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“Welcome to our home,” Hannah says. “We’re so glad to have you.”
I’m already shaking my head no as Hannah introduces her to Kharon and Layden.
“No,” I finally make out. “Not welcome to our home. She has no business being here. Remus captured her. We need to return her to where she belongs immediately.”
But Lo-Ren just waves a hand at me. “Isn’t he so dramatic? No one captured me.”
Abaddon’s head swings my way, eyes questioning.
“You said there’s video,” I defend myself. “He flew down in a human city and took a woman. How is that anything but capturing?”
“Oh,” Lo-Ren says breezily. “I volunteered. No capturing. Girl Scout’s honor. I mean, I was never a Girl Scout, but I was always their best customer every year during cookie season.”
Abaddon’s eyes meet mine again. Every word out of her mouth is obviously nonsense. We need to talk man to man.
“Come, let’s speak,” I say, gesturing him away from the women.
But Lo-Ren puts a hand between us. “Hey, no. What, are you two big men gonna go and decide the fate of the little woman without any input from me? That’s bullshit. If you’re gonna talk about me, do it in front of me. I deserve to be part of this conversation.”
“I like her,” Hannah declares. “I say we keep her.”
Abaddon rolls his eyes but also crosses his arms, staying put. “She has a point. Why discuss her fate apart from her presence?”
I shoot a glare Lo-Ren’s way. She wants to hear what I have to say? Fine. But I won’t hold back.
“Remus is a loose cannon. He lied to you, waiting for the family to leave so he could pull this stunt.”
Abaddon grunts, and I know I’ve scored a point.
“Plus, he’s found some way to manipulate our connection. He made me sleep for three days while he. . .” I wave a hand as I search for the right word, “wooed her.”
Kharon’s eyebrows go up at that. They’ve all circled around us.
“What’s the longest you’ve slept before?”
“You know us. It’s usually hours at a time. Twelve at the extremes. One time, during an arduous battle, I slept for twenty-two while he had one of his especially manic, blood-thirsty episodes. But that was five hundred years ago.”
Abaddon taps his bottom lip with his finger, and then his eyes zero in on something past my shoulder. I turn and see Layden looking down at his hand-held device, absorbed as ever.
“Did you have something to do with this?”
Layden doesn’t even look up at Abaddon’s question.
“Lay,” Abaddon snaps and Layden finally looks up.
“Huh?”
“Remus’s sudden ability to stay awake?”
“And our blocked memory? Did you do something?” I turn on my little brother. Of course, it makes sense. He and all the new magic he’s brought with him. I should have suspected him sooner.
He just shrugs, eyes back on his device. “Are you gonna accuse me of everything that goes wrong? Did I or did I not bring you the potion that unlocked the potential within so you could finally put on a glamour and travel amongst the humans as one of them? That allowed you to take your whole family on vacation safely? And what do I get in return? All I’ve done since I’ve been back is nice things.”
“You mean apart from the time when you were trying to separate me from my family by sending me back to a realm apart from them forever?” Abaddon growls.
Layden’s eyes snap up from his device, and I see the fire in them. “No forgiving and forgetting from you, huh, big brother? Guess I’m not the only one who can hold a grudge. I thought that was just me getting even for you letting our father cut off my wings and stab me right in front of you. And that before you buried me alive. My bad if that doesn’t make the slate between us clean. You’re still gonna suspect me of every little thing.”
“Abaddon,” Hannah hisses, obviously furious at him.
