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The air shuddered and time moved again.

Before anyone could reach him, Eros’s eyes widened and the light in them died and dulled. Blood spilled out of his body, pouring onto the floor. At least, I thought it was blood. The color was far from human. It was pale-blue with a pearlescent sheen, and it gave me the heebie-jeebies. Somehow, I hadn’t noticed the color the last time I got a hit on the asshole with a few arrows, but it was hard to miss with it pouring like a fountain out of him.

Phillip’s eyes shot over to me before slowly sliding down to Blood Slayer in my grip. He lifted his tattooed hands in confusion, and then stared at me for answers. Answers he already knew.

Sloan was quickly yanking me away from Eros’s reach, but the Hunter couldn’t say anything before the Dark Fae collapsed in on himself, body suddenly consumed in magical blue flames. Then the bastard who’dhaunted my nights was gone, the blood on the floor the only evidence he’d ever been there.

It was silent for a few moments before Cassius sighed loudly, combing through his hair with a smile. “Oh, good. I was really worried there for a second we were all done for.” Our group’s eyes were on him, and his Adam’s apple bobbed, eyes flicking from one person to the next. “What? I’m just saying what we were all thinking. But also, um, what just happened?”

Jo was near me, her face removed of all emotion. “You can move through pauses of time?”

“Say what?” Cash squealed, his comical reaction lost on me when Jo’s words registered almost as accusatory. “You mean to say she’s a Time Mover?”

Time Mover? Guess whoever made their names didn’t have a great imagination. A high schooler could’ve come up with something better.

Suddenly, my body was made of jelly, and my legs gave out from under me. Sloan moved like a flash of lightning and saved me from an ill-timed “Well, hello there!” with the floor.

“V needs rest,” was all the Brit said before scooping me up into his arms in a princess hold that instantly brought color to my cheeks.

I didn’t need to look over to know Phillip’s face and body were probably saying a lot of angry and homicidal things right about now, but I also didn’t have the strength to do anything about it. It was a chore just to hold my head up, and honestly, I really didn’t. I let it fall onto Sloan’s shoulder after a few seconds of trying.

I hated how much my heart responded to the beautiful Brit’s touch, and how a little part of me wished it’d never stop. Wished he’d hold me inhis arms forever so I could breathe in his masculine scent. Let the alluring fragrance wash over my body and paint me in Sloan’s aroma.

Would I smell like him after this? Something about that gave me butterflies in my stomach, and I combatted my urges for one while the other looked on, unaware my head was cheating on him already.

Fuck.

It was another reminder that now that the nasty business of killing Eros was finished, another beyond uncomfortable moment was in my near future.

But I’d heed Jo’s words. I’d live messy and apologize to no one. Okay, so I’d apologize, but only for being a confused mess of a woman who was probably putting a spell on everyone, definitely a shameless sex addict, and apparently attracted to anyone with a pulse these days.

I was hit out of nowhere with a dizziness rivaling one of those playground merry-go-rounds from my childhood. You know, the ones that probably killed and dismembered children in the eighties.

Sloan’s hold on me constricted before the world faded away to darkness, and I sunk into the deep abyss of sleep.

Chapter 32

Embrace Your Ho-Ho

It took three full days to regain consciousness. My first blurry glance was sunlight streaking across a cherry-wood ceiling with a super classy fan circulating air down on me.

Sitting up, I looked around the room I didn’t recognize. The smell of the sea was in my nose, and my eyes strayed to a set of patio doors nearby that overlooked a steel-grey sea, its thrashing waters still cast in morning cloud cover. It drew me over to the in-room balcony, and I walked out into the fresh breeze, letting it wake my dulled senses.

The grogginess in my head was whisked away the longer I stood in the morning sun, sprays of sea water coating my face. It was the most relaxed I’d been in a while, and I silently basked in the calm before the storm.

“You’re awake,” someone said from behind me, and I did a full turn because I’d know that voice anywhere.

Her similarly colored eyes were hit by the sun coming through the door, her body cast in shadow, before my grandmother stepped into the light. And the air was sucked right from my lungs. Her tired eyes carried the weight of my fate in them, and her smile couldn’t hide how much our absence from each other had affected her.

Her house slippers shuffled across the carpet as the elderly Hunter made her way over and offered me the steaming cup of coffee she’d brought with her.

“Grams,” I breathed, not sure what to say now that I had her in front of me. “You look old.” I took the hit she landed on my shoulder with a laugh. Inside I was crying though, because Grams had a mean-ass punch and superior senses meant it felt like being plowed by a bus.

Grams grumbled before wrapping her arm around me, her awkwardness matching mine.

I’d missed her autumn scent and comfortable heat. I’d missed the way she squeezed against me, years of wear and tear in her bones but still as sturdy as a goat. I’d missed her chiding breaths and stern but loving eyes.

I’d just really missed her.