“It’s late. The kitchen will be closed.” Kenji struggled so hard I dropped him. For a kitsune that had acted dead less than two minutes previously, he seemed perfectly well now. Not that it stopped me from feeling guilty.
But before I could wallow in my guilt, a bear and an incubus came charging over, both of them covered in gore. I tried not to heave when the bear scooped me up in his arms and growled.
“You survived,” the incubus said, stating the obvious before wiping his bloody hands on the grass. He looked over at the oily stain on the ground and frowned. “What happened?”
Kenji yawned. “Off to find snacks. Make sure you take a shower before you come to bed. I’m allergic to demon gunk.”
From the way my bear had me pinned to his chest, I highly doubted he’d let me go back to my room.
“I’m fine,” I told Zane. “Where’s Adam?” And Willow. I couldn’t see either of them. Oh my goddess, were they dead? I tried to struggle free from Maverick’s bear hold, but he tightened his grip and growled. “Let me go! I need to find Adam and Willow!”
“They’re fine. Montgomery and Vane are talking to them.” My heart slowed down in relief. “And Alaric?”
Zane smirked.
“He’s fine. And so is the merman.”
“Good. It’s, um, great they are well. And not dead.” I avoided Zane’s gaze. Yes, he probably knew I liked them, but I wasn’t about to admit it in front of Maverick. Not with him so upset.
A small witch came running across the field. “Raven!”
Oh my goddess, what a terrible friend I was. I’d completely forgotten to ask about Glynda.
Glynda skidded to a halt and stared at me in shock. “Your hair! What have you done to it?” I blinked, not understanding what she meant.
“You have more silver streaks now,” Zane said. “It’s kind of sexy.”
My bear growled threateningly before shifting back into a naked male. Glynda immediately averted her gaze, which I was grateful for. Naked Maverick was a lot, and as much as I adored my witch friend, I wasn’t altogether comfortable with her ogling my mate.
“You don’t get to call my mate sexy.” Maverick threw Zane a warning glare while tugging me back into his grasp. I let him, even though I was ready to leave this cursed field. Preferably before the headmaster appeared and asked how on earth I’d killed a high-ranking demon or what the cursed shadow fog was.
I had no answers to either of those questions. Had anyone else seen the shadows? I probably ought to ask Maverick or Zane, but before I could open my mouth, I spotted Adam and Willow heading our way.
Adam scowled at the sight of a naked man with his arm around my chest, but the relief in his eyes when he saw me unharmed softened my irritation at his earlier high-handed behavior.
“Thank the goddess you’re safe. I thought…” He closed his mouth and glanced at the others. Willow stood behind him, and when I looked closer, neither of them bore any signs of a demon attack. Not like the rest of us.
“Are you alright?” I blurted out, still low-key panicking about Kenji almost dying, everyone nearly dying, and not having a clue about anything. “I lost sight of you.”
“We’re fine. Nothing we haven’t dealt with before.”
I wasn’t sure how to react to that. Aside from the one time I encountered a hellhound—and still had PTSD from the event—I wasn’t aware of any other demon attacks. It made me wonder what else Adam had hidden from me. Willow too.
“You need to come with me, Raven.” Adam held out his hand, ignoring Maverick.
“She’s not going anywhere,” Maverick said. A low growl rattled through his chest.
“Raven isn’t safe here.” Adam waved a hand across the scene of devastation. “As you can see, the wards are ineffective.”
Glynda took a few steps back while Zane hummed and cocked his head to one side. I tried not to notice the way his black hair flopped over his pale eyes. Despite the blood spatter, he looked hot as hell.
Okay, sohellwas a poor word choice given recent events. I didn’t want to think about hell. Not now that the demon had planted the idea in my head that perhaps I was next in line to become the queen of hell.
I almost snorted at the thought.
How ridiculous.
“Here is the safest place for the witch. Her mate will protect her.”
