AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Not that it had ever really stopped them before.
Danni wasn’t quiet. Even after the soundproofing Elias had installed when one of our moms made an offhand comment about it last Christmas, we couldstillhear her.
Apparently, complete soundproofing wasn’t an option because “safety reasons.”
I called bullshit on that given the sly smirk Elias made whenever it was mentioned, but what did I know? I was just a peacock shifter, sister of the Queen.
“I’m sorry that I woke you. I didn’t mean—I mean—I didn’t realize the time difference. It has me all mixed up.” I tried really, really hard not to think about the background noise coming through my speaker or why her breath was suddenly so hitched.
I cut her off with a heavy sigh and pinched the bridge of my nose. “It’s fine. It’s fine. Really. Where are you now?”
“Southeast Asia. It’s absolutely beautiful here. I think you’d love it. It’s a bit too warm for me, and it’s way too humid for Nova. But I think that your peacock would be in heaven here.”
I nodded along while she kept talking, then remembered she couldn’t see me. I switched to making the appropriate vocal acknowledgments when needed, while desperately wishing I could go back to sleep, or more accurately, back to that dream . . . Except the longer I tried to remember it, the more it slipped away, leaving me feeling uncomfortably hollow.
Portal Watch had its perks, namely the bachelorette (or bachelor) lifestyle that we all led. It made for some pretty awesome parties almost every night. Sometimes one of the embassies got hold of the good kind of contraband. Faery wine from the world of the fae. Ambrosia from the world of the gods. Every now and then, one of the Watchers would transfer, switching places with one from another Portal Watch location. It was something of an unspoken tradition to bring whatever goods you got from your old post to your new one.
Goods like that also didn’t hurt for making acquaintances.
I’d made several friends as a result—and some friends with benefits. I’d always been one to prepare for anything, and that included stockpiling methods of payment . . . or bribery. Tomato, tomahto. So, sure, I came bearing gifts from around the world that I’d acquired during my apprenticeship period. You never knew when you might need it.
But as great as the bachelorette lifestyle was, there were still drawbacks.
Early mornings being the largest one. I wasn’t sure whose idea it was to switch shifts in the morning but given that there needed to be people on watch for twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, all year round, I was convinced that it was one of themorning peoplewho were at fault. After all, if you have to do twenty-four-hour shifts, wouldn’t it make more sense to do—I don’t know—noon to noon? Nine to nine? I mean really, there were a lot of options that didn’t involve early morning.
But I digress—mornings were the quietest. There was something bittersweet about watching the sun rise on the Portland skyline. It made my chest feel less heavy, but also pointedly reminded me of the missing piece that just always seemed out of reach. I was good at ignoring it. I did a great job of filling it with empty fucks, shallow relationships, and whatever good food I could find.
Danni was leading the life she was meant for. Stable. Steady. Filled with greatness, but still surrounded by people that loved her. Meanwhile, I was living mine to its fullest. Mostly. Sometimes when it was quiet and I couldn’t be distracted, that missing piece inside me was painstakingly obvious.
Reminding me that maybe, more than likely, I was meant for something more, and it was just out of reach.
“Adora? Are you listening to me?” Danni’s voice snapped me back to the present.
“Yes, sorry. Shit. It’s just really early right now. I need to get ready for my shift—”
Danni sighed. “This wasn’t just a social call, unfortunately.”
“Not you too.” I knew what was coming and couldn’t help the groan that escaped me as I put the phone on speaker and stripped off my night t-shirt, tossing it on the floor along with my other dirty clothes. “Let me guess, Mom told you to call me?”
Danni sighed, her breath making the speaker crackle. I really needed to replace the piece of crap I called a phone, but the thing was damn near indestructible, a positive in my profession. “Technically Abby told me,” Danni said.
“That hardly makes it better, you traitor.” I picked up a clean sports bra hanging over the back of the overstuffed armchair that took up a third of my room. The rest of it being a full-size bed, nightstand, and armoire. I didn’t mind since I didn’t exactly have much stuff to begin with. The armchair really just served as a place to put all of my clean laundry since I was allergic to folding it. Organization wasn’t exactly my strong suit.
“Oh, come on. When you said you wanted to join Portal Watch, you promised me you’d visit often, but I haven’t seen you in six months.” Her accusation stung when I could hear the hurt in her voice. Guilt ate at me.
“I said I’d be home for Christmas.”
“You also said you’d be home for Thanksgiving, but that didn’t happen.”
We weren’t exactly a religious family, but our mother believed that holidays—even very antiquated holidays—should be spent together, something she raised us to also believe. I picked a pair of faded black jeans off my armchair of clean laundry and stuck my legs through the holes.
“I know, I know, but there’s like a billion holidays and I’m not the only one taking time off. Someone has to guard the portals, ya know? They don’t just close for Hanukkah or Diwali or the commemoration of the Great Sacrifice.”
“There’s also like a billion Watchers. Why can’t someone else take one for the team?”
Because I volunteered.
Not that she knew that.
