Hooking the backpack over my shoulders, I check the bathroom, then under the beds in case we dropped something. “Are you ready?”
Riven nods.
We leave the hotel and head toward the address. When I see it’s a parking lot full of rental cars, I snort a laugh.Of course.Idris is ruthlessly efficient. Running into the office, I turn the car in and text Ciprian to let him know we’ve arrived.
Ciprian
Go to the back of the building. Green dumpster, dent on the side.
I grab Riven’s hand and tug him around the building, keeping an eye out for security cameras. There were plenty mounted on the front, but with no cars on this side, the coast is clear. Good. We don’t have time to deal with terrified humans.
The air sputters, fighting back as it’s displaced by Idris’s magic, then a purple circle of swirling light appears behind the dumpster. Fifteen seconds and one disgusting magical squeezelater and we’re standing inside the compound, two feet from the indoor tree.
I’m surprised by my relief. This isn’t my home, but it’s a lot closer to it than the string of hotels and motels I’ve been sleeping in on the road.
Luca grabs me before I can stumble over the tree’s thick roots, kissing my forehead and tossing Idris a grateful nod. With the tips of his pointed ears peeking through his black hair, the fae is as cool and unruffled as ever. He closes the portal with a flick of his wrist.
“Welcome back,” he says.
“Thanks.” I smile. “For the portal and the home base.”
“Of course. Ciprian is... family.” It takes him some effort to get the final word out, and my lips twitch at the pinched expression on his face.
“Holy shit! I heard that!” Ciprian skids around the corner, his black eyes glittering with delight. “Sheena, your boyfriend called me family!”
She follows him into the foyer. “One of my boyfriends is your literal brother.”
“Idris, bestie, not Callum. Idris the unimpressed calledmefamily.”
Idris sighs. “And I am already living to regret it.”
Ciprian’s grin doesn’t fade. He’s as pleased to get a reaction out of Idris as he is a compliment. He reaches for me, but Alistair darts into the foyer and shoves him away before snatching me up.
My legs wrap around his waist, and our surroundings blur as Alistair’s lips crash against mine while we move at vampire speed. Enjoying the kiss and his possessiveness, I sink into his arms and let him abduct me.
The bedroom door slams behind us.
“That was rude,” I whisper, trying and failing to maintain a straight face.
Alistair’s eyes flash red. “Like I give a shit.”
The hinge of the bedroom door creaks as it opens and slams again. I glance over my shoulder in time to see Ciprian’s glare turn distinctly demonic. “You son of a bitch,” he snarls.
Ali smirks. “It’s not my fault you’re slow.”
Streaks of color spread across Ciprian’s cheeks, and his hands fist at his sides. “If I’m slow, it’s because someone decided to drink half my blood and demand a field trip?—”
Everything blurs again, then we’re in Ciprian’s space. “You assured me you felt fine,” Alistair hisses. “Sit down. I can’t believe you got out of bed if you weren’t feeling well.”
Ciprian rolls his eyes and cups my chin, bringing our lips together and ignoring Alistair’s rant. “I’ve missed you, hot wings.”
I kiss him thoroughly, a shiver of desire rolling through me.
The door opens again, two sets of footsteps entering the pretty green bedroom Sheena made for us. “I don’t think we’re going to get a good house guest review from the fae,” Luca says, reaching between Alistair and Ciprian’s bodies and extracting me.
Riven stands alone by the door. His stance is a little too deliberate to be natural. His spine is rigid, his knees are locked, and the blank expression on his face has more in common with an art installation than a living person.
Luca follows my gaze. “You three left Riven and me to twiddle our thumbs out there.”
