Page 27 of Break Out the Girl

She smiles, a little wan. “We’ve definitely got food for thought, but I wish we had real food—and coffee.” As we walk, our hands brush together. “You know,” Aurora says, “I’d never been allowed coffee until I got to Quo. It’s great, took some getting used to, but now I’m all about it.”

“That, my dear Aurora, was nowhere near coffee. One day I'll take you to Paris and we’ll visit my favorite torréfacteur. His beans are exquisite.”

She’s quiet for a moment as we move quickly in the lee of the dilapidated buildings.

“Paris?” she asks after a minute.

“Oui, chérie. You will love it, I know with certainty.”

“I’m not going to Paris with you, François,” she says quietly, but with a finality that cuts my heart to shreds.

“No? Then where will you be, Aurora? What grand plans do you have for your future?’ Yes, I sound cold, but I can’t do anything about it.

“I’m going to make a home, maybe around here somewhere. And Sky and London and Tally will live with me. Layla too when she gets out.”

“So you are setting up a half-way house?”

“Don’t be horrible. There’s a room there for you if you finally get the stick out of your ass.”

Room for me?

She considered me in her future plans?

Maybe my shredded heart will live after all.

When I push open the heavy, rusted sliding door of the warehouse, the interior is pitch black compared to the dawn outside. We step into the main floor, and a massive, terrifying shadow detaches itself from the wall.

Before I can even register movement, a calloused fist collides squarely with my jaw.

The impact sends me stumbling backward against the corrugated iron wall with a loud, metallic clang. The copper taste of blood explodes in my mouth. I look up, my hand flying to my swelling cheek, my eyes flashing back into vertical slits as the snake-fire flares in my veins.

Taliesin is standing over me, his broad shoulders squared, his chest heaving under his plaid flannel shirt. His amber wolf-eyes are burning with a terrifying, wild panic.

“Where the fuck did you take her, de Vaux?” He roars. "I woke up and she was gone. I thought you took her back to your fucking father!”

“Tally!” Aurora screams, throwing herself directly between us, pressing her palms flat against the wolf's broad chest. "Stop it! He didn't take me anywhere. I asked him to go. We were scouting the piers. We found boats!”

Taliesin freezes, his gaze dropping down to her. A deep, shuddering relief takes over his body and he pulls her close. “Don’t go anywhere without telling me, Rory. Please, I beg you.”

“Sorry, Tally. It was thoughtless.”

I spit a mouthful of blood onto the concrete floor, my lips curling into a cold, venomous sneer as I stand.

“Your lack of impulse control is entirely exhausting, Bevan,” I snarl, wiping my mouth with the back of my sleeve. “But if you are quite finished playing the feral beast, we have a sea crossing to plan. And the locals say the water has teeth.”

He growls back at me. Tiresome posturing. I turn away and look at the fresh filth on the hideous sweatshirt I’m wearing. I could transmute the fibers into a much more satisfactory cloth, but it would tax my already weakened powers.

Instead, I perform a cast to dry out the bloodstain. It evaporates to dust and I brush it away. The action helps settle my pulse and annoyingly heightened emotion.

Aurora watches the dust fall, her eyebrows lifting. “You make it look so easy. What spell was that?”

I step closer, taking her hand in mine. “Dehydration cast, chérie. Here—allow me.” I lift her hand, tracing a slow, deliberate rune in the air. “Concentrate on the dampness you feel in your footwear.”

As she fixes her eyes on her feet, I realize I have done Aurora a disservice to not immediately teach her spells that will aid her comfort.

“My spark is fizzing,” she whispers. “Now what?”

“Repeat the rune-shape while settling your intent on making your shoes moisture-free.”