“It’s not my fault you’re running along my skin,” I tell her, trying not to laugh. I swear it feels so weird having her run along my inner arm, like ants crawling along my body, or when my foot falls asleep.
“You can’t expect me to fly in this mess. What is that?” She shrieks, and I quickly lose sight of her.
“Are you okay?” Worry laces my voice as I try to keep my arm still, even though my muscles are spasming from her crawling all over it.
“Holy shit! Why do you have a blanket in here?” she asks, and I’m taken aback because I don’t remember packing a blanket or anything like that for the Trail of Worth. “Oh, Angel Dust and Malt Baby Butter Bees. Is this your underwear? Was I just in your unmentionables? How does that not ride up your crack? Why are there four strings on this one? Was that clean or dirty? Please tell me this was not dirty, and I need to be steam cleaned and air dried.”
“MONI!” I yell, closing my eyes.Maybe if I can’t see them, they can’t see me.
“I need to know!” she insists.
“I swear, if you keep talking about unmentionables, I’m going to take my arm out of this bag and close it,” I growl, feeling my cheeks heating to atomic levels.
“What am I looking for anyway?” she finally asks. “Besides your oversized sunflower glitter dental floss frillies?”
No, you can’t kill your bestie, I chant.
“The picture,” I tell her with a clenched jaw.
I hear a few chuckles as I refuse to open my eyes until I hear Moni call out in victory.
“Found it!” She zips up and out of the bag as I glare at her. Didn’t she say she couldn’t fly in my bag? Wouldn’t that also apply to flyingoutof my bag?
Ugh.
“There you go!” Moni says, handing me the picture I was looking for. “And I take it back,” she whispers, but in this crowd, there’s no point. Everyone can still hear her. “If that’s the underwear you are wearing and the guys are ripping that off of you, you might as well go without.” She gives me two thumbs up as she flies back to Chester, and I swear, I really wish I had somekind of power to make me disappear or have the ground open up and swallow me whole.
“She has a point,” Zeke snickers.
“It’s valid,” my Incubus agrees.
“You two are going in timeout,” I hiss, pointing them out.
“Mr. Delvin?” Chester starts, and all eyes swing to him, causing him to clear his throat. “Um—what’s a Reaper?”
“Oh. Yes, sorry about that,” Dad apologizes and runs his hand through his hair. “Short version, they are supernatural cops that are on Earth. When we, the supernatural, stay too long or are on Earth without permission, Reapers can be sent to collect us and send us back here through the door they have access to.”
“Damn, so the rumors are true,” Knots shakes his head. “I’ve been hearing whispers that Supes have been trying to overstay their time and blend in on Earth for the long run.”
“Yes,” Dad confirms. “It’s true.”
“Well, what’s so bad about that?” Moni asks, looking a little blue, literally.
“It throws off the magic,” Knots tells her.
“It’s like draining one world to feed the other; you need to keep the balance, and until the proper people are in power to help balance that, we can’t allow that flow to tilt.” My father picks up his fruit and pops another grape into his mouth, and I take that moment to look at the picture in my hand.
In this picture Beleth gave me, it shows Liliwen, Delvin, me, Aunt Patty, my grandparents, Beleth, and three people I don’t know.
“What do you have there, Nerezza?” I look up into identical gray eyes as mine, and my breath catches.
Do I want to ask? Will it make everything real? I won’t be able to live in this make-believe world anymore.A part of me is terrified to ask, but another part of meneedsto know. It’s as ifI’ve waited my entire life to know what’s real and learn about my past.
Sensing that I need more comfort and support, Knox sits on the floor in front of me and pulls me into his lap so his chest is against my back. He wraps his arms around my waist, squeezes me, and kisses my temple, all while sending strength and love through our link. Lynx changes back to his human form and easily leans up against me, holding my hand in solidarity.
I really don’t deserve the guys I have sometimes.
Swallowing the lump in my throat and taking a deep breath, I hand Dad the picture.
