And just like that, we’ve finally come to an agreement. A frightening yet kind of exciting agreement.
“How are we going to tell Harlynn?” I ask, weirdly feeling less tense than I did a moment ago.
The three of us trade a look, waiting for someone to speak.
“I have no damn idea,” Asher finally admits. “I’m thinking, though, that maybe we do it after we leave this planet when things are a little less stressful.” He looks at us for confirmation, and it takes a minute, but both East and I nod.
And that becomes that. A start to something new. At least I hope so. Really, none of this means anything, unless Harlynn is on board.
“Good. Now that that’s settled, let’s move on to this plan of finding out what in the hell is going on in the basement here,” Asher says, going straight back to business. “East is going to work on helping Max seduce a succubus.” Wariness creeps into his tone. “I’m honestly a little skeptical that’ll work, so I’d like to have a backup plan.”
“Which is?” East questions, leaning against the wall behind him.
“Arrow and I are going to go explore the town more and ask around,” he says. “I think maybe we should go a bit farther out, maybe into the next town.”
“Yeah, but how far is it?” East asks, propping his boot-clad foot against the wall. “And what about that creature that was tailing us during our journey here?”
“I almost forgot about that,” I say. “Does anyone know what it was?”
Asher shakes his head. “My best guess is an ice demon. Harlynn sensed it, too, but I didn’t want to tell her I saw it, because I didn’t want to scare her.”
East snorts a laugh. “Scare her? Our little mouse doesn’t get scared—you should know that by now.”
“If that’s the case,” I say, “maybe you should stop calling her little mouse.”
East smirks at me. “What do you propose I call her then? My lover?”
Heat rushes to my cheeks, causing his smirk to widen. He parts his lips to say who the heck knows what, but Asher talks over him.
“You’re wrong,” he says quietly. “She gets scared. She just pretends not to be. Not that she’s not tough. She might be one of the toughest creatures I’ve ever met. But she also has spent a lifetime trying to control her emotions so she doesn’t always show how she’s feeling.”
East eyes him over. “You’re speaking from experience.”
He shrugs. “I don’t know.”
“That was a rhetorical question,” he says. “I’ve known you long enough to know you do.”
Asher frowns then sighs. “Look, I didn’t bring that up so we could stand around and try to decipher the complications of my mind. I was just bringing it up so everyone knows to be careful around her and make sure you know what she’s really feeling.”
A smile glitters across East’s face. “I’ve never seen this side of you. It’s amusing.”
“Whatever,” Asher grumbles in annoyance. “We’ve discussed this for long enough. Let’s get this plan in motion.” He strides down the hallway, I guess expecting me to follow.
I start to, but when I pass East, I pause as he whispers, “Remind him to keep an eye out for the creature following us, because I’m still not convinced it was an ice demon.”
Me neither. It’d be better if it was. But ice demons tend not to leave tracks and whatever was following us across that snowy hills left a few tracks here and there. And for the most part, ice demons are harmless, at least to powerful creatures like East and Arrow. My sensors, though, told me a different story, that whatever was out there wanted to harm us.
Harlynn
It’s been awkwardly quiet since the guys stepped out of the room to, as they put it, “discuss something.” The vagueness kind of annoyed me and I’ll admit, I tried to eavesdrop, but I couldn’t hear anything. So instead, I’m sitting here on the bed, waiting for them to return while Maxton stares out a window that’s way too frosted with ice for him to be able to see anything. So what he’s looking at is beyond me.
Finally, I can’t take it anymore.
I stand to my feet, stride over to him, and cross my arms. “Dude, what’re you looking at?”
His gaze flits to me. “The window.”
“Oh, yeah, duh.” I smack the heel of my hand against my head. “Wow, I couldn’t tell.”
The corners of his almost turn upward. “You must be a real ditz.”
“Hey,” I protest, but a laugh tickles my throat. “I am not.” Then I reach forward and pinch his side.
