Page 25

I’M DYING HERE

SYDNEY

The minute the entire group is done showering, we gather in the main living area of our suite. It’s quiet as Thad orders our food, but as soon as he hangs up, the silence gets even thicker. There’s no trust built up yet; however, we’re going to have to share basics about our powers before it becomes a public discussion. That’s making the atmosphere tense as everyone retreats to their corners except for my two friends and me.

Finally, I can’t take it anymore so I throw my hands up. “Look, I know we’ve all learned to keep secrets and protect ourselves because of the fucking humans. This is different; we don’t have a choice. At some point, our lives are going to depend on having one another’s backs. We can’t do that if we don’t know what anyone is capable of.”

“I’m a bear, Syd. They know what I can do,” Thad says with a half-hearted smile. “Shift, half-shift, tear things up. We move fast once we get going and are like a tank.”

Sebastian snorts, giving him an annoyed expression. “It’s easy for you to admit your strengths because bears don’t have anything that’s hidden.”

“True, but I have the balls to admit that as well. I don’t see you giving us a clue about what the fuck your kind actually can and cannot do.”

Thad’s quick retort makes me grin; I’m proud of him for standing up to the traitorous fuckwad. “You guys know I’m supposed to have some kind of magic and I don’t remember or know what my mom was. I might get shit; I might not. We have to operate as if my skills call mostly towards hand-to-hand and weapons without magic for the moment.”

“Again, duh.”

I’m about to eviscerate that motherfucker when Rory steps forward, stopping me from speaking as he holds his hand up. “Okay, okay. I can see this will be a contest of wills and my willpower has never been great. I’m a mage, I have demi blood a little ways back and I’m able to do pretty much anything you assume mages can do, plus more. I don’t have to chant to cast, and I don’t need a focus item like a wand or some shit. I’m a pure magical and I have no problem using it or myself to get what I need to survive.”

That’s pretty goddamn interesting, and it explains why the humans have kept him like a pet. His skill set is useful in a fucking million ways from death to seduction, and he’s probably never revealed the entire breadth of what he can do to them, either. His admission doesn’t actually cover all of his power, but it gives us enough to work with. I’m okay with him keeping a bit in reserve for now.

“Well, I s’pose I should pony up, since the other two seem to be holdin’ their cards close.” Huck pushes his hat back, sighing heavily. “Y’all know I’m a fear demon an’ everything that goes along with that. I’ve lived for a long time an’ picked up a lot of tricks over that time from demons and other supes alike. Lil’ bit of magic, lil’ bit of mimicry, lil’ bit of that sweet crossroads persuasion… but fear is my main talent. I can get through damn near any mental shield or spell designed to keep me out if I have enough time.”

Sebastian arches a brow, looking at him cynically. Huck gives him a slow, wicked grin before blowing a kiss at the vampire. His face goes even paler and he plasters himself to the wall, but his expression turns to fury until Huck chuckles. My demon friend must release his hold because the color comes back to Bas’s cheeks as he cracks his neck. “Fine. You’re not lying.”

“I’m a lot less impressed by the mosquito and more impressed by the demon now,” Elias says. “I’m a royal of the sea dragons, so that’s saying something.”

“Want to clue us in, oh royal one?” I ask drily. “You and the traitor are the last two to go.”

He gives me an annoyed look, but nods. “Water. I can control, mutate, pull it from the air… whatever. The wind bends to my will. I can fly when not locked down and transform both half-way and fully. My dragon and I can breathe in liquid, plus expel watery blasts in various temperatures. There’s more, but that’s probably good for now.”

Blinking, I tilt my head. “Can you breathe a hot shower?”

Thad snorts, then starts laughing hysterically. He clutches his sides as he elbows Huck, and they both snicker together as I scowl. Elias, however, looks confused as hell at their mirth. The dragon clears his throat, then turns to me. “I could, yes. That seems like a fairly simple thing to be impressed by, though.”

Huck wipes his eyes, then shrugs. “Syd has been angrier at the lack of hot showers in her place because of shitty maintenance than she is about being in the camps sometimes. It’s her one fucking luxury demand—not that it should be a luxury, mind—but she’s very serious about how important that fact is.”

Annoyed, I wave my hand at my friends. “Fine. Yes, I like a hot damn shower, and no, we don’t always have hot water in this fucking hellhole. So yeah, that made me a bit excited. I don’t ask for much, guys. Can we move on?”

Elias gives me a smirk, then nods at the vampire. “I believe he’s the last man standing.”

“Not a man,” the idiot grumbles and I mock a frown.

“Wait, you’re not?” My eyes dance as I pretend to be shocked. “I’d love another girl here. The big dick energy is killing me, especially since none of it is as big as mine.”

“For fucks’ sake…I’m a male ; don’t be ridiculous, human.” Sebastian rolls his eyes as if I’m the biggest pain in the ass he’s ever met. “I mean, I’m not a man; I’m a vampire. I can do normal vampire things, plus the extra gifts those of us from ancient lines have picked up over the centuries. Our line is very gifted with telepathic abilities, but also we’re…supremely difficult to eliminate.”

