He smiled. “The wild magic is more joyous than it’s been in a long time. It’s only having a bit of fun.”
I looked at the vine covered gates, imagining those little critters running out into traffic. “Fun. Right.”
“It will take me some time to set things to rights. Perhaps you should locate Sebastian and see if he’s made any progress with his sister. I’ll be ready when it’s time for the next pathway.” He kissed me again, then wandered off.
“We’re going to pick up Ringo first!” I called after him.
He lifted one hand in acknowledgment, not turning back.
I stood there, still feeling a little shaken, and watched him go. “You know, sometimes I forget that he’s an old as the hells, powerful goblin.”
Gabriel smirked. “I do not.” He took my hand. “Which is why I tend to do what he says.”
Having his hand in mine made me feel a little more steady. “I have a natural inclination to do exactly the opposite of what anyone tells me to do, but I suppose this time I can make an exception.”
Hoping Mistral’s confidence in the Bogs was not misplaced, I closed my eyes and thought of the Citadel. We would pick up Ringo, then head to the apartment. When he was ready, Sebastian could find us there, and I wouldn’t have to see any more of Penelope than was necessary.
19
Iwoke in Gabriel’s arms, feeling groggy and disoriented. That was right, back at the apartment, we had decided to take a nap. With the adventures of the first two pathways, I wanted to be ready for the next.
I realized a moment later what had woken me. Sebastian was standing at the foot of the bed. Gabriel was already awake, glaring at him.
Longing for more sleep, I lifted a pillow and threw it at Sebastian, who disappeared in a cloud of darkness then quickly reformed. Startled, Ringo hopped down off the bed. I hadn’t realized he had been sleeping next to my head.
Sebastian’s eyes flashed with fire as he looked down at us. “It’s time to create the pathway for my sister.”
I slumped back against the bed, grumbling, “And did she finally tell you what pathway she wanted?”
“She did not.”
That finally woke me up. I sat up in bed next to Gabriel. “Seriously? She knows she’ll have to tell us at some point, right?”
“She’ll tell us when she chooses. There is no clause in the contract forcing her to tell us in advance.”
“Yeah. Sure.” I raked my hair out of my face. At least we could delay the fairy realm for a little while longer. That would be the final pathway to the far realms. We would still need to take care of the other near realms, but those should be more simple.
And since some of the more powerful beings could still travel to the near realms without pathways, I doubted any of those were where the darkness was lurking. I had been to the hells myself, and I didn’t meet any creepy darkness there. Other than Penelope.
Sebastian tapped his foot impatiently.
I waved him off. “Yeah, yeah.”
Gabriel climbed out of bed first, then offered me his hand. We had been so cozy snuggled up, and I wanted nothing more than to return to my cocoon. But duty called, and the sooner we were done with Penelope, the better.
But what could she want in another realm? She could already reach the hells herself. Maybe the angelic realm? I supposed there was only one way to find out.
We all went out into the kitchen where Crispin was waiting. The impressive view of the city was alight with sunset colors, everything pink, red, and orange. We had been napping longer than I’d realized.
I heard the first burble of the coffee pot while I looked out the tall line of windows, making me glance over at Sebastian. “Do we really need to create Penelope’s pathwaytonight? Morning kind of seems… better.”
Sebastian didn’t answer. He simply fetched a mug and poured a large amount of cream inside. Since he usually took his coffee black, I knew it was for me. And that answered my question. Hopefully Mistral would be ready for another adventure.
I looked down at my watch as it buzzed, seeing a new text from Dawn.
Eva, HOW COULD YOU?!?!
I considered ignoring it, but my curiosity won out. I hit the dictation button, then said, “How could I what?” Gabriel watched me curiously as I hit send on the typed out message.