I don’t know why I do it. Sure, I do this sort of stuff with Asher, East, and Arrow. But I barely know Maxton.
Although he knows a lot about me.
When he jolts, I worry I may have crossed a line.
“Why the heck did you do that?” he asks, rubbing the spot where I pinched him.
I shrug. “Because you were teasing me.”
“That’s what you do to creatures when they tease you?”
I shrug again. “Sometimes. But shouldn’t you know that already since you know so much about me?”
He eyes me over. “Maybe I already did know that about you. I’m just not used to you, or any other creature, doing it to me.” With that, he returns his attention to the window, tension flowing from off of him.
Okay, yeah, I definitely crossed a line. “Sorry,” I tell him.
His gaze slides to me, and his brows pull together. “For what?”
“For touching you without your permission. It’s clearly bothering you so I’m sorry.”
“That’s not what’s bothering me,” he mumbles, his eyes sweeping across me before darting back to the window.
So what’s bothering him then? And better yet, what in the worlds is he looking at?
Maybe he can see something out there...
I lean in front of him to get a better look. The movement startles him, and he jumps, his head smacking against mine. As pain splinters through my head, I stumble and fall straight onto his lap, causing him to tense up even more.
We both groan in pain, me clutching my head and him grasping onto my side. I half expect him to shove me off his lap, but instead he holds onto me while sweeping my hair out of my face so he can look me in the eye.
“Are you okay?” he asks, his eyes roving across my face.
I bob my head up and down as I lower my hand from my head. “Yeah, I’m good. It’s just a little head bump. No biggie.” I’ll smile so he knows I mean it.
He frowns, not the reaction I was expecting. “I’m sorry I’m so jumpy. I’m just not used to creatures being so close to me.”
And suddenly, many of the things he’s done make sense.
“Were you by yourself a lot?” I ask. When he tenses, I quickly add, “You don’t have to answer that if you don’t want to.”
He studies me with hesitancy. “It’s not that I don’t want to talk about it. It’s just that I’m not used to talking about it—or talking about anything really.” He stares at me for a beat before looking at the window again. “But to answer your question, yes I was by myself a lot. And during the times I wasn’t, I was mostly around my father.” He pauses then mutters, “I preferred the isolation.”
“That’s understandable,” I say. “Asher’s told me a little bit about your father and he sounds absolutely awful.”
“He is,” he utters hoarsely with his gaze glued to the window.
I hate that he looks so in pain. While I may not have witnessed any of what happened to him by his father, I saw how Maple treated him, the way she talked to him and how she hit him.
Not wanting to force him to talk about painful stuff anymore, I twist around in his lap and try to figure out what he’s looking at out the window. I can’t see anything but ice and snow.
“Okay, all smartass remarks aside,” I say. “Seriously, what’re you looking at out there?”
“All smartass remarks aside, huh?” The smallest of smiles touches his lips. “I thought smartass remarks
were your thing?”
“Oh, they are,” I assure him with a cheeky grin.
His grin broadens even more and it’s a beautiful sight. But then it swiftly fades.
“I’m not positive,” he tells me. “But I swear while we were walking here, something was following us.”
That declaration sends a spike of fear through me. “That’s really weird cause I thought I felt like we were being watched, that I heard someone walking behind us. But when I turned around, I couldn’t see anything. And when I told Asher, he didn’t seem to be that worried.”
“He may have, but just didn’t show you he was,” he tells me. “My brother is good at hiding his emotions. Plus, if he may have been trying to protect you from getting worried. He seems to do that a lot.”
“Protect me from getting worried?”
“Not necessarily that. He just seems to... He likes to make sure you’re protected in every way possible.”
Deep down, I know he’s right, but the declaration carries a lot of emotional meaning to it, so I just shrug and mutter a, “Maybe.” Then I turn back toward the window and change the subject.
“If something was following us, what do you think it was?” I ask, wishing I could see better out the window.
