The walk to town was beyond frigid. At least, for me. Everyone else took it in stride. Olezka bloomed fire over his hands, hovering them over my body to give me a bit of heat. It helped a little, but my toes felt like they were going to fall off.
The town, which I noted from the Welcome sign, was states away from home, wasn’t huge, by any means, but it had a decent-sized laundromat that was open twenty-four hours. After a lot of cajoling, they convinced me to go inside and “borrow” some unattended clothes.
In between the tidy rows of washers and dryers sat a half-asleep elderly man who kept nodding off as he waited for his dryer cycle to end. He jerked awake every few minutes. He had a rolling cart holding rumpled clothing next to him. I wandered down the aisle and waited until his eyes drooped again before snatching the first thing I could get my hands on. I absently folded it in my hands and quickly turned the corner.
A haphazard row of stadium chairs separated the aisle between machines. The third dryer down held a neatly folded pile of clothes on the closed lid. Luckily for me, the owner was gone. I meandered past, breezily picking up the stack on top, which appeared to be leggings, and wrapped them up in the shirt I’d stolen.
If I wasn’t still defrosting from my time outside in the gossamer dress I’d been wearing in the Veil, I would have been sweating up a storm. My heart pounded as I peeked over toward the windows at the front.
Olezka watched from across the street and gave me a reassuring nod. I huffed a breath before noticing a guy in gray sweatpants and a hoodie, bent halfway inside a washer as he pulled out his clothes. He had a pile of wet, black shirts stacked on the dryer next to him, ready to be placed in a dryer. I cringed but decided, since the pickings were so slim, I had to do it.
Walking past, I kept an eye on him to make sure he didn’t poke his head back out of the washer. I grabbed a handful of clothes and beelined it to the exit. I peeked over my shoulder, expecting a pissed gym rat to be shaking his fist at me or something, but the occupants of the laundromat were going about their business. I tiptoed my frostbitten feet across the street with one arm raised away from me to keep the wet clothes from touching my dried spoils.
Olezka’s grin widened as he watched me get closer, and my lips turned down in return. He laughed gently when I stopped in front of him.
“Something funny?” I pouted.
“Nyet.”
“Mmmhmm.”
“Give me the wet clothes, ozorink. I will dry them.” Olezka held out his hand.
Handing him the sopping wet clothes, I walked behind the building where Tess and Timur were waiting. I handed the stolen leggings to Tess first. She put them on, only for us to discover they were a little too short. What should have stretched to her ankles wrapped tightly around her calves. Timur leaned down and shifted his fingers into claws. Putting a little tear in the hems, he loosened the bottoms so they fit a little more comfortably.
Next, I handed her one of the shirts I’d blindly grabbed and cringed. The oversized t-shirt was a gray tie-dyed shirt with a pack of wolves on the front, howling at a full moon that landed right over her breast. She put it on without a fuss and waited as Olezka rounded the building with the freshly dried clothes.
Timur grabbed the shirt on top, which was a white workout shirt with the sleeves and armpits cut down to the bottom of the shirt. He pulled it on, but it barely covered anything. I gave him a cringey look that hopefully conveyed how sorry I felt, but he just waved me off. Timur was too good-natured to be upset about my terrible thieving skills.
Olezka pulled on the other shirt, which ended up being a deep, V-neck black shirt. He looked almost as silly as Timur with his deep V-neck and tanned leather shorts that Tess had conjured for them before we left the Veil.
“I will go into the nearest gas station and request to use their phone. Hopefully, there is a Sentinel chapter nearby that will be able to help us,” Olezka said.
The rest of us agreed to stay where we were until he returned. With nothing else to do, I looked over at Tess, who still stared at everything in wonder.
“How long has it been since you were in the human realm?” I asked.
Tess blinked over at me. “Never.”
