Page 36 of An Oath at Midnight

I was acting like a jealous girlfriend. I needed to rein it the hell in. Whatever the details were, he couldn’t tell me, and getting pissed at him for something he had no control over wasn’t very constructive.

“I’m sorry,” I said, and it wasn’t easy to gather control of my anger, but I managed to bring it down from inferno to simmer. “Let’s just focus on what we need to do, okay?”

He nodded, but his jaw was tight as hell. “We’ll drive to the edge of the forest, then fly. It’s dangerous. There’re creatures there that make the demons we’re used to look like kittens.”

“Fantastic.”

Bram bared his teeth. “They come anywhere near you, I’ll tear them to fucking shreds.”

A weird swirly sensation spiraled through my lower belly. “Noted.”

CHAPTER 9

Magnolia

I tried really hard to clear my head and focus on what I needed to do as we headed for the forest—and not on what Bram might or might not have done while he was at The Vault. I was failing.

The forest ahead thinned, and I pulled over on the side of the dirt road. The track that would lead us to Agatheena’s cottage was just ahead. I slid my smaller knife in my pocket, the one I used for spelling, then reached under the seat and pulled out my bigger one.

Bram watched me. “Where’d you get that?”

“It was a gift.” I got out of the car.

He did the same and rounded the hood. Slipping the knife from my fingers, he tested its balance and weight. His fingers curled around the hilt, gripping it tight, so tight his knuckles turned white. “From who? Relic?”

“What? No.”

I frowned and took it back, strapping it to my thigh. “Asher. She gave it to me two months ago.” I glanced up at him. “The first time I managed to take her down to the mat.”

His brows shot up. “You took Asher down?”

“I’ve taken her down several times now,” I said and grabbed my pack, pulling it on.

His dark eyes searched mine. “So, what Iris said, about you training?”

“It’s true. And I’m good. Really good. I can take care of myself now. So you don’t need to worry about me.” It wasn’t the reason I’d gone to Asher in the first place, ignoring my pride and with my tail between my legs, it had been about an outlet for my anger. But the more Bram was away, the more I realized I’d need to take care of myself, that Bram wouldn’t always be there to look out for me like he used to be.

His nostrils flared, the muscle in his jaw twitching before he looked away.

“Bram?”

“We better get going.” He tugged off his shirt, tucking it into the back of his jeans, then scooped me into his arms.

His wings unfurled, beating hard, and we lifted off. A moment later we were above the forest, looking down at the treetops.

“You don’t like that I can fight?” I asked when the silence stretched out.

He shook his head. “I don’t like that you had to learn because of me.”

“I didn’t do it because of you, I learned for me.” I tightened my arms around his neck and pressed my forehead to his cheek. Goddess, my heart couldn’t take much more of this, all this animosity and hurt, and just plan weirdness, between us.

“And the other thing Iris said about when I started leaving all the time?” I felt his throat working and his voice had grown incredibly deep. “I crushed you?”

“Don’t,” I said instead of answering, because we both knew the truth and there was nothing either of us could do about it now.

My world was in a spin, and he’d always been my steadying force, I needed that from him again now. I needed that more than anything right then. “Can we just be us. For today, can we just be Mags and Bram again, the way we used to be?”

His chest expanded, and he turned his head, pressing his lips to my forehead. “Yeah,” he said against my skin before he turned back and focused on where we were going.