Gabriel’s leather jacket was similar to mine, but the similarities ended there. His shirt was the softest cream linen, and his dark gray pants had me itching to smooth my hands across his thighs.
I resisted though. My magic might be out of control, but it wasn’tthatout of control. I was receiving enough odd looks as it was.
Gabriel moved closer, his chest brushing my shoulder. The Silver Quarter was beautiful in its own way. Opulent. The whitecobblestones had a mother of pearl sheen to them, and the water falling from a fountain in the shape of outstretched wings shimmered more than the cloudy day called for. The angelics came from a near realm, hence there being fewer of them in the city, but I’d never been to their homeland, and I wondered if it was just as magical. Maybe someday I’d actually see it.
“Are you nervous?” Gabriel’s deep voice rumbling against me sent a little shiver right between my legs.
“Nervous? You mean about our only weapon disappearing into my hands potentially moments before we will face mynot so greatgrandfather?”
“I doubt we will face him directly until after the assault comes.“
“Not comforting.“ I slid my eyes toward him. The other difference in our outfits was the massive sword strapped across his back. I knew he knew how to use it, but the only one of us who had experienced true battle was Mistral, back in the goblin realm. Maybe Sebastian had at some point too, though I doubted it. If he had, he would have lorded it over us all.
Gabriel’s arm snaked around my waist beneath my jacket, his fingers lightly rubbing up and down across my white tank top. I knew it was meant to be soothing, but feeling the soft glow of sunshine-ey magic prickling across me made me want something a little more than comfort. And no, the irony wasn’t lost on me that the grumpiest member of our party was the one who brought out sunshine when he touched me.
Gabriel gave my side a light squeeze as Crispin and Elena exited the nearest building, passing through a door that was more glass than white painted wood before stopping to stand between two white pillars.
I didn’t have to move or make a sound for Crispin’s eyes to be drawn right to me. It was always like this now. The golden cordsbetween us never fully went away. I could close my eyes in any room and walk right toward any of them without a thought.
Following Crispin’s gaze, Elena grinned. Her red hair was in two long braids, and she wore black leather pants and a matching leather jacket. She had her bow slung over one shoulder, and a quiver of arrows strapped to her hip.
Before Crispin could take a step, she was already running toward us.
“Eva! Isn’t this exciting?” She stopped in front of me, barely acknowledging Gabriel before whipping her head around to watch the preparations. While most present tended to fight with magic, some of the werewolves were sparring with the fairies, who kept changing their forms to look like the other werewolves, confusing everything.
“Exciting is one word for it,” I muttered as Elena grabbed my arm, linking it with hers and pulling me away from Gabriel.
She turned us so our backs were facing the guys, though they would hear every word we said. “How could you get married without me?” she hissed under her breath. “I should have been there!”
I instantly blushed at the idea, feeling suddenly dizzy. “Trust me, you didn’t want to be there.” I heard Crispin stifling a laugh at our backs.
Elena huffed. “Fine. At least we get to go into battle together.”
I didn’t correct her on that part, even though my role in the battle was just to stay alive. My grandfather wanted the conduit star broken before he would ever face me in person. It meant that maybe we were strong enough to best him, but it also meant it was going to be tricky to do so. He had already tried to get me to run out into the city where I’d be vulnerable.
Now we were finally going to give him what he wanted, but only to lure him out of hiding. He had recruited plentyof goblins, fairies, gargoyles, and maybe even some vampires—though Elizabeta tended to rule with an iron fist, and she was on our side.
Our plan was simple, or at least the beginning of our plan was simple. The fairies, vampires, and werewolves had already started spreading the rumor around the city. A certain half-celestial with a bounty on her head would be making an appearance at the Circus. It was oddly fitting that the battle would happen there, at the massive casino where I’d first met Sebastian. If Lucas hadn’t been seeking out night runners—thinking he was following my mother’s orders when actually he was following Penelope’s—I might still be running around the city looking for my mom. I might still not know what was inside me, nor what I was destined for.
Did that mean I owed Lucas a thank you? I hadn’t seen the angelic yet since our arrival, but I knew he was skulking around somewhere, probably cursing my name.
Yeah, the only reason I’d ever give him a thank you would be to freak him out a little.
Elena tugged at my arm still linked with hers. “You okay?”
“Fine.” I forced what I hoped was a convincing smile. Once we arrived at the Circus, there would be no going back. My grandfather’s allies would come. It was going to be a supernatural gladiator arena right in the middle of the city, and I was the prize. We had chosen the Circus to keep the humans out of it, because few would dare go there despite there being no boundary.
Elena continued watching me, her brow etched with concern.
Fortunately Braxton’s cousin, Warrick, chose that moment to fling a pebble at her before running away like a five-year-old.
Cursing, Elena dropped my arm and ran after him.
Warrick might have needed some proper flirting lessons, but in this situation, his childish ways seemed to work exactly how he wanted.
With Elena gone, Gabriel and Crispin both moved closer to me, each gripping one of my shoulders.
“It will be fine,“ Crispin soothed.