We’re all quiet for a moment as we digest that statement.

Did he just admit to being immortal?

When the doorbell dings, Thad jumps up to get the food from the stupid robot thing and we breathe a sigh of relief. The conversation has been fairly heavy since the traitorous bloodsucker admitted his non-fatal flaw. We all had to at least hint at our greatest weaknesses, which for me is embarrassing as shit, because mine is enormous. I’m powerless in terms of supe shit and I’m going to be the first target everyone aims for.

Why the fuck my shit refuses to pop out, I don’t know, and I’d like to beat the shit out of my cowardly mother for taking off.

“It has to be her fault,” I mutter to myself as Thad brings the bags of food into the living room. He sits them on the table, looking at me with sharp criticism in his eyes. “I know; I know. I can’t blame someone I know jack shit about.”

“What’s this about? The happy couple are fighting?”

I look at the chopsticks Thad just handed me and consider how hard I’d have to throw one to embed it in the nasty little vampiric shit’s neck. He wouldn’t die, but it would hurt, and I’d feel a great deal of satisfaction.

“Down, girl,” Rory says as he walks over to grab his containers. “It will only make him more annoying as he removes them, then milks the injury to his pride for all it’s worth.”

He’s not the fucking mindbender; how’d he know?

“You look particularly vicious right now… Vicious,” the mage says with a knowing smirk. “It wasn’t a magical leap, only a logical one.”

“He’s right, sweet pea. You were telegraphing your intent with your laser focus on his jugular and the tight grip on the chopsticks.” Huck tucks his fingers into the pockets of his dark denim and shrugs. “Gotta watch those visual cues. Not everyone can read them, but when you run into people like me or others with emotion-based powers, we can.”

I glare at the demon as I unwrap the wooden sticks. “Why the fuck haven’t you told me this before?”

“Because you don’t like to hear that you have flaws other than the magic thing and it wasn’t important until now.”

Damn him for being right. I can’t even stay mad.

“Fine.”

Thad blinks as he hands Elias his food, then takes the smaller cooler bag to Sebastian. “I’ll be damned. You’re mellowing with age, Syd. You hate admitting when you’re wrong.”

“I think everyone dislikes that,” the dragon says as he settles into the big chair at the far end of our gathering spot. “I believe I was right to continue the fight against the humans, but many of my people think I should have followed them into the sea to hide from them. They think I abandoned my throne to help supernaturals who weren’t even dragons, instead of focusing on our kingdom. Perhaps they’re right—I can admit that now. But admitting it doesn’t mean I regret what I did, just that I recognize their perceptions aren’t inaccurate.”

That’s a lot of words for him, especially in a row. I think about it for a moment, then nod. “Sometimes, we do the right thing for the right reasons, but others don’t agree with us. They make us the villain in their stories because they need one. It can be because they can’t look in the mirror to assign blame where it belongs or because there isn’t a clear villain, only a breadth of bad choices that no one liked.”

“Exactly,” Sebastian says as he stalks toward the kitchen to heat up his dinner. “A bouquet of bad options leads to a lot of assumptions from people not directly involved in a situation.”

Is he trying to say that’s what happened to the vamps? I don’t believe him.

“The mosquito’s right,” Rory says from his spot on the floor. “When all the options are ugly, you make the best choice you can and hope like hell you survive it. Sometimes, you have to make that decision over and over until it doesn’t bother you anymore.”

Thad bumps my shoulder with his and I wrinkle my nose. He knows I need to throw in my two cents to help and I kind of hate him for making me. “My dad made what I think was a stupid choice to help the stupid meatbags and I still haven’t forgiven him for it. I’m trying, but every day we spend in this place makes it harder. So maybe winning this fucking thing will… let me do that.”

“We all have our darkness,” Huck says as he squeezes my knee. “You, sweet pea, are doing your best just like the rest of us. It was only a matter of time before humans subjugated another race—the timing led to it being supes, but it could have been damn near anyone. Your dad wasn’t the only being fooled by their platitudes."

Sebastian walks in with a large mug that he’s blowing over, and shrugs as he looks at me. “You’re also not the only one with daddy issues—not in history, nor in this room. The dragon has a savior complex, so it definitely came from living up to his father’s legacy. Demons all have authority issues stemming from their creation and daddy rejection. The bear is lacking one and helping to fill in as one, mine is objectively megalomaniacal, and I’d wager Mr. Sparkle Pants over there is a child of divorce with adultery. Just a guess, but vampires hunt through profiling, so we’re pretty good at it.”

Everyone makes a noise of protest, but the vampire doesn’t let it stop him as he makes his way to his chair.

That jackass just ripped the band-aid off everyone in the room’s wounds and is sipping his blood like it’s English Breakfast—no wonder people hate their kind.