by K. F. Breene
“Not until Lexi is back,” Daisy said, lifting her head a little. “I want to make sure she comes back.”
Kieran checked his phone, seeing a new text from Mordecai, checking on Lexi’s status. He handed it off to Daisy to answer.
She’d kept her emotions bottled good and tight until it was clear they were out of danger. And then, for the first time Kieran could remember, he’d seen Daisy cry. She’d curled up in a ball and sobbed. Shortly thereafter, when she’d gotten hold of herself, she’d demanded to be taken to Mordecai right after Lexi returned.
After the hospital.
Lexi’s presence grew stronger within him. Her spirit drew nearer. She was almost back now, pulsing brighter than before. Wherever she’d gone had revived her.
“What are your plans with this shithead?” Thane prodded the Possessor with his toe.
“You wondering how soon we can kill him?” Bria asked with a grin.
“Yup,” Thane answered. “And I would like to volunteer for that honor.”
“Get in line.” Donovan turned from the window, his arms crossed. All the guys were close, but Jack had been Donovan’s cooking buddy. They’d been a little closer with each other than the others.
Alexis opened her eyes and sucked in a breath. Her chest rose and fell before her focus zeroed in on Kieran. A smile crossed her beautiful face. “You’re sitting upright.”
Daisy jolted and turned, grimacing as she pushed to her knees.
Alexis’s smile grew. “Hey. How’s your arm?”
“She won’t go to the hospital because of you,” Zorn said.
“Kieran almost went to the morgue because of you, so maybe a little less grumpiness would be awesome,” Daisy replied.
Bria huffed out a laugh, spraying the edge of the couch in spit. “Burn!”
Zorn’s face closed down. He didn’t voice that it hadn’t been his fault. Knowing him, he was beating himself up for it anyway.
Alexis sat up stiffly. She rolled her head and then her shoulders. She stretched, yawned, then noticed Jack, standing in the far corner, his hands at his sides and his face drawn. Kieran had noticed him but hadn’t known what to say. How to make it better.
Alexis had no such qualms. “What’s your story? Why are you hiding in the corner?”
The guys stiffened. All looked at the spot she was focused on. Longing crossed their faces. They wanted Alexis’s gift so they could see their brother in arms again. Their friend.
“He’s probably so used to stinking up the place that he forgot he doesn’t have to put distance between us before taking a shower anymore,” Bria said, her eyes sad but her smile thawing the room.
Thane chuckled and then shook his head. “It wasn’t the stink from working out, it was blowing ass. That guy was lethal.”
A lopsided grin worked up Jack’s face.
“It’s because he liked everything spicy, but his gut couldn’t handle it,” Boman said, laughing. “He’d always steal my peppers, remember? Then he’d bitch about shooting flames out his hole.”
“Gross,” Alexis said, motioning Jack closer. “You don’t have a virus or anything. You can hang around.”
“Doesn’t have a virus that she knows about, anyway,” Donovan murmured.
Thane guffawed. “I remember that! I told him to stay away from that chick, but did he listen? Nope. Went and got himself a case of the clap.”
“Oh, that curly-haired girl?” Boman asked, tying off the last stitch in Kieran’s neck. In a few hours he’d rip the stitches out. It was an annoying wound. The Possessor really had it coming to him. “She was a looker.”
“She came with baggage,” Donovan said, shaking his head.
“She should’ve come with penicillin,” Boman added.
They all started laughing, and Jack’s smile intensified. Kieran felt himself relax a little, and Lexi put her hand in his.
“It’ll be okay,” she said softly as the guys continued reminiscing and Zorn helped Daisy to her feet. “We’ll either make Jack’s spirit welcome, or I’ll help him cross over. He’s not gone, just different.”
By the time she was done, the room had gone silent again.
