“We will,” Remy replies reassuringly. I wish I could shake this uneasy feeling I have and grab a little of the confidence he exudes.
“We’re home!” Remy hollers from behind me after we enter the house.
I duck and send a glare over my shoulder, to which he gives a slight wince. Percy darts away from us. I probably won’t see him for the rest of the evening, so I call, “Night!”
Footsteps down the hall pull my attention in that direction, and I see Felix standing several feet away. His glasses are slightly askew, and his hair is a dark mess. He makes me want to curl up under a blanket and do dirty things to him.
He tilts his head to the side and lifts his hand in an invitation for me to come to him. When I get close enough, he tangles our pinkies together and pulls me as if I weren’t moving fast enough.
“What’s wrong?” he questions while searching my face.
“We didn’t find her,” Remy answers for me. “And that guy is weird as fuck. Where’s Gray?”
Remy is already moving deeper into the house as if he’s going to search for Gray on his own, but Felix answers anyway. “Office, I think.” He sounds distracted, but his eyes seem entirely focused on me. “You okay?” he presses once Remy is gone.
“Yeah, it just feels wrong to be back here, safe” —the moment the word is out of my mouth, I feel Felix snap the wards into place, as if it was a reminder for him to do so— “and comfy, while Aisling is lost out there somewhere,” I finish.
“Do you want me to go out and look for her?” Felix offers sweetly, and I know all I would have to do is say the word and he would.
I’m shaking my head before I even answer. “No, it’s too dark to do any good. Plus, this isn’t the first time it’s happened, and she’s always been found safe. Something about this just gives me bad vibes,” I confess.
“Talk to me about it,” he offers and guides me down the hall to an area I haven’t yet explored, at least not with the guys. I passed through this room the first night I was here but didn’t stick around long. I was too restless to stop when I found it.
Felix sits in the corner of a large sofa, and I climb on after him, sitting so close I’m nearly in his lap. The moment my head hits his chest, a sigh leaves my lips and I relax against him. Our fingers are still tangled together over his thigh, and the connection is more than welcome.
I look around the rest of the room. It’s a typical living room, with two couches and a couple chairs all stationed with optimal viewing of the huge television on the wall. It still has that unlived in feel like most of the rest of the house, and I wonder why that is when I can see little touches of them all over the place.
“Do you guys hang out in here often?” I ask.
“Sometimes. Is that really what you want to talk about?” Felix prods.
“I do want to know why I always feel like I’m missing part of this house.” I snap my fingers and look over at him. “It feels cold, like Gray’s house before he snuck us back to his playroom. As if you’re keeping me in the part reserved for company.” I finally put my thoughts into words.
Felix twists his lips and furrows his brow. “First, we don’t really get company. The three of us, now four, finally” —he gives me the eye— “have each other.”
“What are you guys talking about?” Remy plops down on the sofa next to me. He has a white drink in his hand that looks like a milkshake, but when the stench of spinach wafts over to me, I reconsider asking for a sip.
“Frankie thinks we have hidden rooms, like when you were a kid.” Felix tips his chin in Gray’s direction after he takes a seat in one of the chairs. The teasing way he says it makes me think my suspicions have been way off.
“Shit, that would have been cool as hell. Why didn’t you think of that?” Remy slaps Felix’s shoulder lightly after placing his arm behind my neck.
“You think it’s cold.” Grayson looks around the living room as if he’s seeing it for the first time.
“Not cold,” I immediately defend. “Unlived in.” I don’t think that sounds much better, though, as Gray’s eyebrows dip over his eyes.
“You want to break a few vases, doll?” Remy winks at me, reminding me of the first time Grayson invited me over to his house.
My mouth drops open, and I gasp. I can’t believe he brought that up like it’s funny. I snap my head in Gray’s direction, and he has a soft smile on his face. The consternation that was there moments ago is gone.
Memories of the time he witnessed me crying all those years ago barrel into my thoughts.
I’d never beenin a house like his before, and to say I was in awe was an understatement. I was looking up at the high ceiling that was painted with runes, not paying attention to where I was going, when I bumped into a pedestal that held a vase. Remy was quick enough to steady the pillar, but the vase already had too much momentum. It toppled over and hit the floor, shattering into a million tiny pieces, right along with my heart.
Gray’s family was rich, and my dad would never be able to replace the vase. Tears were already brimming on my lashes when I looked up to see Gray staring at the floor with an expression of sheer devastation on his face.
A woman in a uniform came running down the hall seconds later. She gasped, then covered her mouth when she saw the mess at my feet. Right then, I wished for my magic to manifest and hoped that I would have some ability to fix the mess I’d made, but we were too young for that.
Gray didn’t look at the woman at all. He took two long strides and was right in front of me, close enough that I could see the blue flecks in his hazel eyes. I’d never forget the way the glass sounded under his shoes, like grit, but with a sharp note too, as if the glass was cutting into the floor.
