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“I don’t know, but I want to say yes?”
“A’ight.” He chuckles, his finger tapping against his jean-clad thigh to the beat of Metallica.
“You guys listen to our music?” I figure wherever I’m going is going to be a long-ish trip. If only portals didn’t make me queasy.
If only I knew where I was fucking going.
What if I end up in front of another witch, or oh my god! What if I get to meet a fairy?!
Wait. No.
I should not be excited about the things this world might offer.
Fear. Anger. Hope of going back home. Those are the things I need to focus on.
“Your music?” Sin leans his head to the side, and I blink when the dark sky slowly transforms to a soft pastel hue of colors. Saturn hovers right above us, with its ring sparkling a brilliant gold. I’ve never seen anything like it. It’s the stuff that dreams are made of. “You do know that James Hetfield is a regular over here?”
“No.” I focus back on the road. “But I don’t know anything about your world. In fact, just days before, I didn’t know any other world existed except for my own.”
He snickers, turning his head out the window. “Figures. Humans. Always so fucking narcissistic, thinking they’re the only kind to ever exist.”
I open my mouth to argue, but close it when I realize he’s right. Well goddamn.
“So.” I take the turn off the single road that looks to be a highway, only no cars. “Am I the only one who drives here?”
“Nah. If there are humans here, they usually do drive. Portaling makes you all feel the same way, so after getting here, y’all can’t take much else without a fuck ton of practice, and you’ll be here long enough for that.”
“But humans do come here, then?”
“The Haunt happens here, so they come for that and a few other games we like to play, but a lot of people enjoy pets.” He shrugs. “Fuck ’em good and feed for a few days before using compulsion to make it all better and send them back.”
So…blasé.
“Feed as in?” I ask, assuming I know the answer, realizing fast I do not.
“Their blood or their energy. Giftless blood is like a vitamin to our kind, and for Power Banks, they’re a quick dose of coke. Leaves them feeling on top of the world after a quick fuck. Like Alex with your little buddy, Benjamin.”
My heart falls to my feet. Oh my god, Ben!
I slam on the brakes, my pulse thumping wildly, urging me forward for some unknown reason, but the ache in my chest keeps me frozen. I open my mouth, but Sinner cuts me off.
“He’s fine. Back in his cute little skates pretending he knows how to play hockey.”
“Fuck you. Don’t talk about Ben.”
Sinner laughs, and for some reason, I decide I believe him and hit the gas again. Almost like a wave of certainty washing over me, which makes no sense since I trust this motherfucker about as far as I can throw him. And I’m not very strong.
I take two more left turns once off the highway, pulling to a slow stop in front of a large clearing. Deep red flowers scatter through the blades of grass. It’s an explosion of green and burgundy, and when I open the driver’s side door, the smell hits me at once. Sugar and cinnamon with a faint spice of masculinity.
“Ahh, now it makes sense,” Sinner murmurs, following me out of the car.
I walk a few feet forward as tingles erupt over my skin. Like a magnetic field, I draw my eyes to the left. I strain my sight, looking beyond the thick tree with cherry blossoms dangling off, only these blossoms glow. Literally glow.
I find what I must have been subconsciously looking for.
Knight appears, his shirt long gone and jeans unbuttoned. Body dripping wet as if he just climbed from a body of water that I can’t see, but the droplets rolling over his hard muscles I can. He shakes his dark hair out, and I bite into my cheek, watching as he pulls a small towel from a pile. He lifts it high, wiping at his face, and every inch of him ripples.
“Holy shit,” I breathe.
Knight’s head snaps my way and I suck in a sharp breath. The moment his eyes meet mine, his shoulders fall as if eased by the sight of me. I find myself eager—no, desperate to get to him. To just…be near him.
His eyes travel over me, almost satisfied that I’m wrapped in clothes he gave me, and then his gaze meets mine.
A shiver runs through me, my attention following the line of sweat that rolls between his pecs and doesn’t stop until it disappears into the dark trail leading to his jeans. How I missed the marking on his abdomen that day on the trails, I don’t know, but there it is. A burn in the shape of some sort of crest, but instead of the flashing opal as Sinner’s has, Knight’s swirls a crystal blue.
