Page 27 of Autumn L.A.W

Cal straightened. “I am not harmless.”

Lioness studied him, really examining, and her head bobbed just a little. “Debatable.”

Rayna shoved Lioness lightly forward. “Just talk to him before the house decides to throw him into a tree.”

Cal blinked. “The house?”

“Don’t ask,” Lioness said quickly. “Long story. Our magical home. Territorial. Sometimes petty.”

Rayna nodded. “Very petty.”

Lioness dragged him a few steps away from the others, her annoyance sparking off of her like static. “You shouldn’t be here.”

He swallowed. “I live three blocks away.”

“That’s not what I meant.”

He knew. And yet, because he wasn’t an idiot, he didn’t push. “I saw you. You looked tired. I just wanted to check in.”

Her expression wobbled for a heartbeat. Gone before he could name it.

“Oh. Well. I’m fine.”

“You sure?” he asked softly.

She hated that his voice did something to her. Her jaw tightened, her shoulders squared, her short hair frizzed aggressively, as if staging a protest.

“Positive,” she said.

Then the ground hummed again—harder this time.

Lioness grabbed his arm, then his hand. Warm. Strong. Hers was barely bigger than his palm.

“Nope, nope, nope—back up,” she ordered, tugging him behind her like she was escorting him out of a burning building instead of a mildly magical situation. “You are a civilian. You do not get absorbed by the ground today.”

Cal stayed exactly where she put him. “That’s… a horrific thought.”

“Experience,” she said flatly.

Behind them, the man raised a hand. “Lioness? We might actually need you over here.”

Lioness groaned.

Cal glanced at the circle again. “Do you need help?”

Lioness snorted. “Unless you’re secretly a mage who can fling salt in a perfect circle, no.”

“I can fling salt,” he offered.

She laughed, the kind of laugh that startled itself out of her, bright and real.

His chest warmed. “What did your friend mean when she said, ‘You’ll get used to it, if what Lioness thinks is true’?”

Lioness shoved him lightly. “Go sit on that bench that’s facing the other way and pretend none of this is happening. If you peek and see anything glowing, humming, levitating, or trying to crawl out of the earth, make sure no one comes over to investigate.”

“What if I see something trying to crawl out of the earth and I want to investigate?”

“Do not!” she said, extra loud.