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“We don’t have time to find all of the unaffiliated fallen and develop our own counter-strike. We need the Custodians’ resources if we have any hope of stopping Gavriel and his army at all. You guys are the best at what you do, but what you can’t do is cast spells. We need magical firepower on our side, and the Custodians have that.”
I could feel the three men’s hesitation and expected them to keep arguing, but they didn’t. Apparently Kingston’s word was law around here. He rose, and the rest of us followed suit.
“Gerard, please show my friends the house.” He glanced at all of us. “You guys make yourselves at home. I’m going to the lab with Buford and Franz to get this project started. I might meet you later for dinner. Depends on how it goes.”
For the first time since knowing him, I could plainly see the CEO in Kingston. He expected to be obeyed, but he wasn’t mean or cruel about it. It was kind of hot watching him give orders and think through solutions to our problem. I wished I could watch him in a business meeting, in a perfectly tailored suit, his hair styled without a strand out of place—but even in the clothes we’d worn at FU, he managed to look commanding and powerful.
I went to him as everyone else started filing out of the room.
“You got this,” I told him as I wrapped my arms around his neck. “We’re going to win.”
“Yeah.” His tone was warm but his eyes were distant. His head was already in the lab, hunting down magic hot spots. I kissed his mouth, letting the essence of his strength wash over me, then released him. He smiled at me, then gently pushed me away.
“There’s a whole mansion to explore,” he murmured. “What’s mine is yours, so poke around all you like. I’ll see you later.”
My heart seemed to expand in my chest as I kissed him once more and then slipped out of the room. It was the little, seemingly inconsequential things like this that always hit me hardest. The four men in my life let me know every day, in big ways and small, how much they cared about me.
And for a dragon to say “what’s mine is yours”?
That was basically the equivalent of sky-writing “I love you.”
Chapter Nineteen
I took Kingston’s offer to heart. And the mansion was definitely worth exploring.
There was a whole indoor garden in one wing, a couple different libraries, game rooms, theaters—it was like a mall and a hotel all rolled into one. There were two kitchens, a large one and an industrially massive one. The large one was fully stocked with everyday foods, and we all indulged.
“I kind of feel bad relaxing and eating a real meal while the world is teetering on the edge of annihilation and Kingston’s team is working so hard,” Hannah said around a mouthful. “Shouldn’t we be doing something?”
“Yeah,” I said. “We’re doing it. We’re recharging so that we’ll be useful when the time comes. Take a little break tonight, Hannah. I’m sure the team could use your brain tomorrow though.”
She nodded, satisfied with that answer. After eating, we all wandered through the mansion as a group. We lost Kai and Xero to a pool table, then lost Hannah to a library full of fairy tales, spiral staircases, and stained glass windows. Before long, the only person left walking with me was Jayce. He smiled down at me with his warm blue eyes.
“Lead the way, Piper. Which way should we go next?”
“Why am I always the leader?” I asked with a smile.
He shrugged. “It’s the nature of things, isn’t it?”
“I don’t know. I kind of feel like magic took over. Like I’m just following orders.”
“Nature,” he said again, more firmly. “Super nature, maybe, but nature all the same. Let me put it this way. What would you like to do right now? What would make you feel good?”
I studied his voice and felt for his feelings, and what I found made me smile. His question wasn’t sexual in any way—not that I minded when he flirted shamelessly with me. Instead, the question was just… honest. Utterly selfless and open, without agenda. It gave me the breathing room I needed to search my own feelings and figure out the answer.
“Water,” I said dreamily. “Crystal clear water to swim in. There isn’t enough of it in the underworld, not by a long shot.”
“I saw a swimming pool outside the library.” He grinned down at me, looking delighted. “Let’s go find it.”
We took several wrong turns—the place was a damn labyrinth—but eventually we found a sun room that opened up onto a little veranda overlooking a huge, irregular indoor pool. The walls around us were all made of glass, making it feel as if we weren’t enclosed at all. The pool’s wavy edges and round lagoons meandered in all directions, and there were flower-shaped island gardens dotted through it. Soft purple, blue, and green lights lit it from beneath, making it look like some kind of fantasy world in the deepening twilight.
“Perfect,” I breathed.
Without hesitation, I stripped down to my bare skin and dove in, relishing every molecule of earthly water as it caressed my body. I swam a lazy lap around the pool and came back to find Jayce floating on his back staring at the sky. He had also stripped down to nothing, and I got a lovely view of his muscular ass as I snuck up on him from below the surface.
I rose up under his shoulder with enough force to roll him over.
“Hey!” He twisted and landed on his feet, then splashed me playfully. “Feeling a little frisky, are we?”
