Page 71 of The Librarian’s Familiar

“Will do.”

Charlie ended the call and immediately searched for a storm in the area five years ago that had erased the town. It was not hard to find, and Remy was right, it was further north. Though town may have been an exaggeration, given that only eighteen people lived there.

A small plane, which had been doing a supply and mail run, had crashed and killed both people on board. The article gave their names, more Norths…but it was the next line that made him pause. They had been August’s grandparents.

He glanced up as August filled the doorway. “You didn’t tell me about the storm five years ago.”

“How are my grandparents’ deaths relevant?”

It wasn’t the death he was interested in. “The storm was fueled by magic, and it took out a town. What if it was a trial run?”

It would be easy to test emergency response times, and Coven response times, maybe even prison protocol.

August frowned. “Or it was a teenage witch, who accidentally blew up the town because they couldn’t control their magic. Not everything is suspicious.” He took a step closer. “My parents are pulling out some gear from the shed.”

“Yeah. I need to look like I know what I’m doing. I don’t think I made a good first impression.”

“They love you.”

Charlie did not buy that for a second. “How? Your father told me I had no idea what I was doing.”

“He says that to everyone he likes. If he doesn’t like you, he doesn’t bother asking any questions, and he’ll let you wander off into the wilderness and die.” August smiled. “I’ve seen him do it to my brother’s girlfriends. He never said he didn’t like them. Never said a bad word about them, but he never asked for their opinion on anything.”

“Or he just doesn’t like young women?”

“Trust me, I had some male friends who my father never questioned about anything. They were the ones I learned to watch extra close, and sure enough, they were the ones who did something dumb and got into trouble. And he certainly doesn’t lend his survival gear to random librarians.”

“I have some stuff.”

“Pfft. Your stuff has never been tested. We’re not taking any unnecessary risks.”

“Agreed. Which is why I need to finish this thing.” He indicated between them.

“I do not agree. That falls under unnecessary risk. We need it. The Fates⁠—”

“Don’t know what they’re doing—” August put his hand over Charlie’s mouth, and the rest of his words were muffled. “When it comes to me.”

“We do not disparage the Fates in this house.” August took his hand off Charlie’s mouth and kissed him.

Charlie resisted for a moment before melting against him. “It doesn’t seem like the right thing to do.”

“It’s my choice. I like being part of a team, and I like you. So I am on your team.”

Charlie had never been part of a team. Even his family was a loose collection of people who shared a house and somehow made things work. He had no idea why his parents had decided to have a child. And while he was always fed and clothed and housed, by the time he was ten, he’d realized his parents weren’t like other parents. They were more like his adult roommates. It was only when his magic kicked in that things changed, mostly because they became very concerned. And that concern had resulted in him being packed off to the Coven…which was probably the best thing for him even though it hadn’t felt like it at the time.

“I’m not used to working in a team.” It was easier not to rely on anyone. Not only that, he didn’t want to be responsible for somebody else’s life. That seemed like a lot of responsibility.

“Don’t worry about me. I’m here to make sure you have all the supplies you need and that you don’t die in the wilderness. You concentrate on the magic thing, and I’ll deal with the rest.”

“You shouldn’t need to deal with any of it. I’ve dragged you into this mess.” It was his job to sort it out.

August cupped Charlie’s face so he was forced to look at him. “Am I telling you to break it?”

“No.”

“Then stop arguing, we’re on the same team.” He made it sound so easy, so obvious.

And he was right, he didn’t know how to survive out there, even though conditions weren’t freezing at the moment, and he had no idea what would happen when the storm hit. Nothing good, that was for sure. “Okay.”