Page 70 of Hybrid Heroics

“I’m not throwing a fit,” he growled, reading my mind. “Fuck. I have a headache. Someone knock me out. I just need some peace and quiet.”

The inside of his head was filled with voices, the thoughts echoing like they were bouncing around the metal walls of a warehouse. Novak’s mental powers had been strong when I met him, but this was a new level. And so was the pity I felt.

He only even listened to thoughts because he was bored or in a nosy sort of mood. Now that the adrenaline of the fight had faded, this must have been his personal version of Hell.

I added a layer of my magic to his psyche, providing a cushion to block the thoughts while he rebuilt his mental security. As his mind fell quiet, he sighed in relief and stuck his thumb in the air.

“Thank you, Trouble.”

“You’re welcome,” I whispered, glancing at each of my guys, then Sterling and her guys, before I spoke again. “We need to leave. This was a trap. The longer I’m here, the worse things are going to get for the druids’ realm. Until Alric is dead.”

“What do you mean?” Sterling asked, studying me from her perch on the porch stairs. “How much worse will this curse get?”

With a grimace, I shook my head. “I don’t know, but I think I’m a beacon. Alric knows I’m awake, knows I just lifted his curse off this group, so he’ll send others. It will be easier for him to find me now. I’m trying to puzzle out the inner workings of his mind, and while I understand his motives more than before… I can’t quite predict all of his movements.”

“The stasis was an experiment?” Sterling inquired.

I nodded. “It was. I needed to see what he was capable of, how far he was willing to push. And I got those answers, so I kicked him out of my mind. I know the next major moves he has on his board, and that means we need to go home. Us leaving cuts this realm out of his plans.”

“Wait.” Stone held his hands up. “You knew this was a trap?”

“No. I mean, I knew something was happening here. That was the next logical step for him to take, especially if he had been following our movements. But I didn’t know it was a trap until I started talking to Alric.”

My guys grew quiet, passing looks between each other that I wish were difficult to read… However, they weren’t indecipherable.

“Did you think I sent you here knowing this was a setup?”

A flood of embarrassment rolled through the one-sided bonds, their awkward silence speaking louder than any words ever could. They had doubts about something, but I didn’t know what about.

I could take a stab at their emotions, say they had doubted my decision or even themselves, though it felt more complicated than that. They had worried for me, and while that was a sweet notion, they should know me better by now.

Was I really upset with them? No, but I was expecting a little more faith than that.

I observed them all fumble over what words to say to explain their thoughts. Vaughn closed his eyes, massaging the bridge of his nose. Briggs ran his hands through his untamed hair, his mouth open as if he might speak. Novak had sat up, gazing at me with conflict warring in his golden eyes.

Stone’s jaw muscles ticked in a steady rhythm that matched his heartbeat. York rubbed the back of his neck, lips pursed, and pulled to the left as he contemplated his next words. And Palmer tucked his hands in his pockets, studying me intensely.

It was my mage who gave me all the answers I needed. Palmer’s expression told me someone finally felt a fraction of the weight on my shoulders, and he didn’t like it.

They didn’t think I led them into a trap. They had doubted their own decisions… Decisions that I forced them to make on their own because I wasn’t here.

I rolled my eyes and walked away, gliding to the porch where Sterling and her mates were faking a conversation to give us space.

“Those motherfuckers,” I mumbled under my breath, grinning when Murphy snorted.

“Give them a minute to process, Lo,” the warlock whispered, opening the front door for me. “It’s been a crazy two days without you, but they’ve been trying.”

“I know. But if I don’t act like I’m slighted, then they’ll keep standing there, staring at me like I’m a figment of their imagination.”

I stopped right inside the door, listening to my mates come to life.

“These were my favorite pants,” Novak grumbled. “I’m not gonna be able to get these grass stains out.”

“I don’t want to hear it,” Palmer bitched. “There are holes all in my khakis.”

“I’m missing patches of fur,” Briggs growled. “Why are you complaining about your pants?”

“Really?” Stone snapped. “Did you fuckers not see the sword sticking out of my back? I couldn’t move my wings.”