“He helped me today,” she went on, speaking loudly enough that everyone could hear her. “He was my eyes when I couldn’t see. He brought me information I couldn’t get myself. He was my spirit watchdog whenever things got iffy with the other Spirit Walker. His role was different than it would have been before, but he still helped the team. He stuck around and finished the job. He made right something that wasn’t his fault to start with.” She nodded with tears in her eyes, her gaze shifting to Jack. “You did good. You’ll need to decide what you want to do—hang around or go—but whichever you decide, I’ll help, okay? I’ll make it work for you. Don’t be scared. Be at home.”
Tears dripped down Thane’s face. The guy had never been concerned with crying in public—he’d always figured that if someone had a problem with it, he’d change into a Berserker and teach them to mind their own business. The other guys looked down at their feet or stared off at nothing while nodding. Even Zorn.
“Thank you,” Donovan said. He sniffed, and it was clear he was trying to hold back emotion. “Thank you for doing this, Alexis. I’m glad Kieran stalked you like a creeper and brought you into the fold.”
Just like that, the tension and emotion popped.
Boman chuckled with glassy eyes. “Why’d you need to ruin that moment, you dick?”
“Why’d you ruin those stitches?” Donovan pointed at Kieran’s neck. “Are zigzags all the rage now?”
Kieran stood and brought Alexis with him. They needed to tie everything up, then hit the books and figure out who was who, what was what, and some future plans to deal with them. Two people had declared war, and Kieran would need to answer. But he’d do it the modern way, the way his father had taught him—in stealth. In secret. Behind the scenes. He’d lay all the plans, map everything out, and slowly back his prey into a corner. Then, at the last moment, he’d pull the pin. Together, he and Alexis and the rest of their crew would watch their enemies blow sky high.
Someone had challenged him to a game of chess, and he would answer that challenge in a way that made them regret ever having brought out the game board.
33
Alexis
“Wait…” Aubri stepped in front of me, her face as serious as a heart attack. “Do you want a selfie to post to social media?”
I tried not to roll my eyes. And failed.
“No, I’m good,” I said, checking my newly finished face and hair in a handheld mirror while sitting off to the side in the kitchen. Normal people had their hair and makeup done in a bedroom or bathroom, or somewhere out of the way. But I hated being isolated from the others. I’d commit to looking good for the paparazzi as much as possible, but I drew the line at missing out on the fun—or pandemonium—while I did it.
Daisy and Mordecai slouched at the kitchen table. Daisy’s arm had been in a cast for the last four weeks, with two to go, and Mordecai was right as rain. With Harding’s help to show me how, I’d re-created and attached Mordecai’s crumbled soul prongs. They weren’t as good as the originals, but they would last a lifetime if he stayed away from more close calls of the head-crushing variety. They were like prosthetic limbs for the soul.
“Okay, but are you sure?” She stepped back, surveying me. “Because you. Look. Fabulous.”
Red, staring out the window, turned to look. Unimpressed, she turned back, watching the street. She would remain with me for the foreseeable future. No one could tell if she was particularly grumpy about that fact, or just the normal amount of grumpy. Donovan suspected driving a pink car was the cause of her habitually bad mood. It would be enough to drag anyone down, he reckoned.
Bria entered the kitchen with an apple in one hand and a phone in the other. She paused between me and the table before jutting out a hip. “Yeah, good. Well done. No one will be able to talk shit about that look.”
Aubri beamed.
“What am I getting all dressed up for?” I asked, carefully sliding off the stool in my swirly black dress. It was a Saturday and we didn’t have any plans; usually I’d just hang around in self-chosen attire, my hair in a pony and no makeup. It wasn’t until Kieran left with all the guys, including Jack, that Bria had told me to get ready. Aubri arrived shortly thereafter.
We’d had a memorial for Jack and paid our respects the traditional way, but he’d chosen to stick around. Given he could be seen and heard by a couple of us, and help guard the spirit realm, he figured there was plenty to do. I also had a sneaking suspicion that he was afraid of what awaited in the Beyond.
“You are a kept woman. You do what you are told without asking questions,” Bria responded before taking a bite of her apple.
Daisy huffed. “I’d like to see someone try to treat my girl like that. I would slit them from neck to navel.”
“Oh my God, wow.” Aubri dramatically looked at Daisy. “That’s psycho.”
