“Yeah, we need to.”
He lets go of me and grabs the back of his neck, and he won’t meet my eyes. What is it? I reach for his hand but hesitate, staring at it. Maybe I shouldn’t do that.
Fox shifts until he’s sitting beside me. I can sense Katsu close by, but he’s just staying at the edges, observing.
“What is it?”
He opens his mouth to say something, but nothing comes out.
“Wait! Asher, just hold on-” Sebastian growls.
“Nope, you’ve had her long enough. We need her.”
I whip my head around as Asher marches in, Felix on her heels, and grabs my shoulder.
“Come on, you have been summoned.”
“We’re talking,” I protest.
“You were finished, weren’t you, Fox?”
Fox hesitates and then inclines his head graciously, his smile returning. “We can speak later.”
“No, wait-”
“It’s okay, it wasn’t important.” Fox grins easily at me and leans back, tilting the chair onto two legs, looking completely calm and unworried. My fear is eased, but not erased.
I’m yanked out of the chair, and before I can stop them, they drag me all the way down to Sofia’s bookstore and shut it before flicking the lock.
“Hi, what are you all doing here?” Sofia says as she cuddles her adorable baby dachshund.
“You didn’t summon me?” I demand and turn to glare at the twins.
Sofia shakes her head, pauses, and starts nodding. “I did, I absolutely did.”
I roll my eyes and move to the counter, leaning on it. “You are a terrible liar.” I twist to glare at the twins, who both try to look really innocent and fail. “What are you two up to now?”
They shrug and try as hard as they can not to laugh.
“Oh, is it like that, is it?”
Asher grins and says. “I want to go to the secret beach.”
I shake my head. “Not in the middle of winter, you crazy person. Plus, high tide today.”
“Fine, let’s go…” She glances at Felix, who shrugs.
“I’d like your opinion of the new display at the gallery,” he says smoothly.
I stare at him. “Me? I don’t know anything about art.”
“Neither do most people. Art isn’t for only the elite, it’s for everyone,” Felix says with haughty disdain.
“Why are we here, then?” I ask, still not convinced. “What was the point of coming to the bookshop?”
“Because Sofia is needed, too,” Felix says in a bored tone, like I’m asking astoundingly stupid questions.
“But the shop-”
