“Right,” Rheyas continues with a confident nod of his head. “He can be her emotional support wolf. He is no leader, only support.” As soon as I think I’m winning, the damn traitor doesn’t back me up like I thought he would. “But Esmerelda wants to visit his secret fort, so we go.”
She snorts. “He’s got jokes. Who’d have thought?” Trying to face me, she can’t really get a good angle and gives up, addressing me instead. “Ian, I’m not asking you to sell your house and sacrifice everything that you’ve built for yourself out here. But who hears about a secret hideout and isn’t at least curious? We don’t have to stay forever, but it doesn’t hurt to explore our options.”
With a sigh, I admit, “Mostly, I’m just burned out. All of the stress and changes have happened too quickly. I’ve been beating myself up almost every moment I’m awake for constantly fucking up left and right, and I’m just…tired. Things are awkward and it’s my own damn fault, and I don’t know how to get past it now that I’ve worked things up into such a big deal.”
Hawk’s words echo around my skull, taunting me.‘Just be direct,’he says. Doesn’t he know if I don’t overthink everything until I make it ten times worse, I might legitimately drop dead?
Fuck, I need to snap out of it. I’ve spiraled to the point of crazy.
Yet her words are patient. “You don’t have to come if you don’t want to. You can hold down the fort here while we check it out and see if it’s even worth our time, then come back and fill you in and we can decide then. Maybe a break without all of us breathing down your neck and in your space would be good, give you some time to process without all of the stress.”
It’s a logical plan; exactly the sort I might have suggested if I was trying to be practical. But by the way my magic flares, turning my stomach until I might legitimately be sick, I know without a shadow of a doubt that it would be the end. She might come back, but between Hawk and Rheyas? She’ll be okay. She’ll see she doesn’t need me, that she can survive just fine while I stay here; safe, bored, and alone. And it will be my fault for pushing her away.
Fuck Gavin for seeing how all of this was going to play out weeks ago, for knowing me better than I do.‘You’ve just got to ask yourself if you could still sleep at night. It might work out, or it might not. But if you’re not even willing to try, it definitely won’t. Opting out might be the safer option, but what good is being safe if you’re miserable and alone?’
What point is there to even stay here? My job? How is that a reason for living? I have…nothing. Nothing but myself, and I don’t particularly enjoy the company.
“And leave you alone with therealserial killer? Who knows; next time it might be a cliff that the psycho shoves you off to test if we can grow wings through the power of friendship, or some shit. We’ll just leave all my cool stuff behind to distract the people trying to kill you so we can have a head start. They’ll get so caught up trying to figure out how to play my trading card game, they’ll forget all about you. You’re welcome for my sacrifice; and yes, I accept thank you gifts.”
Walking up the stairs with Rel now that she’s slid down from Mount Rheyas, I dig out my keys to let us into the house, already creating a mental list of everything that has to be done. I won’t be able to pay more than a month ahead on the bills, if even that, which means I’m going to have to put it on the market to sell before I get foreclosed on and it ruins my credit forever. Can’t carry all of my stuff, so need to either get a storage unit or get rid of most of it. I’m hesitant though, not sure what sort of set up they have at the secret cult, and I’d hate to abandon the new bed I just got. We’re going to need to sleep somewhere, after all, and I pray this isn’t a military barracks sort of compound.
“Look out!” Rel shouts, shoving me to the side.
A spray of sparks explode as the blast meets her shield a few inches from my face, and I just manage to throw a hand out to stop my fall. The next blast of energy that hits her shield is thrown hard enough that it starts to groan under the pressure, threatening to collapse.
Savage snarls sound out behind us, Rheyas and Hawk handling whoever managed to ambush them, so the two of us are on our own for now. I don’t get it, it should have been impossible to hide their scen-
Blaze. Wren’s mate is leveled up enough he can do that, create an enclosed bubble around himself that locks everything in; scent, sound. It makes him practically invisible to shifters if he wants to be.
Getting to my feet, I get a decent look at the guy behind the shimmering barrier. Deeply tanned skin and slicked back, dark hair, I get the nagging feeling of seeing him before, but can’t place where. Anything is possible from my old life back in the city, between school, work, or hell, even the coffee shop. But by the force of his magic, it’s clear that even if I knew him at some point, I don’t anymore. Anyone that literally sucks the life out of someone else just so they can level up isn’t worth remembering.
“Rel, drop it,” I command, planting my foot in a firm stance.
She does so without hesitation, not even questioning my plan or sanity. She simply chooses to trust me like it’s as easy as breathing.
As her shield starts to dissipate, I fling the smaller, obvious energy ball at the man that he’d clearly be expecting, and as soon as he starts to step to the side, I hurl one I conjure instantly with everything that I have. It hits him in the shoulder and he goes stumbling back, but the solid wall of magic that Esmerelda sends his way keeps him from regaining his footing.
He trips over the end table, head cracking on the corner of the wall with an audible crunch, and a trail of blood follows him down to the floor. Still, Rel doesn’t let up, the wall following him down like an oppressive blanket, and I’m able to watch the dying man gasp for air as he suffocates in the wake of her energy clogging his throat.
I keep half an eye on him and the other on the door until the feral sounds fade, heavy footsteps on the porch that groans beneath too much weight to be a man, and I know that Rheyas and Hawk have the exterior covered. So I watch for the slightest hint of movement within the house, not wanting to leave Rel’s side to sweep the place until this guy’s down for the count and leave her open to a strike.
It isn’t quick, watching the nameless mage bleed out and gaping like a fish. When he finally stops struggling and dies, it’s a genuine mercy.
“Holy shit, Rel.” She looks up at me with hard eyes, not a bit of remorse shining in them. “All those comments of you stabbing me in my sleep, and you left out that you use the force for the dark side. Fuck.”
“It’s really not a big deal,” she objects, breathing heavily like she wiped herself out expending that much magic and holding it for so long. “He broke into your house and tried to kill us. What was I supposed to do, let him bullshit an apology and then stab us when our backs were turned?”
Hawk whistles appreciatively before looking at Rheyas beside him inside the doorway. “Are you in love? Because I am in love.”
Rheyas’ nostrils are flared as he eyes Esmerelda, scanning her for injury. “I’m something,” he mumbles before heading off to search the rest of the house, completely unperturbed that he’s butt-ass naked so we know exactly whatsomethinghe means.
The spray of blood covering him has me nervous what I’m going to find outside, but thank fuck we’re far enough into shifter territory that we aren’t going to have to deal with the police. We just need to hide the mess and cover our tracks, but with all of the snow outside, it’s going to be impossible without a flamethrower.
“It’s not like they ran into her accidentally on the street, they were waiting for us to come home. As soon as these guys don’t report back, they’ll send more.”
Rhey returns, confirming there’s no one else. “We need to leave, grab what you need. You have ten minutes.”
Ten minutes.
