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“We can clear all of these out and eat them?” one of the guys checked, shocked as could be.
“Yes, they shouldn’t be here, and the population exploded,” I told him. “Whatever is here, kill and process. It won’t all go directly to you guys, but this will help the other outposts that made you the sandwiches and the one here that is fishing for everyone. We all share.”
“We were just one coven and that idea is foreign to me,” he muttered, shaking his head. “It sounds nice.”
“It is,” I said, several of the vampires from Safie’s coven who were helping me echoing the same.
We ended up not killing all the turkeys since they would start rotting before someone could process them. But we got enough to get them a lot to work on. I saw more food going when I arrived back. People already on the grills and cooking burgers and more.
Dozens of vampires from Safie’s and Bahati’s covens asked to stay there and help, remembering how scared and unsure the transition had been for them. I said it was fine. We needed it.
I found Moon and Darius and we plotted out the location of the solar farm with Adam and Lorenzo. They were on the same page on where to get it put in and then we found Vitor to clear the area. He agreed to work overnight with the nobles who had the new power to turn things into energy beads and take down every building in New Orleans that was ready to go.
Adam and Lorenzo were both thrilled to hear it. Clearly, they were worried about corrupted hiding now that we couldn’t sense them. Smart of them to worry and be scared.
I was too.
The convention center was completely clean already, and a quarter of the vampires had their hot shower and new clothes. There was a semitrailer being unloaded, and I saw it was the frames of bunk beds that had privacy curtains and canopies for the top.
“I want like lockers,” Inez said as she studied the setup so far. “One settlement I was at had like storage for each of us next to the bunks. They said they grabbed lockers from a high school? Or employee lockers. It’s something, and it was great to not get everything nabbed immediately. Even if the locks aren’t much, it’s the showing of security.”
I bit back a smile. She cared even about such small details to make people feel better and that was why people adored her so much.
She had dinner in her private dining room with her husbands, and I was jealous I wasn’t allowed in there. I thought I should ask if I was allowed to join them since we were officially courting. I wanted to, and sometimes I thought she might just need to hear we wanted to spend more time with her.
I smiled when I saw her thanking the kitchen like normal. I went to intercept her so we could spend more time together.
She shot me a surprised look. “Sorry, I was going to work at the warehouse for a bit. Is that okay?”
“Of course,” I immediately answered even if I wanted her focus. “Do you mind if I come with?”
“Do you mind, my love?” Kristof said before she could answer. “I want to go handle more with the new coven so it goes well. We need nothing to have problems right now.”
“Yes, of course,” she blurted, giving him a guilty look. “You’ll still rest, right?”
He leaned in and kissed her cheek. “I’m all charged up. I’ve been resting every night with my beautiful wife. It’s time I step up to deserve such spoiling.”
She flushed so hot it went up to her ears and down her chest. She told him that she loved him and then let me blur her away.
I watched in awe as she used her gift to pull together some amazing glass panels. I could feel her worry in them. It was well hidden though. It looked like flowers about to bloom, but the coloring and knowing her let me feel how it was more the worry things wouldn’t work out, that those flowers wouldn’t thrive and die instead.
She was so layered and involved like that.
I smiled when she gave me a worried look like I might judge her. Instead, I said we should check out the bakery in Seattle so she could see how well it was doing with her own eyes. She loved the idea, and I made a mental note to always take the time to show her progress when I slept over.
We had several slices of cake left over from the day, and Inez got a chance to catch up with the people running it. She was all smiles, and I could feel the relief pouring off of her.
“I was hoping we could make this a regular thing,” I said quietly after we arrived back at the castle. “I feel like…”
“What?” she asked, giving me a curious look.
“I don’t want to push you, but I miss you, Inez. I want to be more to you. Not rush or—I feel a wall between us getting more solid instead of being able to reach you.”
She nodded but went to her tower, clearly wanting this conversation private.
Oh crap.
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