Page 50

Standing outside was Lain, bundled up as if it were still the dead of winter and clutching the biggest to-go cup Raina offered at Buns 'n' Roses. He looked like he'd just tumbled out of bed, his blinks still slow and heavy with sleep.

Next to him was Ori, who'd gone the complete opposite route and wore only tight jeans and a long-sleeved shirt. Their elbow-length hair was loose this morning, glossy and smooth despite the wind. Tiny golden beads and charms caught the sunlight, attached to dozens of thin braids. Shimmery gold eyeliner complemented the charms. How long had Ori been awake? The look must've taken ages.

Lain and Ori weren't the reason I was nervous, though. Lain knew about Typhon, and I suspected Ori knew more than they were letting on. The two men behind them were a mystery, though, and I couldn't help but be wary of them.

Alex Copeland and Detective Donovan Parker stood hand-in-hand at the foot of my porch steps. Like Lain, Alex had a massive coffee cup in his hand. He leaned against Detective Parker, his head resting on his shoulder, clearly still trying to wake up. It looked like he'd made some attempts to brush his hair, but it still fell in his eyes and brushed his nose when he took a sip of his coffee.

Detective Parker gave his boyfriend a soft, indulgent smile when he looked over at him and took a moment to finger-comb Alex's hair into place for him. There was no doubting how much they loved each other, and I had to look away for a moment. Once, I would have done anything to have someone smile at me the way Detective Parker smiled at Alex. I had done almost everything, actually. Lying to myself, abandoning my friends… all in the vain hope of earning love that should have been freely given.

"So…" Lain drawled, raising an eyebrow. "Are you going to introduce us?" His eyes flickered toward Typhon, giving him a slow head-to-toe look that absolutely didn't make me want to slam the door in his face. Really.

Trying to explain Typhon's new form over text message when even I didn't understand what was going on seemed pointless, so I'd left that part out. I hadn't considered that other people would find his human shape just as attractive as I did.

"Would it be alright if we came inside first?" Ori asked when I hesitated, trying to figure out how to explain this.

Grateful for the reprieve, I nodded and stepped back to allow them inside. "O-of course. Oh… um, I hope none of you are allergic to animals?" I hadn't thought about that when asking them to come here. I knew Lain wasn't, obviously, but what about the other three? Should I have brought them around to the back deck instead? Would that be any better?

"We're not," Detective Parker assured me, and Alex mumbled something that sounded like agreement. They stepped inside after Ori and Lain, no longer half-hidden behind them. To my surprise, Donovan was leaning on a cane and walking with a limp. I hadn't noticed it when they first came in.

I never got to ask him what happened. In an instant, Typhon ripped his hand from mine. I didn't even see him move. I just blinked and he had Detective Parker pinned against the wall, his forearm across the man's throat. A deep, menacing growl rumbled from his chest, loud enough that I could hear it even over Alex's startled yell.

Ori and Lain jumped into action, trying to put themselves between the two. Alex pushed at Typhon in a vain attempt to free his boyfriend.

And me?

I froze.

Fear curdled in my stomach and my vision tunneled, darkness closing in around the edges until all I could see was Typhon's arm across Detective Parker's throat. Despite his best efforts, Typhon didn't release him, and the detective's breathing became ragged, gasping.

I knew that feeling. I relived it in my nightmares, when I couldn't hold back the memories.

Hands on my throat. I can't breathe. I can't breathe!

His face above me, his body holding me down. I'm numb, the pain too all-encompassing to feel anymore.

He's not going to stop.

He's going to kill me.

I can't breathe.

Pain jolted through my knees when I hit the ground, but I could still feel hands on me. My lungs burned, desperate for air, but I couldn't remember how to take a breath.

"Quinn?"

The voice seemed to come from miles away, echoing in the emptiness around me. It meant nothing to me. I didn't know who it was and I didn't care. I couldn't fucking breathe.

The voice disappeared, and a moment later, a figure appeared, kneeling on the ground in front of me.

"Quinn."

I knew that voice. I'd spent the last day memorizing Typhon's human voice. We'd laughed together just a few hours ago and the way he'd said my name then made me feel things I never thought I'd feel again.

Now, it just made me want to run away and hide.

He didn't reach for me, which I was grateful for, but he didn't leave. I needed him to leave. I needed them all to go away, and then maybe I could finally remember how to draw a breath. My head was spinning, my chest aching, and I barely heard a sharp whistle. The noise around me quieted, and a moment later, Typhon was gone, and in his place, Romulus appeared. The panic ebbed, and I wrapped my arms around my dog, burying my face against his shoulder, and finally, finally managed a shuddering breath.

"It's not real. He's not here," I whispered into his fur. It took me repeating it a half-dozen times for my brain to really believe it. The ache in my chest eased with each pained breath, and the sick, dizzy feeling settled. The fear took longer, but I almost wanted to cling to it, because as my head cleared and the panic passed, mortification took its place.