Chapter 29
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
MIKO
Arooster’s morning call woke me up.
Fuck me, was it loud.
Ori stirred in my arms, yawing himself awake. “Is that what I think it is?”
“Yeah.” I kissed the back of my little spoon’s head, burying my face into scarlet tresses and filling my nose with those sweet, sweet cherries.
He giggled. “What are you doing back there?”
“Enjoying my man.”
“Your man?”
“Obviously. Those declarations of love sealed the deal.”
And they also stung like hell.
Shit. I’d only gone and made things ten times more complicated. But what choice did I have? Orion had successfully burrowed into my heart, my soul, my everything. He was special, more than a curiosity, and was always on my mind.
Wasn’t that how love worked? Bordering on obsession, everything aching when they weren’t by your side?
Think how shit it’ll be for him when you die…
Only, what if I didn’t have to die?
I’d jumped straight into being a sacrifice for the greater good because of the oracle’s words. But there might actually be some serious hope on the horizon, a twist in the tale.
Maybe.
Always fucking maybe.
I wrapped myself around Ori, crushing his spine to my chest. “Can we stay in this bed forever?”
“Forever?” He wiggled against me. “What about food and toilet breaks?”
“Damn necessities.”
“I know. It’s so warm in here.”
“Warmest I’ve been in a while.”
He found my left hand, bringing it to his lips. He kissed the back of it three times. “Let’s sleep in a while.”
Tendrils of Dawn crept through the edges of the glass, spilling onto the white bedspread.
Ori sat up, the cozy spell broken. “Stars…”
I sat up with him, rubbing his arms. “It’s alright.”
“I know.” He ran a hand over his face. “I know it is.” A heavy sigh. “It’s never not creepy, is it?” He scowled at the pink smoke.
“No.”
Dawn filled the room, searching for humans.
“What I don’t understand,” Ori said, “is why it comes every single morning. Hasn’t it destroyed humanity by now? What more does it want?”
“To keep the biters going.”
“Oh. Yes. Sorry, I’d forgotten that part.” He leaned back into me. “I’m so tired.”
“Then sleep some more.”
“I can’t with that in the room.”
Fucking Dawn. “Want to go downstairs?”
He shook his head, yawning. “Maybe I should try sleeping some more. Just for a little while.”
“Lay down. Face me. I’ll keep you safe.”
He did, curling up against me, his head in the crook of my neck. “This is nice.”
I held him, cradling him from the slithering smoke. “You sleep, Ori. You sleep.”
My mate managed another hour before finally rising properly. Not me. I’d slept enough, my brain too wired to rest anymore. A big day awaited.
Breakfast consisted of eggs done several ways, and hot drinks. Everyone in the house squeezed around a rectangular dining table for the morning feast. Apart from Trev, who took a beanbag close to Paige.
I enjoyed my eggs poached, my coffee black. I never thought I’d experience a poached egg again, but Andrew made them perfectly on a camping stove.
“Think I might cry,” James declared after finishing his fried, sunny-side-up eggs. “Or write a song about how fresh these eggs are.”
Cate rolled her eyes, poking a fork into her scrambled eggs. She glanced at me, her pregnancy still a secret as far as I knew.
God. A baby on the way. The pair of them had to stop and settle somewhere like this, build a new life with their kid. No more fighting, no more following me.
A big meeting was coming. Only, where did I begin? If I couldn’t walk away before, last night really filled my boots with stones.
I don’t want to die…
Too fucking bad.
“You’re too kind,” Malorie said, the shifter in charge of frying, her husband the poacher and the scrambler.
The house smelled of aniseed, the concoction for the mind walk about twenty minutes away from completion, brewing in the kitchen on a separate camping stove.
Arlo, sat next to Basil, laughed, making the fae jump. “Did you ever think eggs would be like that food Greek gods loved?”
“Ambrosia?” Andrew asked.
“That’s it. Ambrosia.”
“Well, they are,” Paige said, finishing her plate of scrambled.
The egg talk rolled on until I put a stop to it. Yes, they were good, but I’d reached my limit.
“How many biters come at your fences?” I asked.
James groaned.
“Problem?”
“Sorry, sir. But biter talk with our eggs? Why?”
The word egg was being considered for my shit list. “Drink your tea and zip it.”
“Here, here,” Cate agreed, toasting me with her cup.
Arlo snorted with laughter, irritating Basil. Especially when he leaned to the side, bumping the fae as he tried to sip his drink.
“Sorry, Basil. I’m all limbs.”
The fae grunted, sticking his nose in the air.
What a charmer.
After breakfast, Andrew gave us a daylight tour of the farm, showing us the sturdiness of the fences.
Attacks were infrequent and dealt with quickly. The family patrolled every day, checking for faults, following a rota for every duty across the farm.
I liked the order, the routine. If it weren’t for Dunstable, I’d be gunning to stay here.
Maybe you can…
Back in the house, my pack took some time out in the living room while Malorie finished the concoction.
Ori sat beside me, his leg thrown over mine, playing with Wendy. Another curiosity we hadn’t mentioned to the family. Something might come up about her in the mind walk.
I watched Ori play a game then feed her, love hearts popping above her blobby head.
“Can I hear her beep?” I asked.
“Sure.” He switched her sound on. “Want to play?”
“Thanks.” I took her, five beeps ringing from her orange body. I smiled, knowing every button to push to get her love hearts popping some more.
Bit like your owner…
Ori rested his head on my shoulder—a move I loved. It belonged there, as if my shoulder had been carved to fit his pretty head.
In love with him. Yeah. Big time. I still couldn’t believe I’d said it, made it real. Might have been the worst thing to do, but it felt so right.
His light laughter warmed my chest. “She liked that.”
Beep. Beep. Beep.
From the river to the shore. What the hell was this thing?
Malorie entered the room. “What is that?”
Ori lifted his head. “My digital pet. Wendy.”
“Cute.” She came over to have a look. I expected her to pick up some weird energy from Wendy with her watery power. Instead, she announced the concoction was ready.
My stomach rolled.
Here we go…