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Taking pity on Morgan, Liana reached over and patted her shoulder. “It can’t hurt to talk to him, right? From where I was sitting, he seemed like he really wanted to talk to you earlier today.”
“Really?” Morgan asked. When Liana nodded, Morgan pushed her lips together before nodding herself. “Well, okay. I suppose it can’t hurt. I’m not ready to…I don’t know, march over and kiss him. But if he wanted to speak, that’d be a good start.”
“That’s the spirit,” I said, grinning. “I think he went out for a run on the beach after dinner if you want to go see him?”
“Oh! You think?”
All three of us nodded and Morgan took a deep breath, hugging the book to her chest before she stood. “If I just put this away first…”
“I’ll take care of it,” Liana said, gently taking the book out of Morgan’s hands. “Go on, before he runs to the other side of the island!”
I offered Liana a grin of thanks as Morgan hurried out. Then Abi and I counted for several seconds before we snuck after the witch. I felt like we were silly teens again, sneaking around after school to see if someone had actually talked to the guy they liked. But as we peered around the patio wall, I saw Morgan approach Cody, waving shyly as she asked if he’d like to take a walk with her. He looked like he could’ve jumped over the moon.
I reached over to Abi, about to steer her away when Gilbert spoke from directly behind us. “About time,” he sighed, giving us both an exasperated look once we jumped. “You’d have heard me coming if you two weren’t eavesdropping. I wasn’t subtle about it.”
“What a pity,” Piers sighed, a few steps behind his twin. “I was falling for that lovely witch.”
Gilbert rolled his eyes. “You called her ‘Miranda’ the last time she was on the island, Piers.”
Piers shrugged. “I love a lot of people, Gil. You can’t—”
“Don’t call me that.”
Fenris rolled his eyes as he brought up the rear, saying nothing as he sidestepped the bickering vampires and took my hand. I bid Abi and the others good night, happy to get escorted to the bedroom for once. “You won’t have to worry about any fights,” I told Fenris quietly as we walked up the stairs.
“You’ve been meddling,” he said, but it wasn’t an accusation. “So long as you’re happy, I am happy.”
I laughed and leaned into his side, enjoying his strength. “You should just admit you like seeing your friends happy, too, Fenris.”
“If I admit it, I’ll only admit it to you,” he murmured, stopping to kiss me before opening the door to our room. “You’re the only one who needs to know how I really feel.”
Chapter 14
Fenris
Fenris’s Private Villa
Isla Lobo, Panama
Time Until the Eclipse: 11 Days
The nighttime stars were only just starting to fade into the morning sunrise when I awoke rested and refreshed. It was a novel feeling, but I didn’t take time to relish it. With only a gentle kiss to Celeste’s arm before I rolled out of bed, I quietly crept around our room to dress myself and let myself out of the bedroom.
With each passing day, it seemed harder and harder to keep Celeste from working herself to the bone, and I knew that was because she worried about the eclipse. I couldn’t change that, so the least I could do was let her rest while she could.
As I trotted down the stairs, I found Walter already puttering about the kitchen, the smell of fresh coffee tickling my nose as I rounded the corner. “Good morning,” I said, helping myself to a pour.
“Good morning, Fenris,” he said, looking up from the dishes he was putting away. “How are you?”
“Fairly well,” I said, stirring cream and sugar into the mug. I took a sip and sighed. “How are the preparations proceeding this morning?”
“The report out of Snowmass Pack late last night said recovery was going well. The two healers we sent to assist have been helpful.” He paused. “The coven in Glasgow handled the selkie problem as well and resumed preparations.”
“Good.” I nodded. “And the vampire attacks in Rosario, were those resolved?”
Walter made a face as he tidied up. “Unfortunately not,” he said. “One vampire is down, yet three more are at large. Our most senior member of the Order believes they were all recently turned—one vampire on the other three. We don’t know who turned the first one, but I suspect this was the Solar Sovereign’s work. Cause a problem and leave you to clean up the mess.”
“Sounds about right,” I grumbled. “I’ll send Piers and Gilbert to take care of it. Please arrange their transportation.”
