Page 10 of Forgotten Arcane (Broken Ashes #6)

Coen

H e nods, “I’ll meet you downstairs. Pyjama parties are more regular than you’d think around here.

It’s pretty fucking awesome. Before Neith came back, we were a lot more separate and in our own space than we are now.

She’s got no idea what she’s done for us as a family and team simply by just being here. ”

I smile, “I’m not surprised. Neith has a way of bringing people together.”

“That’s true,” Van grins. “I still can’t get over how everyone is interconnected.”

“It’s pretty fucking crazy,” I agree. “I would wager that there was a reason that the Fates worked it out like they have.”

“There has to be,” he agrees. “I mean, I’m sure that there were plenty of times when it could have overlapped, and we could have realized sooner.”

I nod, “I know there were. There were actually several occasions when I was going to introduce you to Neith, but something always happened before I could. Like a really important job or she disappeared for a bit, and when she came back, I just wanted her to myself for a while. There was always a reason why I couldn’t, and then things got complicated, Dimitri started acting strange, and we finished at the Training Academy, and then Kylen got control over me, and it was the last thing on my mind. ”

He nods, “Yeah, that makes a lot of sense. Get changed and meet us downstairs, we’ll fill you in on what you’ve missed. Well, we’ll fill you in on the most important bits, and the rest will come with time. We’re working on the Hybrid case, you know that, yeah?”

I nod, “Yeah, I do. I’m actually really interested to get caught up on that. It’s crazy.”

Van’s eyebrows rise, “You have no idea. I’ll see you downstairs.”

“Thanks, man,” I reply.

It’s not until after he’s gone, and I’ve stared at my room for a few moments with a goofy smile on my face, that I realize that I don’t have pyjamas. I don’t even have anything that passes as pyjamas. I’ve got no sweatpants, no shorts, nothing.

Fuck.

It’s not a big deal, I know that. I know that none of them would call me out on it if I just went downstairs dressed as I am, but it matters to me.

Not only that, but they’re all going to get angry again, and while I appreciate their anger on my behalf.

I’m actually okay. Sure, there are a few things that I know will cause me issues, the sleeping thing for one.

I have no idea when I’m going to get the herbs that I need to make the tea that allows me to sleep without nightmares.

I don’t even know where we are. I have no idea if there’s a town nearby or even what part of the fucking country we’re in.

Huh, I guess that’s something else that I need to ask the guys about.

Despite the few issues that may come up, I never allowed Kylen to actually break me.

He treated me like shit, but I don’t want them to get pissed about everything that comes up that shows just how badly he treated me. It’s a waste of energy and time.

Although I do understand that they’re mad because they care.

I think I just want to fit in. That sounds ridiculous even to me as I think it. I know I fit in, it’s just going to take some time to relearn everything about everyone. A long time has passed since we were together as a team, and I really hope that it works as well as it did.

The spiral of thoughts that I started to tumble down comes to a stop as I remember that I haven’t just joined their team, I’ve been put on it by the Choosing as a Warrior Bonded member. I glance down at the design on my forearm.

I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be, and I need to stop with all this unsure shit. I’m clearly a lot more tired than I thought I was. It’s the only time that I get mopey.

Is mopey the right word? Probably not.

Right, pyjamas. That’s the issue that I need to fix right now, and everything else can be dealt with a day at a time.

Walking over to my bag that I dropped by the door when we walked in, I pick it up and take it over to the bed to start rummaging through it. Surely there’s something in here that could pass for pyjamas? Or even just something that’s more comfy than wearing jeans.

Maybe I could cut up a pair of my jeans? I could turn them into a pair of shorts? Is that even comfy? I don’t think so actually.

Boxers?

That might not be appropriate, although knowing River if he’s wearing anything more than just boxers, I will be very surprised. I’m actually surprised that he lasted as long as he did at the Choosing having to wear clothes all of the time. River hates clothes, he thinks they’re too restricting.

Okay, so boxers are a last resort, although I always love how Neith looks at me when I’m in boxers.

Scissors, that’s what I need. The shorts are going to have to be my very bad first choice. Hopefully it will give everyone a laugh at least.

Rummaging through the drawer in the desk, I manage to find a pair of scissors and head back over to the bed, picking up my only other pair of jeans.

A knock at the door interrupts me before I can make the first cut, and I abandon them on the bed as I head to the door.

