Page 17

VIOLET

W hen I woke up, it took me a moment to remember where I was and why I was naked and entangled with multiple equally naked limbs that didn’t belong to me.

It all came back to me with the unpredictability and violence of an avalanche: the secret mission to bring Daisy back home, the closed road, the fight… the aftermath of the fight.

For some sick reason I couldn't explain even to myself, I started looking for signs of regret, sadness, shame, and anger. I couldn't find anything. I was just sore beyond belief, and my thoughts were kind of foggy, but other than that, I felt good—fantastic, to be fair. I hadn't had a night of sleep that good in ages.

With some effort, I freed myself from the intertwined bodies, stumbling to the bathroom. As I relieved myself, I realized it was dawn: golden rose light poured in from the small window.

I suppressed a smile. We must have been at it for hours. No wonder I'd slept soundly for so long, not even waking for basic physical needs.

When I came out of the restroom, stretching my arms out with a low moan, I took a moment to stare at my boys. Quinn and Nicholas slept in the same messy bed I'd just got out of; Quinn lay on his stomach, head resting on his forearm and round ass appearing from the sheets; Nicholas was on his back, the constant frown on his face finally smoothed into a serene expression.

I noticed Kenji a moment later. He sat on the couch with his arms loosely crossed, undoubtedly staring at me in the dimly lit bedroom.

"Good morning" I mumbled, remembering a bit too late that I was still naked. Despite not actively participating, he'd seen everything there was to see, and yet a part of me still wanted to hide. "I, uhm…"

“Here.” He took his t-shirt off and threw it at me. “Since you’re suddenly shy.”

I let myself stare at him for a moment, pressing the soft fabric against my body. He was big, bigger than he looked with his clothes on, his muscles tense under the smooth skin. “It’s not that. I—Thank you” I muttered at last, putting the shirt on and finally relaxing under his stare. “I appreciate it.”

He got up without answering and nodded toward the couch. “Sit.”

“Maybe I should take a shower first.”

“No.” Kenji grabbed something off the table and walked back to me. He was holding a bottle of water and a sandwich. “Drink and eat.”

I was about to tell him I wasn’t hungry or thirsty, but the moment he stopped right before me, my stomach grumbled loudly. “Fine” I sighed, letting myself plop onto the couch.

“We’ll stop somewhere for a proper breakfast” he said, sitting on the other end of the couch. “But it’s been too long since you last ate, so this will do in the meantime.”

I thought I wasn't all that hungry until I took the first bite: my stomach seemed to morph into a greedy sinkhole demanding all the food in the world. I demolished the sandwich under Kenji's pleased stare, then I chugged half the bottle in one go.

“God, I was starving” I whispered, pressing a hand over my stomach. I gave him a quick look. “Thank you. Have you been awake long?”

He didn’t say anything for a moment, and then he finally sighed. “Didn’t sleep much.”

“Why? Did I snore?”

The tiniest smile appeared on his lips. "No. I was making sure my Team was safe."

Something warm bloomed in my chest, but at the same time, I couldn’t ignore the guilt his words had caused. “This place can’t be that bad.”

“I wasn’t about to risk it.”

"Do you want to lie down for a bit?" I offered, dusting crumbs off my legs. "I can stand guard while you rest." I gave a salute that I regretted immediately afterward. It'd been awkward. "It's still early."

He leaned in, a sly glint dancing in his gaze. “Weren’t you mad at us?”

I hesitated. After last night, my feelings were as messy and confused as ever. I didn’t know what I felt anymore. “That’s not important” I mumbled. “You need to rest.”

“And you need to shower.”

“Is this your way to tell me I stink?”

He sat on his knees and crawled to me slowly, his eyes never leaving mine. “Hmm, let’s see.” He tilted his head so close I felt the heat radiating off his body, and then he brushed the base of my throat with his nose. There was nothing sexual about it, but that simple touch managed to make me stiffen. “You smell like you’ve been fucked for hours” he finally whispered, lips brushing my skin in the softest kiss. “Go shower, Violet” he said again, backing off before I could even realize what he’d said. “For both your sake and mine.”