I guessed that shouldn’t have surprised me as much as it did. The other fae I’d been around seemed to flit back and forth from the Veil and were well-versed in this world. All of the Volkov brothers had lived in the human realm for at least some time. Kallan worked alongside human officers as part of a hybrid human/para policing community. Erebus had businesses here. It was a shock to realize that some fae lived solely on their side of the Veil without dipping their toe in the human side.
How strange our world must seem to her!
“The magic here is very strange; it is part artificial and part natural,” she explained. “The magic in the Veil is much different. It teems with life. Here, it feels almost unnatural.”
Could this world be dangerous for her? I opened my mouth to ask, but just then, Olezka arrived with a stern look.
“There is a safehouse a couple towns away. They are sending someone to pick us up, but it will be a bit of a wait,” Olezka explained.
Our next step decided, we emerged from behind the building and waited on a street bench. I huddled close to Olezka, who continued to waft off heat in waves that kept me toasty and content. But the question still burned in my mind… Was Tess safe in our world?
Chapter 9
Olezka’s contact arrived a couple of hours later. In the meantime, I’d passed out on my mate’s shoulder and slept through their arrival as well as when Olezka picked me up and put me in the back of the car. I woke up to the gentle sway of the car, feeling blissfully warm. Timur rode in the front, and I was sandwiched between Olezka and Tess. Tess had her face practically plastered to the window, watching the darkened scenery fly by. I wondered if she could see as well as Olezka and Ana could, but it wasn’t the time to ask, especially not with a stranger in the car.
The driver was quiet and kept to himself. Since no one else was talking, I decided to snuggle against my mate’s side and sleep a little more. After sustaining my injury, my body demanded that what I needed more than anything was true rest. However, I was a far cry from that luxury. At this point, I’d settle for not waking up feeling more exhausted than when I originally went to sleep.
The car rolled to a stop what felt like minutes later, and I blinked heavily, trying to gather my bearings. Olezka quietly instructed Tess to open the door with the latch, which she did, letting in a blast of frigid air. I shivered, staring down at my flimsy dress and eagerly anticipating a warmer set of clothes. Surely, this safehouse would have different clothes we could change into. And, oh, a shower. A hot, steamy shower. I sighed dreamily.
“Are you awake, pchelka?”
“Unfortunately,” I groaned while stretching as much as I could in the compact car. He huffed a laugh before urging me out of the opened door.
I glanced around to see where we’d parked, but it looked like a standard subdivision. Houses stood only feet apart, carbon copies of each other with a variety of cars in their driveways. The roads and driveways were cleared of snow while a light dusting covered the yards. It was very human and should have been comforting after all of the strangeness that had become my life lately. Even so, this place gave me weird vibes. I shook off the feeling and followed Olezka into the house. The driver entered first, turning on the lights here and there.
“Apologies, this isn’t the most para-active area, and we haven’t had to use this place in a while, so I’ll swing by tomorrow with supplies. The bathrooms should be well-stocked. We’ll have a car lined up for you in a couple days if not sooner. And someone will be back to discuss what we spoke about earlier.” The agent gave him a pointed look before handing Olezka the keys and walking out of the house.
While Tess wandered through the house, touching the walls and pressing her ear against them, I looked over at Olezka and Timur. “What was he talking about?”
&
nbsp; Timur answered, “We must have people posted at the unsanctioned gate since we don’t know for sure if humans can see into it. Even if they cannot, they may be able to stumble through on accident. Also, we don’t need a parade of the Light King’s soldiers entering the human realm in search of us.”
“King Malcolm would not break our law,” Tess answered confidently.
“He may not, Tess, but he’s not the only one after us,” Timur replied. “We cannot take the chance that someone else will find it and use it.”
“I need to find a way to close it,” Tess said with a hint of worry in her voice. Her gaze flickered to the wall. “The magic in this world is very strange. The walls have the hint of whisperings from trees but also the harsh cries of that forged metal.”
“The house is speaking to you?” I asked, sending a wary glance around.
“No, not in the sense that we are speaking now. It is much different than that. But I worry with the mingling of magic here that it will be difficult to gather enough magic on this side to close the gate.”
