Page 87 of The Human’s Heart

Zay’s uncle looked a little pissed now. “Would you rather spend the rest of your lives looking over your shoulders? Or do you want to get to the bottom of this and keep your viramore safe, once and for all?”

Zaos actually growled at him, but after a few seconds, he let out a, “Argh—alright. Fine.” It sounded mostly like growling, but I understood him. It seemed Basil did too.

He gave a nod and stood. “Alright, come on, then.”

Zay said, “You should probably make sure Hugo’s okay with going first.”

His uncle paused and looked at me with a raised brow.

“I’m good with going, but I need to put on some real clothes first.”

Zay snorted, and the two of us rushed into our bedroom. We changed, just into jeans and t-shirts, then ran back out.

With a nod, Basil led us out the door and toward the portal.

Before I knew it, I was walking into the BCA headquarters, and I suddenly wished I’d gone out and bought a suit or something for this. I felt… weird and very underdressed and like everyone was staring at us even though I knew they weren’t.

Basil walked us through quickly, not stopping to talk to anyone until he got to his own viramore. Hiro gave us each a side-hug, and he quietly asked me, “Are you sure you’re okay with doin’ this? We don’t have to if you’re uncomfortable.”

I sent him a small smile. “I’m okay with it.”

“Alright. But if you get uncomfortable at all, just let me know, and we’ll stop the interview, ‘kay?”

“Thanks.”

“And don’t worry ‘bout your safety. She’ll be shielded, and Bas and I’ll be right there with you. We’ll keep you safe.” He leaned in closer. “You and your viramore.”

That made me smile because Zay seemed irritated by that. As if he didn’t need protecting, but I did. Overprotective sourpuss. “Thank you.”

Hiro gave me a nod, then Zay and I followed him toward the room.

Zay’s Uncle Hiro looked extremely intimidating with his giant build and millions of tattoos everywhere. But every time he spoke to me, he surprised me by how gentle he was. Apparently, he was really good with his daughter and grandkids, and I supposed he put me in that category since Zay was already there. I didn’t mind at all.

Especially when we were about to face… whatever—or whoever—this was.

Ugh. This was so not gonna be fun.

Chapter 28

Hugo

The four of us walked inside, and I stopped dead when I got a look at the nymph woman on the other side of the table.

She was… tiny. Like super tiny—thin, lithe, and even though she was sitting, I knew she was incredibly short. The photo Basil had shown me hadn’t done her small size or beauty justice.

She was beautiful in a sort of ethereal way. She looked mystical and like she would maybe sprout wings at any moment… or perhaps turn into a tree or some kind of plant that lived in the water.

That was obviously her nymph magic making me think that.

Because she was definitely a nymph.

Obviously, Basil had said she came from a nymph family, but I could actually tell what she was without anyone pointing it out.

It was crazy how easily I identified her based on my senses… and not just my sight and smell, but also my sense of her magic.

I was definitely getting better at this.

Her white-blonde hair and bright green eyes only added to her fairy-like appearance, and I couldn’t help but feel like she wasn’t a threat at all.