Page 28

NOT A SLUMBER PARTY

RORY

Our feisty center deflated after the vampire’s tale. She took her untouched food and retired to her room alone, much to the dismay of the bear and the demon. After she left, the dragon and the demon threatened Sebastian, then we all parted ways. The uneasy vibe in the room from our realization is hanging around necks like an anchor dragging us to the bottom of Dante’s oceans. Surmising that the most ancient leaders of any or all the various supe species in this country are being held in an unknown prison in an unknown location pretty much destroys the hope that someone will save us someday.

If you ask me, that just means we have to save ourselves and this stupid game is the way to do it.

I push the food I barely nibbled on away and roll to my feet. The rest of those assholes might be licking their wounds, but I’ve made certain I thrive in this depressing reality by pivoting. My life since capture hasn’t been sunshine and roses, but it has been better than the people in the camps who gave up trying. The key is having goals and being willing to sacrifice everything for them—even your own safety or dignity. That’s what I’ve done and our team needs to do some fucking version of it so we win this goddamn thing.

Walking over to the mirror, I check my reflection to make sure I don’t have something in my teeth or shit on my face. I’m going to convince Sydney that we need to use our forced participation for more than gaining our freedom to live in some swank community. We need to use it to get to that place so we can do more .

I blink at my reflection, confused at my train of thought. It’s not like me to worry about what happens to anyone but me. My entire life, I’ve never known anyone who wasn’t entirely out for themselves and I always act accordingly. Why am I suddenly acting like I’m one of those do-good savior-types? My frown deepens as I spritz myself with the cologne on the dresser and step back.

I don’t know what’s happening to me or why, but it’s weird as hell.

The sound of my fist knocking on her door is followed by a loud, annoyed sigh inside. My lips quirk up at the corner as I listen to Sydney stomping across the floor of her room to yank the door open with a scowl.

“Was there something unclear about ‘I want to be alone’ or are you just dense?”

Giving her the most charming smile I have, I tilt my head. “No, you were clear. However, you couldn’t possibly have meant to exclude me. I have the absolute strongest shoulders to lean on when you’re sad.”

She snorts. “I believe Thad and Elias have you beat there, Mr. Wizard.”

I pretend to pout, making sure I wedge my foot in the door so she can’t slam it closed. “Perhaps, though for a non-shifter, I’m very well defined. You can’t deny that.”

“I can deny anything I want, Stormbringer. Why are you here?”

My dick twitches and I realize I enjoy the hell out of her taking me to task; who knew?

“I’m here to be supportive, just like I said.” Biting my lower lip, I employ the big eyed beautiful man tactics that have served me well since the Sweeps. “My experiences since they tossed us in camps have been full of shock and upheavals, unlike your boyfriends or the prisoners. I can relate to this feeling and commiserate a little.”

Her eyes narrow and she crosses her arms over her chest as she seethes. Suddenly, I’m very aware that she shed her outer layer, revealing tanned skin in a white tank top. Her long blond hair is hanging over her shoulders in loose waves from the braid she had it pinned back in all day. Other than her expression, this is the most vulnerable I’ve seen Sydney look since they paired us together. It makes me itch to touch her, but I’m not going to do it in the hallway.

“Rory, I’m not going to fall for your charming rogue bullshit. I’ve been friends with Huck for too long to let a pretty smile and long lashes distract me.”

So she has noticed how good looking her companions are. Interesting.

“I’m not trying to distract you, Vicious. I want to… you know, empathize with you or whatever.” Planting my palm on the door, I give it a little push to test the waters, and when she lets it open further my gut clenches.

Sighing heavily, she rolls her eyes. “You’re not going away unless I humor you, right?”

“Smart girl,” I reply with another bright smile then motion with my hands. “I promise I won’t be a dick while I’m here.”

“Somehow, I don’t believe you,” she says as she turns on her heel, leaving me to follow her inside. “Close it behind you, though. I’d don’t want this to become a fucking slumber party.”

Fuck, yeah. I got her to let me in.

“Understood. Sometimes, that many guys in the room can be… overwhelming.” I shut the door and walk in, looking around for a place to land.

Sydney drops onto her bed, tucking her legs into some sort of pretzel as she looks up at me. “You can sit on the other side if you behave.”

Rounding the end of her bed, I arch a brow. “What happens if I don’t?”

The knife she flicks open seems to come out of nowhere, pressing against my spine as I pause halfway to sitting next to her. “Oh. Well, that’s uncalled for.”

“I don’t often mince words, Rory, nor do I set unclear boundaries.” Her blue eyes are dark as she says that and I wonder how many times that resolve has been tested. She pulls back, and the knife disappears as I join her on the bed.

Leaning back against the headboard, I get settled then look over at her. “That stuff from earlier put you on the reality tilt-a-whirl, huh?”