His breathing quickens ever so slightly. Since my back is lined against his chest, I can feel the accelerating movements as he inhales and exhales. Something has him spooked. But what? The possibilities of what could’ve been following us?
“Honestly, I’m not sure,” he admits. “I couldn’t spot any traces of magic or evidence that could lead me in a direction. But that’s more than likely due to the snow burying it. Not because whatever it was wasn’t leaving any traces behind.”
“Could you go back and dig something up?” I wonder. “Maybe when the snowfall calms down?”
“Maybe. I mean, usually I have my father’s powers while I’m trying to track a creature, and I just melt the snow away. But now I’m powerless so... I guess I could use like a shovel.” He pulls a weird face. “That sounds so fucking weird. A shovel? Gods, I’ve really become useless, haven’t I?”
“Hey, just because you don’t have any powers doesn’t mean you’re useless. Trust me, back in my old world, I was known as being an awesome thief, and I didn’t use any powers. Just this awesome thing.” I tap the side of my head and grin. “You can do it too. Sure, you don’t have any powers, but you still have all of that information you learned about tracking creatures. Plus, you know how your father’s mind works, which I’m sure is going to come in handy eventually.”
He eyes me over curiously. “I almost forgot you were like this.”
My head tilts to the side. “Like what?”
He lifts a shoulder. “Always telling others positive things about themselves. Like that Jason guy. I watched you with him sometimes, and you always told him such nice things about himself.”
I try not to frown at the mention of Jason. “So I’ve been told.”
A pucker forms between his brows. “I’ve made you sad.”
“No... I just...” I sigh heavily. “A little bit ago, East suggested that perhaps I was a better friend to Jason than he was to me, and honestly, the more I think about it, the more I think he’s right.”
He hesitates, sinking his teeth into his bottom lip.
“You think that too,” I say. “Don’t you?”
He wavers. “I’m not an expert on human behavior, but the boy did seem to take more from you than he gave.”
I turn around and face the window. “Yeah, I know. I just wish I would’ve realized that back then. It makes me feel... I don’t know, pathetic, I guess, that I just let him basically take advantage of me.”
I feel something touch my arm. When I glance down, I see that he’s tracing his fingers up and down my forearm. I’m unsure what to do with that and question if he’s even aware he’s doing it—the touch is so soft, barely there.
“You’re not pathetic,” he whispers so softly that I’m not sure if I heard him correctly. But then he adds, “You’re one of the sweetest creatures I’ve ever met, and that’s not a bad thing. Even when I had you tied up, you yelled at Maple for hitting me.”
“Yeah, well, Maple was a bitch, And you couldn’t help what you were doing.”
“I know, but still... Most in that situation would’ve let her beat the crap out of me.” His fingers drift across my arm again. “Face it, you’re kind of sweet.”
I narrow my eyes at him. “You think I’m sweet?”
Amusement sparkles in his shadowy eyes. “I said kind of. You’re too much of a smartass to be completely sweet.”
“Much better,” I tell him with a grin.
He smiles back, but then presses his lips together, a questioning look creasing his pretty features. “You know, there’s a lot more you can do than I think you even realize.”
“With my powers, you mean?”
He nods. “Do you want me to show you?”
“I... Isn’t it dangerous for me to use my powers?”
“It’s dangerous for you to use your shadowed soul powers. But many creatures have the same basic powers that they can use without tapping into their full powers.”
“Really? Like what?”
He chews on his bottom lip. “Is it okay if I show you one?”
I nod, even though I’m not certain what he’s about to do. He seems sort of nervous, so maybe I should be more reluctant, but I’m not. Maxton may have been hunting me at one point, but he also saved me from those beasts back on Steel and I... Well, I think I trust him.
With a shaky exhale, he trails his fingers down my arm and to my hand. Then he threads his fingers through mine and moves my hand toward the window so my palm is lined with the frosted glass.
“Now think about warmth,” he says, skimming his thumb along the back of my hand.
