Page 9 of Forgotten Arcane (Broken Ashes #6)

“I’m ordering pizza,” Reed replies with a soft chuckle. He walks closer and dips his head to kiss me softly. When he pulls back, he looks at Coen again, “Do you still have the same order as you used to have?”

Coen frowns slightly, but nods, “Yeah, man, thanks.”

“No problem, I’ll put coffee on while I order,” Reed adds as he walks in that direction, already pulling out his phone.

“Come on, we’ll show you to your room,” River grins.

Coen

“My room?” I question.

I feel like I’m being thrown through so many loops right now that I can’t fucking keep up. My brain, hell, none of me has caught up to the fact that I’m actually fucking free.

I’m free.

My thoughts are so stuck on that one sentence that it takes me a moment to realize that I’ve missed River’s reply. He’s watching me closely, his expression knowing, and Neith squeezes my hand, letting me know that she’s caught my lapse in concentration too.

“Are you okay, man?” Raiden asks.

“Shit I forgot how observant you all were,” I blurt out, and then frown. It occurs to me that this is the guys, this is Neith, these are my people, my family, and it’s okay to be honest without any consequences, “Sorry I’m just trying to wrap my head around the fact that I’m actually fucking free.”

“That’s understandable,” Van replies. He adds with a smile, “Do you want to wait until we’ve finished dinner to see your room?”

I shake my head, “No, that’s okay. It’s been years since I’ve actually had a room.”

Anger fills Van’s expression, but he doesn’t say anything about it, and instead continues, “It’s the spare room, so it’s not really got much character to it. Obviously, it’s yours now, so you can do whatever you want to do with it.”

“Awesome, thank you,” I reply, my smile widening.

It’s going to be so fucking good to have my own space again.

I can bring my weapons over from the Keep.

It will be amazing to have my hoard with me.

My dragon stirs within me, clearly happy with the idea as well.

It’s so fucking nice to feel him again. I really want to fly and feel the wind beneath my wings, but quite honestly, I’m terrified that I’m not going to be able to fly.

I don’t know why. I can feel my wings, and there’s no reason to think that I won’t be able to.

I’ll be able to get my books from the keep as well, and I should probably work on getting some more clothes. I took most of them to the academy with me.

I follow the guys up the stairs, Neith walking behind me. I’m pretty sure that she’s staring at my ass. So to test the theory, I shake it, and her giggle is like music to my ears. Glancing over my shoulder, I wink at her, and she laughs again.

We head down the hallway, and Evander points out all the bedrooms and who they belong to. He stops at a door between River and Raiden’s rooms.

“This is you,” he says, as he pushes open the door.

I grin as I look around the room. “This is great.”

The room is probably the same size as the one that I had at the keep. It’s got a huge bed, thick carpet, and is painted a soft blue that I like more than I would have thought. Van points out the closet and the bathroom, and I take a deep breath.

Yeah, this is good.

I’m okay.

Safe.

With my family.

Well, I’m with most of them. Dimitri is missing, and I know that I need to talk to Neith about him, but now is not the time.

Tomorrow, I’ll bring it up and see how receptive she is to the idea.

If she dismisses it immediately, then I think I’m going to try to get hold of Kar and see if he still believes in Dimitri.

If he does, then I know that he’ll help me, and then we can take irrefutable proof to Neith.

Actually, now that I’m thinking about it, I think that might be the better way to go about it anyway.

It’s going to affect Neith. I know how much Dimitri hurt her, it will be easier for her to accept as the truth if she’s got the proof in front of her, and it will cause her less pain too.

The last thing I want to do is cause her pain.

I’ll explain it to the guys, and see if they’ll help me look for Kar. Griff’s good at finding people. Of course, if Kar really doesn’t want to be found no one will fucking find him, he is a literal genius when it comes to all thing’s technology, not just computers.

Which means I will have to leave our call sign in certain places on the dark web, and with a few contacts, and see if he bites. It’s been so long, I doubt that he will, but it’s a place to start.

Still, all of that can wait a couple of days.

“Right, I am absolutely desperate to put my pyjamas on, and not be terrified that I’m going to get pulled into a task,” Neith announces while I wander around the room. “I’ll meet you guys downstairs?”

“Sounds good, Love,” I reply with a smile.

“Oh, that’s a good idea,” Van agrees.

River starts bouncing on his toes as he yells, “Pyjama party.” And then runs out of the door and into his room next door, singing loudly about pyjamas.

Neith bursts out laughing, along with the rest of us as everyone heads out of the door.

Evander turns back around, still smiling as he says, “Let me know if you need anything. The bathroom is fully stocked. Obviously, you’ve got free rein of the kitchen, and everything like that.

I know it’s going to take a bit to get used to, but this is your home now. I’m so fucking glad you’re back, man.”

I swallow thickly, “Me too, man. Thanks.”