Page 175

Aaron gave a slow nod, then shifted only to wince. “Ow! Something poked me…” He weakly dug into his pocket and fished out a small vial. “What’s this?”

Evan’s eyes widened as he grabbed it. “Reth? Is this Reth?”

Before he could rejoice, his balloon of hope deflated. The tiny glass vessel gleamed in the moonlight, its contents missing.

Xen stared at the empty vial before his lashes lowered, expressions unreadable. Evan cursed under his breath, fist curling around the vial. That fucker Knoxhadto hide Reth before perishing.

“What’s Reth? What…time is it?” Aaron’s words slurred, shoulders sagging. “That was…the most awful day of my life,” He swayed, eyelids fluttering close. “So tired…” His head plopped onto Evan’s shoulder as he passed out again, breaths evening out.

With a sigh, Evan dropped his cheek against his head.

“Welcome back, Aaron.”

Evan couldn’t recall how he got back to his house, but when he’d briefly opened his eyes on their way back, he was curled against Xen’s chest. Aaron’s huge body was casually tossed over a scrawny Zeev’s shoulder and three other bodies—Nick, Wren, and Rumi—floated alongside them, wrapped in a blanket of black mist.

When Evan came to be, sunlight poured in through his bedroom window, a relatively clear afternoon sky greeting him. His head weighed twice his entire body, and his limbs were cemented in place. Groaning, he rolled over and felt around the cold sheets.

“Mm? Misty?”

He cracked open one eye, but the black fur ball was nowhere in sight. That was strange. She never left the bed before Evanwoke up. Stranger still that she hadn’t come and curled over his face so he would suffocate and gasp awake as usual.

With a sigh, he sat up, hair disheveled, eyes puffy. The events of the previous night coursed through his brain in a replay. He forcefully pushed them away, shaking his head like a wet puppy then shivered slightly as a breeze gushed in through the agape window.

“Misty?” he murmured groggily. “Daddy is cold.”

As he stepped down from the bed, Celie appeared at his bedroom door, carrying a tray. Evan instantly straightened, sleep vanishing from his eyes. He smoothed out his crumpled t-shirt and shorts in an attempt to look presentable.

Wait, who changed my clothes?

Celie set down a bowl of chicken soup on the nightstand, looking at Evan with slightly sorrowful eyes. Suddenly, Evan grew more self-conscious about his appearance than he’d cared to admit.

Was he so unkempt that his sister pitied him now?

Evan cleared his throat. “Your friends…”

Celie blinked, then nodded. “They’re okay. I sent them to a motel so you could rest without any…commotion.”

“Any injuries?”

“They’re fine, just scared. But…also grateful. To you,” Celie paused, then continued hesitantly. “Thank you for helping my friends. I couldn’t have lived with myself if something had happened to them on this trip. They’ve been my companions for years, we’ve been through highs and lows. Losing them would’ve been like losing my family.”

Evan stared at his sister, a warm fuzzy feeling flooding his chest. It was adorable how she was trying to act all grown up. After all, there was a whole decade of age gap between them, so while Celie was trying to be brave and communicate her feelings,all Evan could think about was how he wanted to pull her cheeks until her entire face went red.

The urge to annoy one’s sibling was an innate emotion.

“So…thank you,” Celie peeked at Evan. “Truly.”

Evan smiled softly. “You are my family, Cici, so your friends are my responsibility. I just did what I had to do as an adult and your brother. I’m just glad everyone is safe.”

A complicated expression flitted past Celie’s face, a mixture of understanding, reluctance, and something like yearning. She tried to put her troubles into words but eventually gave up and pointed at the soup. “You should have that while it’s still hot.”

The aroma of that soup was so strong and familiar that Evan couldn’t help himself as he reached for it and cradled it in his lap. “Rhea sent this?”

“She didn’tsendit.”

The spoon froze mid-way to Evan’s mouth and his eyes rounded. “She is—”

“Here,” a voice echoed from the doorway.