“We should be stationed closer to it to keep an eye on it,” Timur suggested.
“What about getting back to the actual gate and returning to the Dark Court so we can find Key and stop him?” I piped up, worried that the others had forgotten he was up to no good and was using Ana to do it. It was half the reason King Malcolm wanted us in the first place. Well, the reason he wanted me, not the other three. Olezka was a bonus prize, and the other two were ambassadors of sorts.
“We will,” Tess began, “but Sixx, this is very dangerous. You must understand that.”
I understood priorities and all of that, but I was tired and worn out, and now we were states away from home and had no idea how much time had passed since we were last in the Veil. We didn’t have a lead on Ana. I was feeling a bit overwhelmed.
“I think it is time for my mate and me to rest for the night. We can discuss our next steps in the morning. We have a lot to talk about,” Olezka reasoned.
I almost wanted to tell him that we should discuss our plans now, but then I remembered that the agent who dropped us off said they wouldn’t be able to get us a car for a couple of days, anyway. We were going to be stuck there until at least then. My jaw cracked as I yawned, and the urge to sleep hit me like a freight train.
“Timur, why don’t you help Tess get a bit more adjusted to the human realm while we go scope out the bedrooms?” Olezka said.
The house was a two-story structure, and we were standing in the open concept living room and adjoining kitchen. It looked like there was a small office area attached to the kitchen near the back. The house was sparsely furnished and devoid of personality.
Timur nodded, and I thought about that flash of lust I saw in his gaze when he looked at Tess. Did Olezka see it, too? Was he trying to help a brother out? The thought made me want to laugh, but I knew myself well enough to know that when my thoughts started bouncing around rapidly, it was time to go to bed. Nothing good could come from my thinking this late at night.
Olezka placed his hand on the small of my back and led me upstairs. I let him, mostly because I was too tired to fight and eager for a human bed, but what really made me quicken my steps was the hope of clothes made of cotton. Don’t get me wrong – fae clothing was incredibly soft and breathable. Hell, most of the time, it felt like I was wearing nothing at all. Oddly enough, I didn’t much care for the feeling. There was a strange comfort in the feel of clothing against my skin, knowing I was protected and covered.
Once we reached the second-floor landing, I noticed a door straight ahead. I opened it to reveal a very human-looking bathroom. Sink, bath/shower combo with a generic shower curtain, and toilet at the far end of the room. I turned around, giving Olezka the gimme a second finger before closing the door in his face and using the toilet.
After washing my hands and emerging with a satisfied smile on my face, I stood still as he gazed down at me with a soft look and bent down to press a kiss to my lips. I leaned into him, savoring the feel of his body flush against mine. For the moment, we were safe, and all sorts of ideas rushed through my head.
“Nyet, calm down. You still need rest from your injury,” Olezka whispered as my hand crept south. He gently grabbed it and led me down the hall. The next door he opened was a bedroom, which he immediately claimed.
It was set up as a simple guest bedroom with a queen-sized bed, a single nightstand, and a closet. I walked over to the closet and opened it. Inside were different sizes of sweats along with a couple of pairs of jeans and plain shirts. I eagerly grabbed a shirt and sweatpants that I hoped would fit. I practically tore the dress from my body and slipped into the familiar clothing.
Olezka watched me with quiet humor until his gaze dropped. I looked to his sightlines and saw the jagged scar that now marred my body. It wasn’t like I could heal as quickly or as efficiently as he did, but I didn’t mind the scar. I did, however, mind the reminder of what it meant for us. I could see the guilt settle over him and felt the weight of the betrayal that I didn’t yet care to examine too closely.
“I’m fine,” I whispered, both to his worried look and his comment from earlier. It felt like forever since he’d touched me. I wasn’t too proud to admit that I was definitely feeling the strain of missing him.
His hands clenched into tight fists, and his jaw tightened. A knot twisted as I thought about those strong, callused hands on my body. I dropped the shirt clenched between my hands and kept my eyes locked on his as I stepped forward.
