AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She shook herself and huffed. “Let’s cut to the chase.” She stepped up to me until I could see my face reflected in her black eyes. She inhaled deeply, then held my wrist between her thumb and fingers.
“Where did you come from?” she asked.
“Uh—just now? Down the hill a ways—”
“Where did you come from?” she repeated more forcefully.
“Earth.” That was vague enough, right?
“You’re trying my patience, girlie. Were you sent by Gavriel?”
“God no.” The shock of disgust I felt at that question registered clearly on her face.
She squinted at me for a moment, then gave a satisfied nod and moved on to Jayce. She did the same thing to him, but rather than bothering to ask where he’d come from, she just skipped to the final question—the one about Gavriel. Apparently satisfied with his adamant denial, she moved on to Xero, then Kingston. She practically ignored Kai until she couldn’t any longer.
“Vampire.” She heaved a sigh, sounding exasperated. She didn’t touch him, although he held his wrist out for her. “Were you sent by Gavriel?”
“No,” he answered in a cool voice. His dark eyes narrowed, his angular features seeming to sharpen. “Were you?”
Her eyes widened and she blinked as if it hadn’t occurred to her that we might also be avoiding the fallen lord.
“Of course not.” She dusted off her hands briskly.
“Then you work for the Custodians? Some kind of point of contact behind enemy lines?” Kai pressed on.
She bared her teeth and hissed. “Custodians! Useless fucks.”
My vampire mate smiled, his eyes narrowing. “Then you and I have a lot in common.”
She barked a laugh of disbelief. “Me? Have something in common with a leech?”
He stepped forward, shoulders back, head high, somehow transforming into the most powerful presence in the room. “We have both been neutral parties in this conflict, intent on remaining so. I hid on earth for years before the Custodians found me and forced my hand. How long have you been hiding? How long has it been since you decided that this conflict had nothing whatever to do with you?”
If I could feel his sincerity, I was certain she could—her empath powers probably made her almost as attuned to the men’s emotions as I was. Her breath caught in her throat. She swallowed, staring at Kai as if seeing him for the first time.
“Eons,” she breathed. “It feels like eons.”
“So you see,” Kai said, opening his palms. “We are of one mind.”
She recoiled from all of us for a moment, closing her eyes and breathing deeply. Centering herself, I thought. I’d seen Jayce do the same from time to time, and although it struck me as a little funny that a demon from the underworld would have the same emotional coping techniques as a man who’d been raised by hippie parents on earth, I didn’t say anything.
Instead, all five of us were silent, giving her space and time to do what she needed to. When she came forward again, she seemed more clear-headed.
“I’ve searched each of you thoroughly. I can find no threat to my own well-being if I allow you to rest here today. You’re all tired, hungry, and thirsty. Follow me.”
She turned around, and for a moment it seemed she was going to walk into solid rock; but as she neared it, I realized that the solidity was an illusion. She cast no shadow on a door-sized section of rock, but on the floor beneath it instead. I followed her through, raking my fingers through the illusion appreciatively.
“You’re good,” I said. “Hannah would kill for this skill. Oh! Not literally,” I added quickly as she gave me a sharp look. “I just mean, my friend Hannah loves magic, but she’s better at theory than practice.”
“Everyone is at first,” the woman said with a shrug. “Sit down.”
On the other side of the illusion was a comfortable living room and attached kitchen. The décor was heavy on the black rock and jewel tones, but it could almost have been a human living space. The long couch was set a little higher than the average human couch, but the cushions squished just the same. I sank into it with a grateful sigh, and gestured for my guys to sit close. Xero and Jayce came at once, settling on either side of me. Kingston swaggered over and sat beside Jayce, draping his arm over the back of the couch to play with my hair. Kai sat beside Xero, but made no move to touch me.
That was fine. The couch was soft and cradled my aching body, and the other three were softly touching my hair and wrist. Healing, soothing power trickled over me, washing away the exhaustion of the last several days and the lingering pain of being separated from them. The demon woman brought us food and drink, and no one said anything except for a murmured thanks until we had finished the hot meal.
“What’s your name?” I asked her when we’d finished.
She slid me a sideways look. “You can call me Vee.”
