Page 31 of Did It Have To Be Gnomes?! (Carry A Faerie #1)

I almost spit out my sip of water, and Winter absently patted me on the back while answering him. “Unfortunately, no. We just started dating.” We did? “Miles was… well, he didn’t really hang out with us back then.”

I rolled my eyes, and before I could say it, Lyric said, “He was the emo loner kid… and kinda dressed exactly like Chaos.”

That made Aeson crack up, and Chaos stabbed his brother in the arm with his chopsticks.

Lyric held up their own pair, pointing them at Chaos. “No violence, or we’ll be forced to duel.”

Chaos, quicker than I expected, slapped Lyric’s chopsticks with his own, and Lyric’s went flying out of their hand. The two stared at each other for a few beats before the whole table erupted in laughter.

I laughed so hard and so freely, and when Winter wrapped an arm around my back and tucked me close to his side, I couldn’t help but wonder when the last time I’d laughed like this with friends was. Had I ever?

I knew for a fact that I’d never had a group of friends who accepted me so easily into their ranks. I’d never had anyone to laugh with, at least not in over five years… unless you counted Odin, and I doubted most people would count their cat.

After swallowing a bite, Chaos said, “So there’s a quick way to break the curse and a slow way.

The quick way will likely break the concrete itself, so it could damage the integrity of the foundation.

The slow way will take a lot longer, but there will be no harm done to the house itself.

But… you’ll have to keep the gnomes and whatever else the curse throws at me off me. ”

“Whatever else?” Lyric squeaked as they grabbed a fork from the pile, and I was glad they did so I didn’t have to.

“Yeah. Curses don’t like being broken.” He waved that off as insignificant when it was, in fact, super fucking important. And terrifying. “Are you guys up for protecting me that long?”

Winter, seeming unworried about the curse bomb Chaos just dropped, asked, “How long are we talking?”

Chaos thought about that for a few minutes. “Maybe forty-five minutes—possibly longer. I definitely think it’ll be less than an hour.”

“He’s being modest.” Aeson rolled his eyes. “My brother’s fast and accurate, more so than other necromancers. If he’s saying forty-five minutes, it’ll probably be more like thirty.”

Chaos stabbed his arm again. “Shut it. I’d rather them be prepared for a longer time and be done sooner than the other way around.”

To break up their bickering before they really got into it, I said, “Forty-five minutes to an hour, then. We’ll plan on that.”

Chaos gave me a nod. “Good. I’m going to have to run to the store to pick up a few things before I start.”

“What kind of things?”

“Uh, well, my lighter’s out of fluid apparently, and I need to burn some sage—I need the ashes. I need more oil and definitely more salt, plus a handful of other little things.”

I had no idea why he needed those things or what they were for, but if the guy needed them to break the curse, then I’d get them for him. “Okay. I can get those things for you if you make a list.”

The kid blinked at me. “Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

He nodded. “Thanks. Once I have everything, it’ll probably take me a good hour or so to prep before we can go back in there.”

I pulled my phone out of my pocket to check the time. It was already two in the afternoon. By the time we got the supplies and made it back here, it’d be after three, and only if we were lucky. Starting something like breaking a curse so late in the day seemed like a bad idea.

The homeowner told me I could text her updates and any questions, so I shot off a text to make sure she’d be okay with us coming back tomorrow, waited for her reply, pushed my phone back into my pocket, and cleared my throat.

Once everyone was looking at me, I asked, “What do you all think about calling it a day now and coming back tomorrow morning? If we do that, I can pick up everything you need tonight, and since you’ll be coming for another day, I’ll pay you extra for the trip.

” I glanced at Winter, and he sent me a small smile and a nod.

Lyric stretched. “I can do that. I have a cookout in the afternoon, but I can come for a bit in the morning.”

“Thanks.” I gave them a nod, and they grinned back.

Chaos and Aeson exchanged a look before Aeson said, “You want both of us to come back?”