I watched him get up and drag one of the duffel bags from beneath the table, the muscles in his back flexing hypnotically. I wanted to ask about the day before, about why he’d refused to do anything with us. Now that I thought about it, last time, it had been the same: he’d merely directed our actions while watching on the side, hardly interacting in any way. The only time we’d been intimate had been that night in my old room, right after I’d managed to wake Mei up.

“I need to ask you something” I tried, standing up. “About last night.”

He didn’t even turn in my direction; he just kept fishing for clean clothes in the bag. “We’re leaving in forty minutes. Go shower, Violet.”

A part of me wanted to insist, but at last, I decided against it. We could discuss the matter once Daisy was back home. With one last look in his direction, I sighed and locked myself in the bathroom.

???

Precisely forty minutes later, at seven o’clock in the morning, the Jeep sped down the finally clear road. The atmosphere was definitely calmer than it had been less than twenty-four hours earlier: Quinn was lazily scratching my scalp, holding his book with his free hand; Nicholas's arm hadn't moved from the gap between the front seats since we'd left the motel, his fingers tightly wrapped around my left knee. It was as if they were scared to see me disappear. Well, at least it was what I thought was going on in their heads: we hadn't got the chance to sit down and talk about what had happened. And was there really something to talk about, anyway? Three of us had fucked while the other observed and directed. That was it.

And besides, I had more important things to worry about. Daisy, for starters.

Around thirty minutes later, when the car pulled over in a grassy clearing by the side of the road, echoes of thunder were starting to rumble above our heads.

I cleared my throat before leaning in and tapping on Nicholas’s shoulder. “Everything’s alright?”

He turned, pushing strands of still-wet hair back, and it took him a second to understand I was referring to the weather. “Not my doing” he replied, eying the thick, gray clouds through the windshield. “That’s probably him.”

Him. The Exiled, he meant. A shudder coursed through my body as I stepped out of the car, thanking Kenji under my breath for opening my door.

The forest stretched dark and gloomy from both sides of the road, cold wind blowing through dying branches and kidnapping leaves, only to drop them after it was done playing.

“How do we know where to start?” I asked, looking back and forth. “Why here?”

“Because we’re in his area, and there was a spot to leave the car” Kenji explained curtly. “The place where we start doesn’t matter. He’ll find us.”

After ten minutes of walking, the only sounds around us were ominous animal noises and unexplainable cracks, and the Exiled still hadn't found us. I sure hoped he'd hurry up: the pain in my legs was slowly becoming unbearable.

As we walked through thick shadows that seemed to nullify the daylight, Quinn wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me closer. “You do remember you’re not to act impulsively, don’t you, love?”

Nicholas turned around, walking confidently backward despite the rough ground. "Don't even talk to him, in fact. Stay back and let us handle it."

“Handle what?”

I turned so fast black dots appeared in the corners of my field of view. I saw him immediately: a tall, curly-haired man walking barefoot through the forest. He had no shirt on, revealing a thick web of vines tattooed on his skin.

“So?” He covered the last few feet with his arms wide open and a lopsided smile. “What’s the tea?”

He looked nothing like I’d pictured him. Truthfully, I didn’t have a clear idea in mind, but he wasn’t like I’d imagined a powerful, feared warlock to look like.

My boys all moved in unison as if tied by an invisible string that made each one of them an extension of the others; they positioned themselves to form a wall in front of me, basically hiding me from the eyes of the Exiled.

“Hello, Elphias” Kenji greeted him.

So we knew his name. For some reason, it gave me a little more hope about what we were trying to do.

“Don’t tell me” he replied, his tone excessively surprised, delighted. “You guys are part of a Coven Team, aren’t you?”

How did he know? Was it that obvious?

“Alpha Team, to be exact” Quinn confirmed. “A pleasure to meet you.”

Elphias hummed, the sound moving as if he were walking back and forth. I couldn’t see him from behind the boys’ backs. “Alpha Team, no less” he commented pensively. “You’re either here because you follow the rules far too diligently and want to catch me or the total opposite.” There was a moment of silence before he added: “Which one is it, boys?”

“We need a favor” Nicholas replied, dry and straight to the point. “We have to get someone back from the fae realm.”

