Page 64 of Anywhere

“I’m sorry. What did ya just say?” I tried to comprehend the words he’d spoken. I had a hundred questions and didn’t even know which one to ask first.

“Yeah, I’m not sure why everyone kept saying it could take weeks or months to find her because she walked right up to me. Well, that’s not exactly accurate. She attacked me and tried to kill me, but the point is, she found me,” Rook said as he proceeded to wash his body.

I couldn’t even form a sentence. Finding a third took time. It could take weeks or months. There had even been a few cases of it taking years. It was always the same. You needed to hunt around the island, searching for the covens that were well-hidden. If you were lucky, you might be allowed to enter for a fee to find your third. If not, you had to wait and track them down with a finder spell when they were outside the protection of the coven. The third was elusive, and they were not easy to find since the connection to a third was weak at best until the first union ritual and only solidified once the triad did the final ritual.

“How’d ya know she be our third?” I asked.

“Oh, I felt it when I yanked her hood off and looked into her eyes. I thought the word mine. I don’t know. I just knew.” Rook shrugged while I was reeling.

“Okay, back it up. Im’a gonna need a little more explainin’ on all dis. How, when, where, all of it,” I was flabbergasted that he was so relaxed. I also wondered why I couldn’t feel her.

Rook shrugged again, then rinsed his hair. He had his back arched and eyes closed as the water beat down on his body. He was the picture of calm and relaxed, while I wanted to beat the information out of him.

“I was out for an early morning walk enjoying a smoke when she attacked me with a stick like the canne Mari uses. I thought it was Mari at first with the hood up. She’s wild, though. I don’t know if she even speaks English. She made no sense to me at all. The only word she was screaming I could understand was ‘murder’ as she tried to claw my eyes out.”

“I asked ya if what ya needin’ ta say was important. Ya didn’t tink dis was important?”

Rook rolled his eyes at me. “She tried to kill me, and we were having a moment. She isn’t going anywhere. So, no.”

I pressed my lips together to stop myself from saying something sarcastic. I also couldn’t help finding the humour that Rook was the only male from a triad in history who had found their third because she attacked him. At the moment, I didn’t blame her.

“I’m scared ta ask now, but what room is she stayin’ in, and did ya get a couple guards to mind da door?”

Rook handed me the soap as he rinsed off. “No need for guards. I spelled her to stop attacking me when she went for a knife, then brought her back here and put her in one of the dungeon cells. She’s secure enough there.”

“Ya did what?” My mouth fell open. “Did ya lose yer damn mind out in da forest? How are we gonna get her ta tink we’re no threat when ya toss her in a cell?”

That at least explained why I couldn’t feel her at all.

He shrugged again. “I don’t know. I don’t even know why she attacked me. Could be that we just got the crazy one. Besides, I got her here, which is supposed to be the hard part.” He patted me on the shoulder and stepped out of the shower. “It’s your turn now.”

Son of a bitch.

Elewyen

I heard voices before the outer door opened. Two male voices bickered, and by the tone, they weren’t happy. They were probably arguing over who would have their way with me first. If they thought I was going down without a fight, they would find out quickly that wasn’t going to happen.

“Enough. You two are impossible,” a woman's voice yelled as the door opened, but no one stepped inside.

“Sorry, Mari, and tanks fir comin’. I jus tink after what dis donkey did, she is no gonna trust us as easy wit’out ya.”

“Who are you calling a donkey?” the man who captured me responded. I’d recognize that voice anywhere.

“What did I just say about fighting? Seriously. If you two can’t keep it together, go back upstairs and sort this shit out before walking in there or all you’re going to do is scare her more.”

There were a few moments of complete silence, and I wished I could see what was happening.

“Good. I’m glad to see we can all play nice in the same sandbox. Shall we?” the woman said.

A stunning raven-haired woman was the first to walk in. She wore an outfit, the likes of which I’d never seen. It was as black as her hair and molded to her body like skin. Her long hair was braided and hung over her shoulder, but it was her blue eyes that had me sitting straight. There was something very calm about her but also commanding. I’d never met a woman who had that sort of presence to her.

Then my eyes found the two men, and my heart sped up. Up close, they were unbelievably handsome, and they called to my body. I drew my feet on the bed and wrapped my arms around my bent knees. The sensation was faint until they were only a short distance away. Barry tucked himself in tighter to my neck, quiet, angry chatter coming from him.

“How did a rodent get in there?” The one with the bright blue eyes asked, and I caught enough to know that he was talking about Barry. “Do you guys not kill rodents in this place?”

“Naw, cuz yer be a feckin’ cunt, an’ ya froze ‘im,” I growled as I glared at him.

The girl smiled widely and looked at the guy with the blue eyes. “Oh, I like her. She’s going to keep you in line.”