Page 11

Ever

“ T hink of it like Bluetooth,” Bellamy says softly, a shiver running down my spine as he steps in close behind me and rests his hands on my hips.

“Every supernatural has a signal they give off. With other mimics, that signal will be password protected. You can’t latch on, but you can still tell they’re there.

We’ll feel like… coming home.” He darts a nervous glance at the guys leaning against the wall of the training arena, thanks to the elemental that helped establish the compound.

Benches are carved out of stone like stadium seating, surrounding a massive training ground.

Two-thirds of it is taken up by an intense obstacle course, random flares of magic constantly pulling my attention from the open space we’re currently working in, where everyone is avoiding our group like the plague.

“It should feel familiar; like you’ve met this person before, but can’t quite remember where.

You just instinctively know they’re safe,” he finishes, and with every day that passes, I get a better picture of why he originally planned to bring me back here, not realizing he was trapped in a gilded cage until he left.

It’s gorgeous. Magical. And the majority of people are so nice, it’s borderline creepy. But it’s giving off serious ‘drink the Kool Aid and stay forever’ vibes.

Closing my eyes, I exhale a long breath and extend my senses.

After what feels like ages, I finally find that feeling he described.

It doesn’t matter that there are dozens of strangers in the stands murmuring about us and shooting fearful or angry looks at the guys, and pitying ones down at me and Bell.

There’s something in me that’s drawn to that half of the arena, radiating a sense of belonging. Safety. That feels like home.

Which is the biggest red flag ever, because every place I called home growing up was toxic as hell.

Honestly, it makes me so frustrated, that I rapidly blink back tears. How could my parents ignore that pull and throw me away so easily?

The only thing I do know? That feeling can’t be trusted.

It tricks you into trusting strangers simply because you share the same supernatural ability.

That doesn’t mean they’re family, it means we can bond over the rest of the world’s apparent hatred of us.

But Bell grew up surrounded by this sense of security, being told that everyone outside of this compound was out to kill or abuse him. And he still left to come find me.

“I don’t think I ever said thank you, did I?”

“For what?” At the sound of his confusion, I peer over my shoulder.

“For risking everything to find me. You’re the first person that’s ever actually cared about me. I don’t know what I’d do without you in my life, Bell, and I love you too much to find out. So thank you. For not giving up on me.”

He opens his mouth to respond, but is cut off by some guy approaching, eyeing Ledger and Myles with blatant disdain. “Roman’s waiting for you in your office. Apparently there’s some symbol flashing, but your computer won’t let him access it without a code?”

“Blue one?” At the guy’s nod, he giddily beams. “I can only imagine his face.” Seeing my confusion, Bellamy clarifies, “I set up several bots to sign your ex up for shit. That’s the one for furry porn sites where I disabled the unsubscribe feature, and auto-opens so he can’t ignore them.”

Chuckling, I imagine Adam’s face as he keeps getting blasted by porn pop ups at work. “You’re a genius.”

“Nah, just petty,” he counters. To his friend, he says, “Give me a minute.”

The newcomer nods, but makes no move to leave, looking around warily. “Where’s the demon?”

A familiar cool pressure caresses my jaw before the guy’s feet are swiped out from under him.

Arson steps out of the shadow realm, shaking his head in disappointment and staring down at the man sprawled out in the dirt.

“You know, for all of you and your buddies’ claims about being more equipped than us to protect a mimic, I’m just not seeing it. ”

The stranger’s face twists in a snarl. “Because you’re the only threat inside these tunnels!”

Arson raises an eyebrow. “You’re right, you aren’t much of a threat at all. Keep proving my point.”

Honestly, it’s a miracle that we haven’t been kicked out yet.

As their argument heats up, Bellamy sighs and shakes his head, refocusing on me.

“Never thank someone for the bare minimum, beautiful.” He presses his lips softly against mine, and my heart skips a beat.

“I’ve loved you from the moment you saved me from that band of orcs and demanded we partner up for the next raid so you could ‘teach me how it’s done.

’ Of course I came for you; I always will. ”

With a wink, he squeezes my hand once before reluctantly tearing himself away to handle things and grabs his friend by the arm, dragging him away from Arson’s antagonistic taunts. “He’s baiting you. Don’t engage and he’ll get bored and move on to terrorizing someone else.”

