.
A man with frosty white-blue hair that was plaited in a braid similar to Rime’s slid off the wolf’s back. “Let’s go home, Rime.”
Rime had still been peering in the back of my truck, but when the fae called her name she turned around. “Yes, brother.” She shuffled in his direction, still massaging her head. “Good luck, Leila.”
Her brother boosted her onto the wolf’s back, and then led the pair back through the portal, which shut and then shattered—disappearing entirely.
“We should get going, too. Hop in,” I told Rigel. I got in the driver’s seat and started the truck up.
“Where are we going first?” Rigel had to talk loudly to be heard over the purr of my truck.
