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“He can’t get back in, it’s one-way only.”

“Yeah, but I don’t really think he’s using logic right now, and I’d rather not watch him get incinerated if we can avoid it.”

Darien glanced at the truck. “What’s going on with Arthur?”

“He needs sleep. He’s old—he can’t keep up with us.” That made two of them. The two humans in the group—both dead on their feet.

Loren yawned.

Darien gave Lace a nod. “Alright, let’s go.” When he grabbed the top of Loren’s door, she tucked her legs inside so he could shut it. Through the glass, she heard him say to Lace, “I’ll wait for a big enough gap in traffic so you can get right behind me. Stay close and call me if anything urgent comes up.” He got in.

Reality was finally setting in. They were leaving. They were safe now—somewhat.

Loren watched the city disappear in the mirrors as Darien pulled the car into traffic, Lace following.

They were going home. But it didn’t really feel that way when half of the people who made their house a home were still trapped in that city.

42

Roman’s House

YVESWICH, STATE OF KER

“Okay, Itzel, get in,”Roman urged. He stood in front of the stainless steel fridge in his kitchen, holding Pax’s backpack open like a safety net.

Kylar, Eugene, Ivy, and Tanner were already on their way out of Yveswich. They hadn’t come back to the house—hadn’t wanted to risk pausing for any length of time. And time was precisely what they were short on, less than two hours remaining until military lockdown. But Roman refused to leave without Itzel.

This Hob just might be the death of him.

She had wedged herself into the narrow space between the top of the fridge and the bottom of the cupboards that were built above the appliance, peering out at him with distrustful hot pink eyes.

“Itzel,please,”Roman growled. “Time isticking.”If they ended up not making it out because of this ridiculous, stubborn critter he’d rescued two years ago, who since then had been nothing short of a pain in his ass with her pots and pans and other antics…

He ground his teeth so hard his jaw ached. It would be so like him to get trapped here because of something this absurd, wouldn’t it?

The Hob, detecting the edge in his tone, slid farther back, the swirly pink flames on her head dimming.

He growled.“Itzel?—”

Shay came up beside him, moving so quietly he hadn’t even realized she was there, and reached for the freezer door. “Here, get out of the way.” She shooed him. “Let the professional handle this.”

Roman raised a brow but stepped aside.

Shay opened the door, cool air floating across their faces, and shoved her hand into the ice bin, grabbing a fistful of cubes.

She dumped them into Pax’s backpack. The cubes clattered inside among all his textbooks and homework.

“Those’ll melt and wreck all his shit,” Roman objected.

A black shape launched itself off the fridge in a blur.

Next thing Roman knew, Itzel was in the backpack, the force of her descent causing it to bounce in his hands.

Crunch-crunch. Snap. Munch.

Roman’s brows went up. At that speed, the ice wouldn’t even have a chance to melt.

Impressive.