“I’ve really missed you.”
“I’ve been right here, Sixx.”
I stepped up to him and put my hands under his borrowed shirt. His body was hot under my touch, and it made my insides melt with a tingling sensation. All I could recall at the moment was the feel of his sturdy weight against my body.
Peeking up at him, I tugged his shirt upward. He helped me lift his shirt up over his head and toss it away. I leaned up and tipped my chin back, waiting for him to answer my silent request for a kiss. He didn’t disappoint. Locking his hand in my hair, he tugged me closer and devoured my mouth. I shivered with delight as his free hand roamed across my body, cupping a breast before gently massaging and manipulating me in a way that only he had managed to master.
Groaning, I arched into his hold, needing more, wanting to feel him again. He reacted by growling, which made his chest vibrate against mine. He backed us up until the back of my knees hit the bed. I sat down and tugged him along with me as we scooted further up on the bed.
He brushed his fingers down the side of my body, and I sighed heavily at his touch spreading through me like wildfire. His bare chest lay flush against mine, and my nerves flared like livewires. Olezka’s beard brushed against the sensitive skin on my neck as he moved his mouth from my lips, nipping along my jaw then the curve of my neck.
I scratched at his back, unable to resist the wild need building inside of me. I wrapped my legs around his waist, opening my hips to cradle him closer and get a bit more friction. He groaned and gripped my hips, pulling back from where he was, torturing me with light nips on my neck.
“Da?”
“Fuck, yes.”
His lips quirked into a saucy little smile that lit up his entire face. I loved that look on him. My tensed body softened, wanting only him. I soaked in that look.
“You owe another dollar.”
“I’m okay with that,” I whispered. “Now, if you don’t mind, we were in the middle of something, my priyatel.”
Lust darkened his fire-glowed eyes as he locked his eyes on my lips.
“I believe we were, my priyatel.”
Chapter 10
What a blissful night. Apparently, sleep wasn’t the only thing I needed. I snorted at that thought, my cheeks flushing. Olezka and I made it downstairs in the latter part of the next morning after taking a long shower together.
Tess and Timur sat at the kitchen island. The room was modern and glaringly white, boasting cris
p white cabinets, state-of-the-art appliances, and a sleek white countertop made of some type of stone that I couldn’t name even with my vast knowledge of HGTV shows. An agent stood on the other side of the island with his hands splayed against the edge of the countertop, looming over the island with an annoyed look on his face.
Dirty blonde hair was swept away from a regal face that looked like he could model if it weren’t for the uncanny look in his eyes, which were silver ringed in black. I had only met a Blood witch once in my life. For the most part, I tried to stay away from them. But right off the bat, I could tell this guy was full of magic.
The rune tattoo on his neck gave him away, too.
“Asher, interesting to see you here,” Olezka bit out, wrapping his arm around my waist. While my mate was usually possessive and protective, I’d never seen him react quite this way to another male before I’d even met them. He tugged me close; a small growl rumbled from his chest.
“Yes, well, after I heard about four paras asking for help, followed by something about a tear in the Veil, I figured it would be best if I offered my assistance. And as you know, I was transferred out of this area a couple years back.”
“I recall,” Olezka growled.
What was happening? Timur shifted in his seat, drawing my attention. Even he looked fascinated by the change in his brother’s demeanor.
The warlock said, “Timur introduced me to this captivating creature, but I’m afraid he neglected to tell me about the human.”
“She is mine,” Olezka rumbled. His body temperature skyrocketed, his eyes reflecting the fire he usually held on a tight leash.
“Interesting. How is Sasha doing?” Asher said, his brow dropping as his hands tightened on the countertop. Olezka growled, lunging forward and baring his teeth.
“I was telling this warlock that the magic he possesses is so far from the vein of my own magic that I would be most intrigued to look into some of his, what did you call them?” Tess asked, standing and diverting the warlock’s attention to her.
Sixx Saves the World: The Sidekick Chronicles Page 6
