“Are we ready then?” Gunnar questions.
I force myself to look away from my sexy man beast and let out a little sigh. I would much rather be under or over Calix than making a twenty-minute car ride back to my adolescent home away from home. “Ready, Freddy.”
“Who’s Freddy?” Grim frowns. I just smile and shake my head.
* * *
The rideback to the school is tense. We’re all aware there’s a chance we’re finally going to get rid of this asshole once and for all, but the thought of how many times he’s evaded us without us even catching a glimpse of him puts a damper on the excitement. Plus, I’m still feeling sore and achy, even after a long soak in the tub.
Gunnar pulls over onto the shoulder of the road. We’re still a good five miles from the school. I hope he’s not expecting me to walk that far. “I checked Google Maps. There’s a place not too far up the road where he could be holed up. If he’s not here, there’s one other place, but it’s more of an outbuilding. I can’t see anyone living in it long-term, unless it’s been heavily renovated since the last time the satellite photos were updated.”
“I don’t get why he would even stick around here. It doesn’t make sense.” I climb out of the back seat.
“Why does it need to make sense? You think someone who kills to get a magical high is rational?” Gunnar reasons.
“When you put it like that, I guess not,” I concede, and stretch out my back. “But don’t you think it’s strange he had a place near my parents’ house and now he’s hanging around here?”
“He’s probably chasing your power,” Calix says bluntly. “Vanessa said he was coming after you.”
“I just figured that was more of her shit-talking.”
“Think about it. This guy kills for power. He would have felt you the moment he got within a hundred miles of Washington,” Gunnar adds.
“Damiana, you and I will be able to sense the magic before the others. We will lead.” Grim doesn’t even comment on the conversation we’re in the middle of, just makes it clear he doesn’t care about Antonio’s motives, only when we can end him.
“No, that’s bullshit. We can’t risk her stepping into a snare.” Gunnar’s face is flushed red. If I didn’t know he couldn’t access his Berserker, I would say he was only a second away from hulking out.
“She has the most experience with his wards, including breaking them,” Grim replies, sounding completely reasonable.
Gunnar is already shaking his head. “No, no way. It’s fucked up that you’re even suggesting it.”
That gets my back up. “I’m going to pretend like you aren’t being a sexist asshole right now, and that your utter love and devotion to me is making you a little loopy.” Gunnar opens his mouth, but I lift up my hand to stop him. “Grim is right, and you know it, Kitten. I’m not the damsel in distress—never have been. I thought you liked that about me.”
“I would love you either way, so don’t pull that shit with me. And don’t be fucking mad that I’m worried. This guy is an unknown. Look at what he did to me, and he wasn’t even fucking there. I don’t want to risk you.” Gunnar keeps his voice low, but the fervor in his tone tells me how important this is to him.
I step closer to him. I can see the wild intensity in his eyes. “It’s going to be okay, because you’re here with me. You, Calix, and Grim will make sure I’m okay. I’m not going in alone. We’re just going first because it makes the most sense,” I reason with him.
“Death, you better fucking know what you’re doing,” Gunnar snaps, looking over my head.
“Things would be much easier if I just ended everyone.” Grim sounds a little cold and detached.
“Oh, don’t start that shit again. I need someone around to deliver this baby, and what would I eat?”
“We won’t have to worry about stealth if you guys don’t shut up. We’re standing on the side of the road arguing.” Calix looks over all of us like we’re wayward children. A smile lifts my lips when I think about calling him Daddy.
“Whatever you’re thinking, not right now,” he admonishes me. I drop the grin in exchange for a glower. “Death and Dami lead, we bring up the rear.” Calix gestures to Gunnar, who is scowling so heavily, it’s a wonder his face doesn’t freeze like that.
Grim starts walking into the tree line, his steps slow and measured. I begin to do a half jog to catch up, but my baby bump bounces uncomfortably, so I just power walk. I think back to the night we snuck into the witch’s house, what the wards near the doors and windows felt like, to see if I can feel anything similar around me.
We walk several hundred feet before something brushes against my senses that doesn’t feel quite right. I stop dead in my tracks and raise my arm out to bar Grim from moving, too. “Wait,” I whisper, even though I feel like we’re alone.
“What is it?” Gunnar whispers back.
“I’m not sure, give me a second.” The feeling is pretty much the opposite of what I expected. The traps that held Aeson and me in place—even the first ward I encountered at Vanessa’s club—felt thick, like I needed to physically push through them; this almost feels like it’s beckoning me to come closer. Like everything I ever wanted is about twenty feet ahead of us.
I don’t trust the feeling. “There’s something, but it’s…” Before I can finish, movement ahead of us distracts me. “What the fresh hell was that?” I blink several times, because my brain is telling me what I think I saw couldn’t be right.
Someone grabs me by the shoulder and drags me backward. I know it’s either Calix or Gunnar, so I don’t take my eyes off the ghoulish sight in front of me.