Doc

I really hope that I’m not going to piss him off by doing this. The thing is, just like Neith, he’s arrived with practically nothing.

He’s got one small bag of stuff, and I highly doubt that he’s got anything in that small bag of his that comes close to being pyjamas.

I think that he’s been in survival mode for a long time, and because of that, I think it’s going to take him some time to get out of that. There was no way that I could leave him worrying about trying to find pyjamas, and I know that’s what he’s going to be doing.

“Hey man,” he greets me with a smile as he opens the door.

I hold up the pile of clothes I’m carrying, “I figured that since you only have a bag, you probably need some extra stuff.” I grin, “Including pyjamas.”

Coen’s smile widens as he takes the pile off me, “Thanks, man. I really fucking appreciate it. You’re right, I had nothing that even came close to being considered pyjamas.

I was considering either coming down in just my boxers or, and this option shows just how desperate I was, I was going to cut up a pair of my jeans, the only other pair I own, to make shorts. ”

I burst out laughing, “Oh god. Well thank fuck I got here just in time.”

“Literally,” he replies and nods over to the bed where the scissors and jeans are laying on the bed.

My eyes widen, “Oh, you were really close to doing it.”

Coen chuckles, “Yep. Thanks man. As soon as I can get my account sorted with Ty, I’ll get some new stuff.”

I frown slightly, “It’s no problem, you know that. I’ll see you downstairs.”

Coen nods and smiles.

I’m already changed, so I head straight to Van’s room. We need to sort out Coen’s money situation right now. It’s not fucking right.

“Hey,” Van greets me as I get to his door, just as he’s coming out.

I launch straight into it, “We need to call Ty and get him to sort out Coen’s accounts and his card.

I’ve just given him some more clothes that I’ve conjured, but he needs more, a lot more.

Plus, he’s going to want stuff to make his room his own.

I know that we’ve just got back from the Choosing, and I know that we’re supposed to be relaxing and enjoying each other’s company before we jump straight back into it but . . .”

Van holds up his hand, “I was already thinking that we should do that. Come in, we’ll call Ty in my room. There are a couple of things that I want to make sure are dealt with before we go back anyway.”

I nod and follow him into his room. I should have known that he was already on it.

Evander pulls out his phone and dials Ty’s number and puts the phone on speaker.

“Hey!” Ty greets us happily. “You guys were absolutely amazing. Congratulations on becoming the new Warrior Bonded team.”

“Thanks, man,” Evander replies with a smile.

“I’m not even surprised that Coen is on your team,” Ty adds. “Although I haven’t heard from Kylen.”

“Kylen’s dead,” I reply bluntly. “He shot Neith, and Coen killed him.”

“Good,” Ty replies immediately. “Although that’s going to cause some issues with Draith.”

“We know,” Van says. “There’s a lot that we need to go through concerning that situation, but that’s probably best done in person.”

“Agreed,” Ty replies. “Are you still planning to work here?”

“Absolutely,” we both reply at the same time.

It’s easy to hear the happiness in his voice as he replies, “That’s great. I’m getting a lot of calls about you and job offers.”

“Turn them all down. We aren’t interested,” Evander immediately replies.

“I can do that,” Ty replies.

Van smiles, “Thanks, man. I’m actually calling for a different reason.”

“Shoot,” Ty says.

“Kylen took all of Coen’s wages, which means that Coen owns a small bag of clothes and that’s it,” I start to explain.

Ty growls, “I should have fucking done something sooner.”

“We all should have,” I reply. “But Kylen had Coen telling everyone that he was happy where he was, and it was his choice.”

Ty growls, but says, “Give me a couple of minutes and I’ll have a card ready. I can send it to you, it should get there tomorrow.”

“I’ll come and grab it now if that’s okay?” I ask.

“Yeah, of course it is,” Ty replies. “I will also make sure that the remaining Draconian team members are held accountable for their parts in it.”

“Not Fetrick,” Van says. “He was being controlled in a similar way to Coen.”

“Fuck,” Ty mutters. “Okay.”

“We’ll explain everything properly when we come in,” I add.

“I want you to take at least a week before you come back. Not only do you need that time to rest, but you need it to get to know Coen again. It will also give me a really good chance to field all of the job offers and requests for you, and spread the word that you’re working here and not interested in going anywhere else.

It should hopefully mean that by the time you come back, the interest has died down at least a little bit, and you’ll be able to do your job,” Ty explains.