“Just so you know…” Harper’s voice was unsteady. “If you end up getting hurt, I’ll never forgive you.”
Maya’s gaze softened. “Then I guess I can’t get hurt.”
She gave Harper a light kiss. A gentle press of their lips, so careful it was almost chaste.
How could she be without this again? And for how long? How was she supposed to stay normal when just the thought of them being apart was agonizing?
She couldn’t, was the answer.
“Can I stay here?” Harper whispered. She hadn’t meant to. The words just slipped out on their own.
Maya shook her head. “It’s dangerous. And even if it wasn’t, you didn’t bring anything with you. No clothes or anything.”
“I brought my car and a credit card. I can buy what I need.” She touched the steel chain necklace around her neck. An X-shaped pendant dangled from it. “The Court of Chains pays its staff very well.”
All non-supernatural members of the Court wore that kind of necklace. An arcane charm that offered basic protections and showed their Court affiliation. She, Nell, and Patricia all got one when they were hired at the Lotus.
“There isn’t anything to do out here,” Maya said quietly. “It’s a lot of drills, training, and more drills. I’m busy all the time, and it’s risky, too. Far riskier than being back in Chicago.”
Harper smiled. “I’m not hearing a no.”
Maya stayed silent. Which was an answer on its own, underlined by the worry in her eyes.
“Please,” Harper said. “I won’t pull you away from where you’re needed, I promise. But it’ll be easier to steal a few moments with you if I’m close by.” She shrugged, grinning. “And if you’re busy, I can entertain myself in other ways. Angela is at the outpost. I have a feeling that spending a minute near her with your hands free is a great way of finding something to do.”
Maya still didn’t speak. Still stared at her, as though doing so would produce the more sensible answer rather than the one she wished to utter.
The persistent silence eroded the first response.
“I’ll have to ask Aleksander,” Maya said. “And even if he says yes, it’ll only be for a few days. I don’t want to put you at risk any longer than that.”
It sounded like she would keep listing negatives. As though she had an entire catalogue of reasons Harper shouldn’t be here, andshe was prepared to go through all of them, looking for the most convincing one.
Harper cut them off with a kiss.
“Being near you is worth a little danger,” she whispered. “Like I said. We don’t have much time. Don’t waste it on an argument you’ll lose. Especially not since I want to kiss you for however many minutes we have left.”
That won her over. Maya sighed and cupped her face. Deepening the kiss. Harper hummed, tension flowing out of her and being displaced by Maya’s fingers moving into her hair. Brushing through it again.
She was worried about nothing. An army of Chains soldiers was nearby. What could possibly go wrong?
Chapter 30
An unexpected consequence of being at the Chains outpost was that Maya had gotten well-acquainted with how the ground tasted.
She only had herself to blame. Aleksander had dialed down on the combat lessons in favor of more lectures, so Maya sought them out on her own. Kieran and his pack were still too close for comfort, and if they ever clashed again, she didn’t want to rely on luck, like last time.
But Aleksander had fought fairly. Diana did not.
“Fucking hell!” Maya rolled over on the frozen ground, rubbing her jaw. “What did you do? It feels like my mouth is on fire.”
“Vamps have sensitive canines. If their fangs are out and you land a hit right at the root, it splits the tooth.” She helped Maya back on her feet. “Don’t whine. That was barely a tap.”
It was a punch to the jaw, actually, but Maya didn’t argue.
The sparring ring she and Aleksander had used was supposed to be temporary, but the Chains—or Diana, specifically—had gotten restless. Rather than a simple line in the snow, the ring was now marked by embedded spikes connected with ropes. Diana spent most of her time within its confines, knocking people on their ass without breaking a sweat.
It might just be wishful thinking, but Maya could have sworn Diana was panting slightly.
