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Kira leaned forward on the table and gazed down at the floor. Even though she didn’t say anything, I knew she was thinking about her family back home—Kolton, her parents, the rest of her pack. We needed rest.
“Are we done here?” I asked. “It’s been areallylong twelve hours. I’d like to get Kira somewhere to get taken care of.”
“Oh, Ibetyou want totake care of her,” Zoe said with a wicked grin.
Kira’s face flamed and she shot a glare at her friend. “Please shut up, Zoe. Unless you want to see a pissed-off female alpha wolf in here.”
Zoe giggled and waved off Kira’s comment. “Ugh, you people. So serious.” She turned to Crew. “I’ll show the newbies around and get them settled somewhere to rest.”
“That’s fine.” Crew looked over at Chelsey. “Can we talk for a second?”
Chelsey, ignoring him, addressed Eli. “Is there a bathroom or something around here?”
Eli glanced between Crew and Chelsey, then nodded. “Yes, miss. I can show you.”
Crew’s face fell as she departed with the fallen angel. The rest of us followed Zoe down an opposite corridor.
“We don’t have many nice private areas down here,” Zoe explained. “There was only so much Crew could do with that fae weapon before it ran out of juice. I have no idea how to make something like it. I was never big on earth magic, anyway.” She led us to a small cave room. “This can be your spot. It doesn’t echo too much. Hopefully, people won’t hear you moaning—uh, sorry, I meansnoring.”
Kira gave Zoe a sidelong glance. “You are on thin ice right now. Enough sex jokes.”
Zoe’s smile faded a bit, but I didn’t think it was from Kira’s comment. Instead, I thought it probably had to do with the fact that the two friends were finally reunited. Zoe always exuded a flippant and silly demeanor, but deep down, she truly cared for Kira.
The fae woman lunged toward Kira and wrapped her in another hug. “I missed you so much.”
Kira grinned and hugged Zoe back, rubbing her back. “I missed you, too. I was worried sick about you all the time.”
Zoe laughed. “Me? I was safe here. You were the one in that toilet bowl of danger.”
“I guess that’s true. This place does seem safer than the mansion. Even if it has dirt floors instead of mahogany.”
When she pulled away from the hug, Zoe wiped tears from her eyes and cheeks. “If you guys want, there are some storage areas in some of the bigger caverns we’ve carved. Lots of supplies there. Crew and Eli have managed to raid some of the supply drops for the mansion. They’ve stolen a lot of stuff, plus there are some things we’ve managed to make with magic. It’s not a department store or anything, but there’s plenty of what anyone would need. If you need anything, please ask any of us. Everyone here in Haven is really nice.”
“Speaking of that,” I said. “Where the hell did all these people come from? I was thinking there’d be like five or six of you here, but I’ve already seen over a dozen people.”
“Some were escaped contestants fromThe Reject Project, like Mika and Crew. Others are former staff of the show who were totally and completely screwed over.” She put a hand on her chest. “Like yours truly here. There are a couple of people who worked for the show, but got lost and left for dead in the jungle. Most are folks who were sent to Bloodstone as a death sentence, though.”
“That happens?” Kira asked.
“More often than you’d think,” Zoe said. “What better place to get rid of someone without a trace? Plus, you can justify it to yourself by sayingyoudidn’t kill them; you just left them on an island. Like there’s any difference between shooting someone in the head and leaving them defenseless on an island to get eaten by a feral shifter.” Zoe rolled her eyes. “Crew found all of us and saved us. We owe him our lives. In return, we try our best to take care of this place.”
“This place is amazing,” Kira remarked.
“It’s not bad. You two rest up. I think someone will bring you something to eat in a second. I’ll find you later after you’ve had time to get settled.”
“Thank you, Zoe,” I said. “You have no idea how much this means to us. Without you, we’d probably be dead.”
“Thank Crew. Without him, I’d be dead. See you later.”
The room was not luxurious, but it was warm, dry, and safe. I couldn’t ask for more. A stone plinth had been carved as a makeshift bed. Palm frond matting had been piled on it to make a sort of mattress. On any other day, I’d say it didn’t look comfortable, but I was so tired, I could have slept on broken glass. Though, I did want something more than leaves to sleep on.
Zoe’s promise of food was fulfilled a few minutes later when another resident brought us bowls of vegetable soup and some kind of cornbread. It was simple fare, but we devoured it.
“I’m going to go find some supplies. You wait here,” I said.
“No arguments from me,” Kira said, leaning back against the bed.
The passageways weren’t too serpentine, and after a few minutes, I found one of the supply caches Zoe had described. I dug out two sleeping bags and some basic toiletries. Still hungry, I grabbed a few granola bars from a shelf. When I got back, Kira was lying on the palm fronds, nearly asleep.