“Yeah, she’s right,” I said, my tone brooking no argument.
Daisy had dealt with trauma a little differently than most fourteen-year-old girls. Her confidence had flowered. Her hunger for learning to protect herself and her family had intensified. And the amount she was stealing from Kieran to secretly put away had grown. Zorn still couldn’t figure out what she was doing with the money or where she was stashing it. It was her nest egg. Her escape hatch.
She was even teaching Mordecai to be better about stealing. It had turned into a game, and even though it didn’t seem right, Kieran wasn’t beat up about it. I’d decided to turn a blind eye.
“You need to chill out,” I said. “No swearing, and no overt and gruesome threats.”
Daisy shrugged, and Mordecai leaned toward her and whispered, “I could just maul them. If we dragged them out to the forest in the non-mag zone, no one would even question it.”
Daisy nodded. “You’re onto something.”
“You guys, stop. Please.” I nearly ran my hands through my newly styled hair. Aubri would’ve then threatened to slice me from neck to navel. “That’s too violent, even for magical people. You need to pull way back.”
They both shrugged. Mordecai wasn’t so sweet and levelheaded since his near-death experience. He’d gotten more ruthless in training, more vicious. He clearly didn’t want to end up in that situation again, and as a powerful shifter, he’d be challenged often.
Bria’s phone chimed. She glanced at the screen. “Okey-dokey, here we go. Load up, kids and dolls. Time to go. Except for you, Aubri—we’re good.”
Red pushed back from the window, and when I passed by her, she filed in behind me. “He got you a limo for the occasion.”
“Yeah, but what’s the occasion? Should I not have eaten? Are we having dinner?” I asked, passing through the open door and into the front yard. Sure enough, a stretch limo awaited us.
“It’s only two o’clock. It’s an awkward time to eat,” Daisy said, following us out.
“Wait, wait, wait!” Aubri ran out holding a large jewelry box. “I almost forgot this!”
She gingerly took out the necklace Kieran had designed for me. Butterflies filled my stomach as she put it around my neck. It wasn’t just the beauty of the piece, or the way it made me feel—it was the meaning behind it. It was our two magics, intertwined. His life and mine.
“Even better.” Bria looked down the street as Frank emerged from the bushes to the right. That was his new hangout. Apparently I’d had one too many visits from a Demigod hellbent on messing with my life. He’d lost faith in the safety of the open grass.
Thankfully, no Demigods—that I knew of—had traipsed by since the battle. None that had made contact, anyway, in spirit or in reality. They weren’t done with me, Kieran firmly believed that, but they’d realized we were stronger than they’d anticipated. And so they’d taken a step back to reassess. Or so he said. I was still training like mad anyway, trusting Harding to show me new stuff when he came by (which wasn’t as often now) and constantly practicing on the stuff I did know. I was making great strides in my magical reach, my abilities, and my comfort level with the spirit world. I still didn’t travel in the Beyond without Harding, but I knew someday soon I would.
“We’re clear.” Bria nodded at the man holding the limo door open for us.
He nodded at me and put out a hand to help me in. Red followed, and Frank tried to climb in after that.
“No.” I put out my hand.
He paused with his hands on the sides of the door. “What?”
Daisy’s face pushed through his center, and she paused, her nose scrunching, before scurrying in. “Ew! Did I just pass through…something?”
“Frank, you can’t come,” I said as Mordecai stalled at the entrance.
“Gross! Lexi, banish him!” Daisy said.
“I concur,” Bria murmured.
“He’s fine, you guys. He’s just doing his own thing.” I pointed. “But do it somewhere else, Frank. You’re not riding in here.”
“But how will I know how to get to the new house? You can’t leave me here,” he whined. “I need to look out for you. Your mom said so.”
I shoved him away with my magic, then motioned Mordecai in. “The new house?”
Bria froze before nonchalantly looking at her phone. The conversation with Kieran about moving in together pushed to the forefront of my memory.
“Oh my God, did he get us a new house?” I asked, trying to contain myself as the limo got moving.
