Page 141 of Cold-Blooded Creatures

“They tied me to a chair in Gedeon’s bedroom, and I just got out.” I grabbed a bowl from a kitchen cabinet and filled it with the leftovers of whatever heavenly-smelling concoction was in the pot. Plopping down in the seat beside Jayla, I pointed my spoon at Eislyn and Malaya sitting across from us. “Did they, by any chance, tell you where my clothes are before leaving?”

“I don’t think so.” Malaya stirred her bowl. “Why?”

I scooped a spoonful of porridge and closed my eyes to properly savor the sweetness sliding down my throat and warming me up from the inside out, mollifying my boiling insides. “Because they’re not in my room. Nor in theirs. I think Zion did something to them because he tried to steal all of them a couple of weeks ago.”

Jayla and Eislyn exchanged glances.

“What?” I frowned.

“We caught Zion standing behind a fire outside this morning. He wouldn’t explain what he was doing but acted very”—Eislyn sipped her steaming herbal tea—“smug about. I think it might have been your clothing.”

“Oh, for fuck’s sake.” I pressed my forehead on the table, its chill seeping into me, unable to placate my frustration.

“What are you planning to do?” she asked.

“A healthy dose of revenge.”

“Want any help?” Jayla nudged my side.

I perked up at her beaming with her signature smile of deviousness. “Have anything in mind?”

“We hit them where it hurts. The two places in the entire compound they love the most.” She pushed away her empty bowl and said to Malaya, “And you’re coming with us. It’s time to get you out of this kitchen and in on some action.”

“What if we also cut up their clothes for destroying yours?” Malaya asked shyly.

“That’s a good idea,” I mused, licking my spoon clean. “The only problem is that this would make Zion even more happy because then we’d both be naked.”

“And believe me, no one wants to see him running around with his dick out,” Jayla remarked.

Malaya’s cheeks heated, further boosting our burst of laughter.

“I think I have a better idea. First, we do what Jayla proposed.” Eislyn gathered our dishes and dropped them in the shining silver sink. “But then, I know how you can actually freak them out.”

“You’re moremischievous than I thought,” I told Eislyn as the four of us filled the cardboard box we’d picked up along the way with jars of toiletries from Eislyn’s bathroom.

I was getting sets of new ones for her and Jayla by putting the bill on Gedeon’s tab. Because if I did so on Zion’s, no doubt he’d come up with an equally brazen way for me to repay it.

“You’re a bad influence on Eislyn. But I like it. I need someone on my team.” Jayla hooked her elbow through Malaya’s. “Come on, we can raid my bathroom next.”

“I’m just too bored to play nice anymore. They’re getting under my skin too, you know. Do you have any idea how many times I’ve stitched Zion up this year alone? The answer is too many.” Eislyn shook her head as we turned a corner, and Jayla invited us into her bedroom.

“Damn,” I breathed out. Her room drowned in color, from a dozen pillows, the many shades of autumn leaves, on her bed to the two sky-blue upholstered armchairs and a tiny round table between them. “Where did you get all this stuff? Everything in my room is black, white, or gray.”

“That’s because Gedeon prepared it. It’s like he repels all color,” Eislyn called from the bathroom where they were shoving everything from Jayla’s shelves into our designated box. “Your room is next. We’ll skip Malaya’s.”

“It’s okay. I can share.” Malaya toyed with the hem of a yellow pillow resting on the armchair. “I really don’t mind.”

“Not on my watch,” I objected. “And we’re taking you on a shopping spree anyway. Jayla is an expert at them, and I feel like kicking the shit out of Gedeon today, so just say yes.”

“Ahm, okay,” she murmured shyly.

“Let’s move,” Jayla said as they strode out of her bathroom.

We made our way to my room and relief filled me at how my furniture matched perfectly, not a random color popping out of nowhere. So soothing it felt like the limits of walls didn’t exist and the space was endless.

Jayla immediately glued herself to my windows overlooking the compound. “You think my room is nice? You have the best view!”

Okay, so the two assholes who had gone to put an end to the auction at Ilasall today might not be that bad. I did love the sensation of vastness the upper floor windows provided.