My stuttering mess of a best friend starts heaving with every word, his voice breaking, and it only makes my tears fall faster. I hate that he still carries guilt over something that was entirely my choice.
It takes every ounce of strength I have to pull out of his bear hug and cup his face in my hands. I’m slightly irritated that I have to stand on my toes, and I’m still not at eye level with this dumbass.
Why is every man in my life so unnecessarily tall?
The light stubble on his cheeks grazes my palms as I tilt Harvey’s face toward mine, wiping away the tears escaping his striking gray eyes.
“Stop that. Stop blaming yourself formychoice. It wasn’t your fault, okay? You had to leave. I would’ve hated myself forever if they caught you again because of me. You saved yourself from that dreadful place, Harvey.Neverapologize for that. Do you hear me?” Despite the tightness in my throat, I speak firmly. I won’t let him carry this weight any longer.
“I swear on Fates, if I could—”
“You would’ve taken me with you in a heartbeat? Of course, I know that dumbass.”
Harvey leans his forehead against mine and chokes on a laugh. He wipes under my eyes as he takes me in, both of us trying to stop sobbing long enough to breathe in the relief of being able to hold each other without consequences. I still can’t believe we made it out alive.
“You’re still a smart mouth.” Harvey shakes his head in mock disappointment, like I didn’t copy-paste my attitude from him and Papa.
Harvey was my role model growing up. Still is. Every curse word in my vocabulary is his blessing. Papa helped too, but mostly it was Harvey.
Harvey takes my hands and steps back a little, looking me over with a rare, adoring smile. “Look at my Monkey all grown up… pretending to be a lady.”
“Better than your fake ‘bad boy from Hell’ look. Everyone knows you’re a complete softie at heart,” I coo childishly, knowing he’ll hate it.
“Take that back.” He glares, giving me his best intimidating look, which does absolutely nothing for me. I’ve seen that looksince he was six, and it only makes him look like a constipated pig.
I snort, about to remind Harvey who runs this show, when a throat clears behind me. I don’t even need to turn to know it’s Seiji.
Harvey instantly forgets our banter and takes a protective stance in front of me, slipping right back into his overprotective papa bear mode.
I smack his back when Harvey starts glaring atour friends, his claws ready to come out. “Relax, Papa Bear. They’re with me.”
Harvey tries to stop me from stepping between my two worlds, but the second I narrow my eyes at him, he backs off, taking deep breaths until the rage drains out of him.
I nod toward the group behind me, and Harvey finally takes a moment to scrutinize the people I came with, one by one. His gaze lingers a little too long on Grace and not nearly long enough on Rick.
Harvey has a crazy good bullshit radar. He can sniff out the good ones from the dickheads in a single interaction, so I know he’s trying to figure out if they’re worth our time.
The moment his eyes land on Angel’s face and the shiny ring on his hand, Harvey stumbles back, eyes widening in shock.
I watch my best friend realize the people surrounding him are hisFate family.The family that tried their damned best to find him.To findus.
“Prince of Famine, Horseman of Conquer, and how the fuck are you a bookkeeper, my little human?” Harvey breathes out. “Youarea bookkeeper, right, darling?” Grace nods shyly, and Harvey tilts his head to the side as if mesmerized by her.
Grace makes a subtle gesture, and Harvey immediately masks his fascination… but not before I catch it.Interesting.
I hate that just two months with Angel taught me it’s not my place to interfere—even when all I want is to bang their heads together until they accept and give in to what the Fates have planned. They could both use a miracle made just forthem.
Our Divines tell us what mythical species someone is and what rank they hold, so I’m not surprised Harvey identified everyone so quickly, unlike my stupid Divine, who doesn’t like working with me.
Angel steps up to a dumbfounded Harvey and offers his hand. “Call me Anxo. It’s a pleasure to finally meet you, brother.”
Harvey grips Angel’s hand and takes a shaky breath before turning to me. I’m already at his side, holding his hand in the next second.
It’s muscle memory at this point. Harvey and I made a pact when we were kids. Whenever one of us felt nervous, the other would stand beside or as close as possible to offer that extra boost of moral support.
It’s so strange that I remember every detail of Harvey and our childhood together, but almost every other part of my life is lost. Like some part of me refused to let his memories fade, even when everything else about myself was ripped away.
Before Harvey can get all sentimental about Angel calling himbrother, Seiji steps in to lighten the tension. “Welcome to the twisted family, brother!”
