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“I’m good,” Onyx replied hastily. “I’ll wait until we have a reliable power source again.”
Wild was hanging back slightly, a sense of hesitancy coming through the bond. Probably because the building we were standing in front didn’t really resemble his once magnificent club any more. By the looks of it, half of the structure had collapsed, and they’d done their best to fortify the remaining area with makeshift scaffolding at stacks of bricks.
It could have been worse. We’d gone past my old apartment building—or the remains of it, rather—and I’d thrown up at the sight. That building, and that one alone, had been completely flattened. It had been an act of spite against me that my neighbors had paid the price for.
The ruins themselves were inaccessible because of the thick sea of rose bushes that had sprouted up around the entire thing. The same roses that I’d grown in pots on my balcony all those years ago, when I’d first moved to Milton alone. I suspected it had been a gesture of kindness from Persephone, and it had quickly become something of a pilgrimage spot.
Onyx’s expression was slightly sheepish as she looked past me to where Wild stood. “Sorry, bossman. We did our best to keep the place standing. It was packed to the rafters when the world went dark, and we all did our best to make it habitable while we camped out. I know it isn’t what it used to be—”
“You did a better job holding it together than I could have,” Wild interrupted. Onyx’s jaw dropped open.
“You canspeak? How? Since when? I swear to the gods, if you’ve been able to talk this whole time and were just choosing not to…”
Wild snorted. “No. Are you going to invite us in?”
“It’s your building,” Onyx pointed out, gesturing at the door.
“Not anymore,” Wild replied easily, striding past her. “It’s yours now.”
Onyx looked at me in disbelief, and I gave her a reassuring nod, brushing the crumbs from the bread Quinn was munching on off my shoulder. “We discussed on the way here. We’re not exactly sure where we want our home base to be, if we’re even ready to choose one yet, but none of us want to be in a city.”
“Everyone wants a piece of Grace,” Bullet added absently, observing his surroundings curiously. “Apparently, I have a property not too far from here that’s more private.”
“Apparently,” Onyx repeated faintly. We didn’t advertise the fact that Bullet had lost his memories at his own request, so I wasn’t surprised that the news hadn’t traveled back here yet. While all of our friends across the sea knew, they were extremely protective of us, and would never spill our secrets. “Well, come in. How long are you staying? We’ve set aside a room for you. Memphis has even offered to babysit. He needs the practice, he got a little overexcited when Dionysus came to visit recently and knocked up a human.”
“He’s not practicing with our kid,” Riot grumbled, sticking close to my back and gently tugging Quinn’s baby curls.
“That’s very kind of you,” I said, sliding in with the diplomacy that my bonded lacked. “But we’re only staying one night, unfortunately. As nice as it is to see all of you, we’re called to go where we’re needed, and Milton doesn’tneedus, not really.”
It was hard to describe, the restless itchiness underneath my skin that demanded I find a community to help. It wasn’t dissimilar to the agathos urge to provide assistance to mortals in need—and that certainly hadn’t gone away—but this was somethingmore. Bigger, grander, more urgent.
“Ah, so you’re going back to Auburn then,” Onyx deduced. “Then we are definitely having a bigass party tonight before we send you to the bad place. Let’s get you a tequila, good girl.”
“How are you feeling about this?” Bullet asked, plucking the brush out of my hands where I sat in front of the mirror and running it through my now long hair. “Nervous? I think the bond is saying nervous.”
I smiled, pushing a pulse of love and gratitude for him down the bond. We were all finding our feet in this new world, but Bullet more than anyone. He tended to stick like glue to my side or Wild’s at all times, relying on us to navigate social situations. It really felt like the least I could do after all the guidance he’d given me over the years, even when I hadn’t been able to remember it.
“A little,” I admitted. “The last time I was in the agathos temple in Auburn, they had me on an altar and Riot had to break me out. It feels odd to return to that willingly.”
Bullet nodded solemnly, setting the brush aside to plait two thin braids on either side of my head, pulling them to the back and securing them with a tie. The affinity for elaborate hairstyles was a new thing—a hobby he’d picked up once he’d returned from the underworld. He found it relaxing doing mine or Quinn’s hair, and we definitely weren’t complaining.
“Let’s just tell them to go fuck themselves and leave if we don’t like it,” he suggested. “They sound like assholes, and we’ve encountered plenty of agathos on our travels who refuse to concede they were ever wrong.”
That was true. They’d become rarer as time went on, but pride was a powerful motivator.
Wild slipped into the bedroom silently, shutting the door behind him. My family home had been burned to the ground in an arson attack a few years ago, which I had some very mixed feelings about, but I wouldn’t have wanted to stay there anyway. Instead, we were staying in Felix Lyon’s home, since he and his family were the only agathos in Auburn I trusted. They’d given us the guest bedroom and their old nursery for Quinn to sleep in, since their kids had outgrown it.
“How’s Quinny?” I asked, standing now that Bullet was done with my hair.
Wild snorted. “They have a bunch of dolls from when Liberty was a kid. Quinn is in her element. She’s having a tea party with Riot.”
I checked through the bond, my smile widening at the contentment tinged with exasperation Riot was feeling. When it came to any kind of pretend play, he and Wild had the least patience for it, but they always gave it a go.
“Are they all ready to leave? I just need to put my shoes on and I’m done.”
Wild and Bullet exchanged a knowing look, possibly communicating through their own bond.
“Grace…” Wild warned, grabbing my hips and walking me backward until Bullet’s front pressed against my back. “You’re not even a little bit ready to leave. You’re freaking out.”
