Celine laughs. “I’ve never seen you that scared. Also, your brother is?—”
“Don’t say it,” I beg. “Please don’t say anything about how my brother, an incubus demon, is?—”
“Almost as hot as you,” she teases.
I kiss her then, pressing her deep into the mattress until she gets tired of pretending to be weaker than me and pins me beneath her. I rock my hips, and Celine grins. “Hold that thought. We have to get ready for breakfast.”
I groan and sulk and argue and whine, but she refuses to take pity on me.
The only comfort available to me comes from planning myrevenge on Callum and Gideon. Sheena, I’ll spare, but those two assholes are going down.
FORTY-TWO
Unspoken rule of the Fringes #89:
Never get too comfortable.
CELINE
After a whirlwind breakfast with Sheena and her guys, Ciprian and I spend the rest of the day in bed. When the sun sets, though, I know it’s time for me to go home.
“Idris will make a portal for you,” Ciprian says, looking up from his phone.
I raise my eyebrows. “Are you sure he doesn’t mind?”
Ciprian snorts. “He always minds, but that never stops anyone from asking.”
After the wing goes quiet, we sneak out, hand in hand. I’m pretty sure the Therions know I’m here by now, but they haven’t bothered us, and the risk of getting caught is exciting.
Bathed in darkness, we meet the fae by the fountain in the courtyard.
“Thank you,” I whisper. “I appreciate this.”
Idris sighs. “At least someone does.”
He raises his hands, and purple sparks light the air. Within seconds, I find myself stepping into the swirling magic with a smile on my face. Sheena has her hands full, but I’m surprised by how much I liked them all. I’m even more surprised when I feel Ciprian follow me into the portal.
The twist in my belly coalesces until my entire body is being squeezed through a tube. A second later, the portal ejects us, and I stumble into an alley I recognize. It’s only a few blocks from the Fang.
Ciprian pops out next to me and raises his eyebrows. “This must be where Idris sent Sheena for her meetings with Alistair.”
I consider Sheena and her guys. I’m not sure how they define the relationship, but it’s clearly a relationship. Even while exhausted from everything they’ve gone through, they move like a unit, seeming happy to be together.
“Do you have questions?” Ciprian asks. There’s a twinkle next to the shadow in his black eyes that I’m relieved to see making a return.
“Are they all together?”
Ciprian cringes. “I don’t ask for details, but Sheena is with them all, and my brother and Gideon are sickeningly in love.” I’m not fooled by his grossed-out expression. Ciprian is thrilled for Callum, no matter what he says.
“Your brother watches you,” I point out.
“He’s always waiting for me to fuck up,” Ciprian says. “Or he used to be, at least.”
I tilt my head, unconvinced. I lived for two decades with someone who was always waiting for me to fuck up. Callum’s behavior struck me more as the watchful stare of the little boy in the picture on the wall—someone prepared to rain down hell on anyone who threatened their little brother. But what do I know about it? I’m an only child.
“He’ll kill me if I hurt you,” I say with a shrug.
Ciprian’s head snaps up. “Callum wouldn’t do anything to hurt you, I promise?—”
