Nox headbutted my arm.
“Is that a yes?”
He pawed at the book, which flew open to a page.Shielding against the Dark (for beginners).
Angel stared. “How did you manage to rescue a fae dragon who hoards weird books of magic?”
I stared at the fluffy pest, more than a little shocked. “We all agreed I attract chaos. Is there anything more chaotic than a fae dragon and his hoard of magic books?”
“You did not just tempt fate that way, did you?” Angel said with a groan.
Nox meowed low and deep, then yawned as if we bored him, and climbed on top of Angel’s open backpack.
“Yeah, yeah, kitty. You’re coming with us,” I said. As if Ivan and Peanut Butter would have it any other way.
9
I missed my tiny apartment.
Xavier’s temporary safehouse had heated floors, a fucking wine fridge, every game console known to man, and a living room set up like a movie theater. Ivan plugged his computer into a giant double monitor to read his comics from a fancy gamer chair that offered heat and massage, and Peanut Butter had claimed one of the velvet-upholstered chairs as his royal throne.
Angel, the traitor, said, “This is nice,” as the place was easily three thousand square feet.
Could I ever afford this sort of luxury? No. Hell, even when I’d dreamt of owning a house with a little yard that could fit me, Ivan, Grandpa, and now Angel it hadn’t been this big. With windows forever, even if they stared out into hazy colored lights.
Outside, the necropolis pulsed with a strange bioluminescence like downtown Shanghai, the glow washing over the imported Italian tile like a movie special effect. The distant high-rises where shadow things slithered between buildings made my magic stir uneasily, but as we were in Xavier’s district, a refurbished mall, a thick supernatural barrier encased the building. As long as it kept Ivan safe, I was fine living inside the bubble of Xavier’s creepy power.
The murder twins wandering the halls and Xavier stopping in from time to time. Angel at my side, Ivan was happy, and that was what mattered. Never mind the upcoming TFW week that hijacked my anxiety.
The discussion with Ivan about Nox had gone about as expected.
Ivan held Nox aloft, waving the cat back and forth like it was a ragdoll instead of a Maine Coon. “Explain again.”
Nox dangled limply, the picture of feline boredom.
“He’s a fae dragon,” I said for the tenth time. “The intel on them is short, but I think he can mimic whatever he wants.”
“Why a Maine Coon? Peanut Butter is a tabby,” Ivan pointed at the orange cat curled up in the chair.
I had a theory about that. “I was watching videos on TikTok about Maine Coon kittens.”
Ivan blinked at me, then turned the cat to stare at him. “Looks like a cat. Feels like a cat.” Ivan buried his face in Nox’s belly, inhaling dramatically. “Smells like a cat. Angel?”
“Smells like cookies and bad decisions.” He paused. “Wait, that’s Jude I’m smelling.”
I flipped him off as Ivan laughed and set Nox down, unbothered by whatever secrets the fae carried. At the borrowed apartment, Nox slept in Ivan’s bed. Any time I left the apartment, even to cross the long walkway to Angel’s place, Nox appeared on my back again as a tattoo.
The murder twins, and even Xavier, barely glanced at the cat and only ever remarked that I smelled like fae when my secret shadow became skin art. Like the little bastard knew exactly how to hide in plain sight. A skill I needed myself.
When we’d left the apartment that morning, the murder twins vowing to keep my brother safe, my back tingled with Nox’s familiar warmth.
“I’d prefer he stay with Ivan,” I’d told Angel on the way to work. The little creature didn’t seem to have a lot of magic of his own, but maybe he could help Ivan hide if trouble came knocking.
“I’d rather you have him,” Angel disagreed.
“The team might notice if books start appearing out of nowhere.”
“He improves your shielding.” Angel parked us in the ramp at work, and we headed down to gear up for our week across the Veil. “And I like you breathing.”