“Okay.” For some reason, I visualize hot chocolate and fresh-out-of-the-over cinnamon rolls.
It works, though, my skin warming and melting the frost from the glass. It even melts some of the snow falling in front of it so I get a clear view of the hills outside and the buildings dotting them.
I smile. “How was that so easy?”
He shrugs. “Simple stuff like casting a warmth spell is easy. You just have to know how to do it.”
I’m totally in awe and am grinning at him dork, our fingers still laced together and pressed to the window, when the door to the room swings open and East waltzes in. He takes one look at the situation and he smirks.
“Well, this isn’t what I was expecting to walk into,” he remarks while kicking the door shut.
“What? Maxton showing me how to use magic?” I quip. “Because that’s what you walked into.”
“Is it now?” He grins at me then arches a brow at Maxton.
Maxton untangles his fingers with mine. “I was just showing her how to melt the frost off the glass,” he mumbles.
“And that required her to sit on your lap?” East questions.
For some reason, Maxton squirms.
East is all impish smiles as he locks the door and mumbles, “This is going to be fun.” Then he grips the hem of his shirt and tugs it off, his glimmering wings sprouting from his back.
“I fell onto his lap,” I answer for Maxton. “And I don’t know why you’re questioning our sitting position when you just walk in here and strip off your clothes for no reason.”
“I didn’t strip off my clothes.” The corners of his lips quirk. “Yet.” When I narrow my eyes at him, a grin consumes his face. “But I took off my shirt because I’m hot.”
“How?” My brow quirks upward. “It’s like negative forty degrees outside.”
“Outside. But in here, with you, it’s so damn hot,” he teases as he tosses his shirt onto the bad.
I make a big show of rolling my eyes. “That was stupidly cheesy.”
“For sure. But it’s completely true.” He momentarily studies me before snatching my hand and pulling me off Maxto
n’s lap. “Come on. Let’s get you ready.” He tows me with him as he walks toward the bathroom door.
“Ready for what?” I ask.
He guides me into the bathroom without answering me then sticks his head out of the doorway to say to Maxton. “Give us a minute, Max.” Then he steps back into the bathroom, shuts the door, and spins toward me. “Now I just need to figure out what outfit to put you in.”
“Why do I need to change at all?” I wonder, fiddling with the hem of the shirt.
“So we can teach Max how to flirt.”
I put my hand on my hip. “And that requires a wardrobe change?”
His eyes glitter. “It’s not required, but to give Max the full effect of what it’s going to be like flirting with a succubus, we need to make him feel a bit overwhelmed.”
“I’m so confused... How will me changing outfits overwhelm him?”
He drags his teeth across his lip. “Because you’re so damn gorgeous.”
My initial instinct is to argue with him, but I’ve done this enough times to understand it won’t get me anywhere. “I’m not so damn gorgeous it’s overwhelming,” I say. But he simply rolls his eyes, causing me to internally sigh. “And besides, Maxton doesn’t think of me that way.”
He snorts a laugh. “Oh little mouse, I thought we’d gotten over your naiveness.”
“I’m not being naïve. I’m just saying that not every creature thinks I’m beautiful, which is true. And Maxton... He seems kind of tense around me.”
“Yeah, because he likes you.”
“He doesn’t even know me.”
His brow lifts. “Really, Harlynn? That’s what you want to go with.”
“All right, you’re probably right. He does seem to know a lot about me.” I grimace, but a smile threatens to pull at my lips at his use of my real name.
He looks at me curiously. “What’s that look for?”
I shrug. “I don’t know. Probably because you used my real name. You don’t do that a lot.”
With his gaze welded with mine, he traces the tip of his tongue along his lips. “You like it when I use your real name?”
I shrug again. “Yeah. I mean, your pet names aren’t that bad anymore, but I still like it when you call me Harlynn.”
Chasing Secrets (Capturing Magic Series Book 4) Page 9