Sydney looks down at her hands, shrugging. “Sort of. I think realizing I’ve been sticking my head in the sand by accepting the stuff my dad told me before he died as truth was worse. I thought I knew exactly how everything worked and what wrongs I’d suffered. But…”

“But what?” I ask softly.

“My father taught me a lot of things that weren’t exactly the truth, I think. He must have been more resentful of my mother’s situation than I knew and that must have gotten worse with The Unveiling.” She chews on her lip, then pushes her finger through her long locks as she lets out a long breath. “My behavior since I was thrown in the camps has probably been shitty and self-centered because I was so damn ignorant. I hate knowing that.”

That’s why she’s upset? Because she might have been insensitive to a bunch of people she doesn’t even know?

“Vicious, I’m gonna be gentle when I say this but… get over yourself.” Her gasp and frown almost makes me laugh, but I keep it together so I can finish. “Look, you probably were an asshat to people. Who cares? You didn’t know any better and even if you were as big a dick as Whitmore, it doesn’t matter. It only makes a difference if you hurt the ones you care about. If you did that, then apologize and move on.”

Her nose wrinkles adorably and I feel my entire body tense up. This hard shelled woman has a completely different side if you get her when her guard is down. “What if they don’t understand? What if they don’t accept my apology?”

“That’s a risk you have to take when you admit to doing shit wrong.” I roll to my side, reaching up to brush a lock of hair out of her face. “I know I’m not mad at you for being such a pill since we met. I’m used to people judging me for the choices I’ve made to keep myself alive and comfortable. It makes ignoring judgmental dumbasses pretty easy.”

“I am not a judgmental dumbass!” Sydney sits up, her face flushing as I watch the shell reappear.

I am dancing around a minefield and this is not exactly my forte.—I should have brought alcohol.

“Look, Sydney. I’m here to listen and commiserate, but I won’t sugar coat shit. Apparently, enough people have been doing that.”

“Damn,” she mutters, kicking her foot on the bed petulantly. “You got me there. Huck and Thad haven’t ever tried to correct me, but they had to know. Well, Huck did, for sure. I don’t know about Thad.”

Nodding as I wait for her to relax again, I ask, “Are you going to apologize to the blood sucker? The dragon?”

Her snort makes me chuckle, but before I can chide her, Sydney nods. “Yeah. I mean, I’ve acted like Elias was a fucking dirty criminal and you were a whore. I was too rough on Sebastian because of my dad’s prejudice and ignorance, too. It doesn’t make me feel like a good person.”

This time, I wrinkle my nose, looking sheepish. “Well… you weren’t totally wrong, Vicious. I’ve done a lot of shit I don’t want to shout to the heavens about to get what I wanted. Some of it I consented to more than other things, and I don’t think it’s shameful as much as I prefer to keep my choices private. I wouldn’t say prostitute—even though that’s totally fine—but I definitely developed what I’d call ‘sponsors’. But that’s about as much as I’m ready to discuss with you right now, if that’s okay.”

The silence hangs in the air as her features soften in a way I’ve only seen happen when the demon and bear comfort her. Very slowly, Sydney lifts her hand and places it on mine. “Rory, I was being a nasty, sanctimonious bitch. The camps are awful, everyone is terrified when they arrive, and people make decisions they don’t want to in order to survive. I didn’t realize I’d been using some sort of litmus test to decide who was worthy when we’re all victims of this regime.”

Holy shit. She’s touching and asking for my forgiveness.

Suddenly, I realize this isn’t what I came here to talk about, but that doesn’t matter. No one has ever heard this much of my truth without being more disgusted rather than less. “You were, and we are. So I forgive you and I’m pretty sure everyone else will, too. It’s obvious you’re meant to be the leader of this circus and to do that, we have to keep letting each other in.”

“Fuck,” she mutters as she leans back against the headboard, too. “I’m not good at… emotional things. Dad trained me on strategy, fighting, and tried to get me to use magic, but he didn’t give me a lot in the way of social graces.”

I smirk at her, arching a brow. “You know who’s pretty good at that shit, right?”

“Uh, everyone but me?”

Laughing, I shake my head. “No, I am. Whitmore, too, I suppose. Maybe even the—okay, everyone but you.”

Her hand shoots out to sock me in the gut, the speed amazing as her fist makes contact. Grunting at the force, I rub the spot with a pout. “Damn, Vicious. I think you’re actually getting faster. That’s insane.”

“Don’t make fun of me, Stormbringer.”

“Fine, but that means you have to stop being so mean to me when I lighten the mood. That’s my way of using emotional intelligence to smooth shit, by the way.”

She gives me a small smile, rolling her eyes again, but I can feel the change in her mood. “Sure, that’s why you do it. We’ll pretend I believe it if you tell me why you really came to see me. You might be telling the truth about commiserating, but there’s something else, too. I can’t explain why, but I know you had other ideas.”

I’m sure as hell not telling her about my cock’s plans, so sharing the ‘saving supernaturals’ thing it is.