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“Yes. I’m not letting him out of my sight. He’ll be safe here,” Sky agreed in a rush of words.
“Great. I’ll be in contact.”
Sky released Nolan long enough to walk the strange couple to the door, leaving Nolan lost in thought. His life was getting too weird, and it wasn’t done yet. He still had to meet a vampireking.
Chapter6
Skylar Wallace
Sky dropped his forehead against the front door and sighed. Alone at last. Not that it wasn’t nice to see Fox. Winter was even a little less scary than the first time he met the vampire, though Fox’s charm and warmth had a way of defusing Winter’s chilly demeanor.
Unfortunately, this alone time wasn’t one of those moments where he could put his nonexistent smooth moves on Nolan.
No, the man sitting in his living room had to be feeling lost, overwhelmed, and maybe even hopeless. Nolan needed TLC.
But first, Sky needed to pull his own shit together. It didn’t help Nolan one bit to have him losing his temper and spouting off like some magical Neanderthal.
Even if Christoph deserved to be ripped apart by his hungry plants. Or maybe he’d give Christoph to some of the more vicious underworld minions to play with. That would be fun. Very messy. Not suitable for kids at all. But so much fucking fun.
With his head clearer and the urge to grind his teeth receding, Sky pushed off the door and crossed to the living room, where Nolan was still sitting in the chair, his hands clenched together, turning his knuckles white.
“Say the first thing that comes to mind,” Sky ordered from where he stood in the doorway.
“Sky,” Nolan whispered, not bothering to lift his eyes from where he was staring at the floor.
“Say it. Even if you think it’s going to hurt my feelings. Let it out.”
Nolan’s gaze snapped up to Sky’s face. Muscles tightened in his jaw, and a deep furrow cut across his forehead. When he spoke, it was a burst of words like cannon fire. “I don’t know how to live in this world anymore. I don’t recognize it.”
Everything inside of Sky demanded he walk over to Nolan and wrap his arms around the man, but the problem was that he was included in all those strange things that were disrupting Nolan’s perception of reality. He needed to give Nolan space.
Sky walked into the room, dropped to the center cushion of the sofa across from Nolan, and folded his hands together. “The world is bigger and more dangerous than it used to be for you, but in a lot of ways, it’s stayed the same.”
“The sky is still blue. Grass is still green,” Nolan replied with a lopsided smile that slipped away almost as quickly as it formed.
“Still gotta pay bills. Pay taxes.”
Nolan frowned. “You’re not helping me find a reason to keep going.”
“My muffins are still some of the best you’ve ever eaten.”
His lips twitched as if he were fighting a grin, and Sky’s heart dramatically flopped in his chest. This man was too perfect.
“How do I know those muffins weren’t magical?” Nolan murmured.
Sky sat up a straighter and lifted his chin an inch. “Well, I didn’t put any magic in them. Unless you count chocolate. I’ve asked other witches and they say that chocolate isn’t technically magical, but if not magical, it’s definitely medicinal. It always leaves me feeling better.”
Nolan unclenched his hands and stared at them for a moment. He took a deep breath and released it. Sky simply watched him, letting him work through this at his own pace.
“Weren’t you scared by all this when you were little? Weren’t you frightened when you figured out you could talk to ghosts and summon those…minions?”
The heart that had beat so hard for Nolan fractured at his words.
Sky closed his eyes. “I was lucky because I had my Grammy. She made sure I wasn’t afraid of the things that would be a huge part of my life. When you were young, you learned that there were people in other countries who had different habits and holidays and traditions. I learned about shifters and vampires and witches. Yes, they are all different, but we’re all still people. She made sure I knew death wasn’t something to be afraid of, either. She always said it was like changing jobs.”
“What?” Nolan gasped. His mouth hung open and his eyes were wide, looking as if he were somewhere between shock and laughter.
A soft chuckle shook Sky’s shoulders. He got that reaction from his friends as well. “Sure. Most people don’t have the same job their entire life. Eventually, they move on to do something else. Or if not that, they retire. The point is that theymove on. Death is the same thing. You’ve got the job of being Nolan Banks right now, but eventually you’ll leave here and go on to whatever is next.”