Ledger kicks off from the arena wall he was leaning against, nuzzling his cheek against the top of my head and pressing a quick kiss to my temple before following Bellamy and his grumbling friend. “I’ll go with him, you stay with the others. Try not to get into trouble until I’m back.”

“I never try to get into trouble.”

“And yet, you’re so good at it.” He chuckles as I flip him off, catching up to Bellamy.

I watch them walk away, my stomach flipping the moment they’re out of sight. Digging deep, I force the needy, pathetic feeling rising up in me down hard.

I’ve been looking out for myself for twenty-five years. I know better than to depend on anyone.

And yet… I can’t help but realize that having the guys around helps soothe a part of me I didn’t realize desperately needed it. That in itself freaks me out.

Things have gotten serious really fast; and that scares the hell out of me. Even after how many times they assured me that I hold all of the power… it sure doesn’t feel like it.

Blowing out a heavy breath, I close my eyes, trying to concentrate and get back to figuring out how the hell my powers work so they’re actually useful instead of a liability.

If mimics radiate safety, logically, that means I’m searching for whatever feels like…

the opposite. Maybe not dangerous , per se, but a different frequency.

Straining my senses, I pick up on little flickers interspersed amongst the obstacle course on the opposite side of the training ground, and a few sporadic ones up in the stands.

Not clear enough that I can latch onto them; spotty, one bar signals at best. But it’s a start, at least. My attention is pulled to the left as two signals flare to life, growing stronger.

When I mentally brush against one, it instantly caresses me back; cool, dark, and soothing.

Arson.

The other lights up when I tentatively reach out.

The image of a gold strand giving off sparks of light, bright and bubbly like sipping champagne, comes to mind, more of a feeling than an actual visual.

With only a small flicker of hesitation, it rushes me like a dam breaking, and the sudden flood of energy has my eyes flying open.

Glittery sparks dance along my fingertips as Myles smiles softly.

I twist my hand in front of me in awe, studying the feeling with breathless wonder. “Why’s it feel so much different than the last time I borrowed your power?”

His ears redden as Myles fidgets with his glasses, clearing his throat. “That was before we cemented the bond. The power boost people have mentioned is no joke.”

Jesus, it’s no wonder he blew a hole through the wards with this kind of power at his fingertips.

As soon as the thought crosses my mind, the energy flares brighter and grows uncomfortably warm.

Myles hastily thrusts a phone in my hand. “Hurry, direct it into this!” The only problem is that I’m realizing that the last time I used his abilities, I made a fan explode. Now? That explosion will pack a much bigger punch.

“Breathe, Ev, focus your intent,” Myles encourages, the corners of his eyes crinkled in worry. “Make it, I don’t know, blast duck sounds every time someone texts!”

“Why would you say blast!?” The more I panic, the hotter the phone gets.

I go to throw it, but Myles clasps his hands around mine. “No! As soon as you let go, the energy will rush out without having a direction. And right now? That very well might take out this entire cavern and everyone in it. You can do this, I believe in you. Just focus.”

Focus on accidentally blowing up innocent bystanders? Proving that Bellamy made a mistake getting mixed up with the four of us? First we blew up the mimic’s shield, then their arena. Fuck, these people are going to poison our food, and I can’t say I’d really blame them.

Just as the first crack appears, a woman sprints over and snatches it out of my hand.

Chucking it with all her might, a faint shadow appears that the phone sails through before disappearing completely.

Shaking out her arm with a hiss, she turns to me with wide blue-green eyes.

“Fates, girl, are you trying to kill yourself?”

My heart is racing too hard to speak. She carries on, unbothered at my lack of response, and hitches her thumb over her shoulder at Arson. “Thank the Fates you haven't bonded this one yet.” Facing him, she frowns. “Wait, why didn't you step in?”

Arson shrugs. “I was ready to grab them.”

She raises an eyebrow. “So you were just going to let everyone here blow up instead of chucking that bomb elsewhere?”

“Yeah, that pretty much sums it up,” he shamelessly confirms.

She snorts. “I’d expect nothing less from a demon.”

“No, you should expect much, much worse.” A small smile curves the corner of Arson’s mouth. “And be happy that I don’t care enough about you to care if you live or die. Or you’d already be dead.”