I didn’t hesitate. “Definitely.”

He smiled widely. “Awesome. We can come tomorrow. What time?”

As we finished eating, we made plans, and Chaos typed up a list on his phone before texting it to me.

Winter finished eating and pressed his lips to my temple, making my stomach flutter with butterflies and my heart pound heavily in my chest. I wanted to scoot closer to him. I wanted to climb into his lap. I wanted him to wrap himself around me and never, ever let me go.

I sucked in a breath at that last thought, then wiped at my eyes, hoping the strange emotions coming from me weren’t playing on my face.

I couldn’t even blame it on my empath abilities because Winter was touching me. For once in my life, I didn’t have others’ emotions warring with my own.

I just had a confusing set of my own emotions trying to weigh me down.

But I didn’t want them to.

Despite everything. Despite the gnomes and the curse and the scary mansion, today had been a good day.

Or at least, it’d been a day where I felt like I had actual people in my corner. That was no small thing.

No small thing at all.

After everyone finished eating, I packed all the food up, then walked over to Aeson—since I figured he’d be more likely to accept it—and held out the two bags’ worth of leftovers.

“Here. You guys take it. I don’t have any room left in my fridge.”

I was one hundred percent sure he saw through my bullshit, but after exchanging a look with Chaos, Aeson slowly reached out for the bags. “Are you sure? Why don’t you take some of it too?”

“I’m absolutely sure. Please. It’ll just go to waste if I take it home with me.”

He took the bags with a quiet, “Thank you, Miles,” before turning toward the car.

To my surprise, Chaos walked over to me and said, “Thanks, but… don’t quit your day job. You’re a terrible liar.”

I felt my face flush with embarrassment. “I…”

He waved me off. “Thanks for the food.” Then he turned on his heel and marched over to Aeson and the car with his chicken-dragon on his shoulder.

“You’re welcome. See you tomorrow.”

The kid waved over his shoulder, and Aeson grinned widely at me, waving from beside their car. I watched them climb in, start the thing, and pull away. They seemed like really good kids, and I truly hoped they were doing okay. That they were safe.

Winter walked over to me. “Well, that went smoother than anticipated.”

I found myself leaning against his shoulder without even realizing it. “Yeah, it did.”

After a brief hesitation, he asked, “I don’t suppose I can convince you to stay out here when we go in tomorrow?”

“Nope.”

He sighed. “Miles, you don’t have to come in there with us.”

“I have to help protect Chaos while he’s doing his magic, and I don’t want Aeson to get hurt either. It’s better if there’s more of us going against all those gnomes. What if there’re even more of them by tomorrow?” I held in a shudder at the thought.

He surprised me by wrapping me up in a hug. I froze for a few seconds, then slowly sank into his arms, wrapping my own around his waist. I definitely wasn’t used to all this affection I was getting from him.

Was Winter always this touchy-feely? Or was it because he liked me? Was he like this with all his… dates?

I had no idea, and there was no way in hell I was gonna ask him either.

“What do you think of dropping Lyric off, then you and I can each go home so we can shower and get ready? Then we can meet up, go shopping for Chaos’s supplies, and go out to dinner together?”

“I have to pick up some more bird seed for Sola.”

He spoke into my hair, and I could hear the smile in his voice. “We can definitely hit up a pet store while we’re out then.”

“That… honestly sounds great. Really great.” I wasn’t used to having help with anything, and the prospect of having Winter tag along while I ran errands was… kind of amazing, if I was being honest. Such a simple thing, but I had a feeling it would make a world of difference.

“Awesome. Let’s clean up, lock up the house, and get going… I can’t wait to spend some time alone with you.” Then he released me and called out, “Hey, Lyric, help me lock the cellar.”

“Coming!” Lyric skipped over to their best friend, and I watched the pair for a few seconds, kind of flabbergasted, before I rushed over to help.