Elphias burst out laughing, a sound that, despite being clear and gleeful, made my skin crawl. “That is a big favor to ask, besties. I’m not going to lie. You do know it’s prohibited to interfere with the fae’s doings, right?” He let out a long, dramatic sigh. “The Coven would be so disappointed in you if they knew you’re here asking such a thing.”

“We’re aware.” Kenji’s voice was ice cold. “Can you do it?”

“Oh, I can. Of course, I can; what do you take me for?” He sounded almost offended. “Thing is, the portal to the fae world costs me so much energy to keep open. I’m sure you realize what you’re asking for isn’t cheap.”

Nicholas stood up taller, clenching his fists. “Name your price, and let’s get it over with.”

“Let’s see, let’s see. What could I ask of the golden boys of…” He trailed off, a thick silence following his half-sentence. “Oh. You aren’t all boys, though, are you? I guess it was my mistake. Who’s that young lady back there?”

The boys weren’t moving, so I stood on my tiptoes to look at him past Quinn’s shoulder. “I’m Alpha Team’s Nucleus. Nice to meet you.” My voice had come out a little shaky.

Elphias had a strange, interested glint in his eyes. “Not just a Nucleus. You have magic of your own.” He inhaled deeply, closing his eyes as if to better savor what he was smelling, and when he reopened them, he had a sharp smile on his lips. "You're powerful, young lady. A bit out of control, but isn't that the fate of every warlock and witch worthy of the name?"

He must have felt the sudden shift in my boys’ magic, too, because a moment later, he burst out laughing. “Oh, come on, come on! Relax, golden boys. Ain’t nobody touching your prized Nucleus.”

“Apologies” Quinn replied, still maintaining a sort of friendly facade. “We’re merely tired after the long journey to get here. If you could tell us how to repay your kindness, we’d do what we came here for and leave you to your business.”

“Well, there is something I’m interested in” he admitted. “I’d have to discuss it in private with your lady, though. How does that sound?”

Me? What could he possibly want from me?

“Absolutely fucking not.”

“No.”

“I’m afraid it’s not the best idea.”

I looked at my boys, then pushed between them to get some space. “They are my Team. Whatever it is you want to say, you can do it in front of them.”

Elphias gave me a clever look, a tiny, knowing smile on his pale lips. “I see, I see. Well, there is no reason to dwell on it, then. Am I right?” His expression, from playful and a bit mischievous, morphed into something darker. “You have an interesting power, young lady. Something one doesn’t come across that often.”

I knew he was talking about the mimicking before he even mentioned it. My powers were all pretty ordinary apart from that one. “Go on” I urged him.

“I want it” he said, and this time, a feral note glinted in his eyes. “The deal is simple. You let me absorb your power, and I grant you access to the fae realm for fifteen minutes. Plus, you’ll materialize wherever the person you’re looking for is.” He flashed a smile. “I’d say it’s a win-win situation.”

I hesitated. My magic was a burden I hadn’t seen coming. It was new, scary, and at times uncontrollable, but it was mine. The thought of giving up part of it was horrible.

Not more horrible than losing Daisy.

“No” Kenji said before I could even think about speaking. “Pick something else.”

“Oh, boys. I’m afraid this offer is final.” Elphias put on an exaggerated, sad expression. “And I think the young lady here should be the one making the decision, no?”

Damn right, I should. At least someone was on the same page as me.

“She won’t give up her fucking power to you” Nicholas groaned, pushing me back. “Either ask for something else, or we’re out of here.”

“No!” I blurted out. “I’m not leaving Daisy.”

“You’ve heard her.” Elphias shrugged. “It’s up to her, I’d say.”

Quinn turned to give me a pleading look. “Love, please. Remember what we talked about?”

I did, and I didn’t want to act impulsively, but what else could I do? My best friend’s life was possibly at stake. I couldn’t lose her.

The Exiled clicked his tongue. “Tell you what” he said, waving a finger toward us. “I’ll give you a few hours to think about it. You go back to your place, discuss it in front of a cup of tea… I’ll find you” he added. “I’ll find you, and you’ll tell me your decision.” The smile he gave us felt like a threat. “If it’s a yes, we’ll proceed. If it’s a no, we go our separate ways, no hard feelings. What do you say?”