“Why would we need a new house?” Mordecai asked. “Ours is plenty big.”
“Whatever happens, make sure that house stays ours,” Daisy said. “Just in case he gets grabby. We can flip it.”
“It doesn’t need to be flipped. It’s in perfect condition,” Mordecai said. “It’s just in a bad part of town.”
“No, it’s just up against a bad part of town. I bet we can put in some legislature to get the border moved.”
Mordecai frowned at her. “We can’t do anything, and I doubt the non-magical government will let us claim part of the dual-society zone. That zone is for everyone. You sound like Valens.”
Her eyebrows pinched together. “Low blow.”
“Well?”
“Fine. We can trade. Maybe just extend that bit out—”
“Enough,” I said, really wanting to run my hand across my face in annoyance. Trying to keep a perfect face was difficult. “We’re not selling the house, and we’re certainly not going to try changing the boundary lines to selfishly inflate our selling price.”
“Just saying. It’s a wasteland on the other side. I doubt they even want it.”
“Daisy,” I said as we drove along Ocean Beach, which was clear and beautiful. I looked at the clean white sands, which had been fixed up nicely since our big battle with Valens. Half-nude bodies stretched out on their beach towels, taking in the sun Kieran was ensuring continued to shine. Streams of gray smoke rose from barbecues. No one was crazy enough to swim in the frigid waters.
The limo quieted as we drove up the hill, higher and higher. My heart beat faster. Each turn made the butterflies in my stomach flutter harder. The increasingly beautiful view made my heart climb up into my throat.
Finally, we pulled onto a road I recognized. Bria, Mordecai, and I had once parked down the way in order to break into Valens’s house.
And then, finally, we parked right in front of that house. That enormous house on the cliff, with arguably the best view in magical San Francisco.
“Out we get,” Bria said, still nonchalant.
Daisy’s eyes rounded as she looked at me, her eyebrows at her hairline. She was a kid from nothing, and she’d never been to this place before. She wasn’t inside and already it was blowing her mind.
Mordecai climbed out first. “That weird fountain of Kieran’s mom is gone.”
“It was disturbing, at best,” Bria said. “It was the first thing Kieran tore down.”
&n
bsp; I exited the limo with numb feet. A flash made me flinch, a paparazzo standing next to a car across the way. I tried to play it cool as I walked around the car with my kids. We stopped on the walkway as the front door swung open.
Kieran stepped out, his tailored suit perfectly showing off his broad shoulders and powerful body. Nervousness fluttered through the soul link as he walked toward me, his eyes soft and deep.
“Hi, beautiful,” he said, sliding a hand around my waist. He pulled me closer. Everyone around us might not have been there for all he seemed to notice. He kissed me gently. “I was wondering…” He paused for a second, and I held my breath. Was he going to pop the question? Was this it? Was this forever? “Will you move in with me?”
He turned a little and looked back at the house. I slowly released a breath, and he looked back at me, eyes glimmering, as if he realized what I’d thought he would ask.
“You know that it was my dad’s, so it’s absolutely fine if you say no,” he went on, dropping his hand so he could clasp mine. “But I’ve changed it a lot. Had it completely redone.”
“Do we still get our own rooms?” Daisy asked, tilting her head back to look up at the third story.
Kieran smiled. He glanced at Daisy, but his focus came right back to me, his eyes intense and hopeful. “Of course. It now has seven bedrooms. There’s plenty of room for us and a few leftover rooms if someone wants to stay over.”
“Or is forced to stay,” Red murmured, watching the paparazzo snapping pictures across the street. “Hey, kid, why don’t you go sneak up behind that guy and break his camera?” She looked at Daisy. “Think you can do that with your broken arm?”
Daisy’s smug grin was short-lived. She looked at a straight-faced Mordecai. “I notice you didn’t pipe up to help.”
“She asked you, not me,” Mordecai said.
“She calls you kid, too. You just wanted me to run off so you could get the first pick of the rooms.”
“Yeah.” Mordecai crossed his arms across his chest. “So?”
Daisy took off running, but not toward the paparazzo.
