Chapter 14
FOURTEEN
Report unusual happenings to enclave personnel.
CIPRIAN
“You aren’t surprised . . .”
“Are you?”
“No, but I am pissed.”
“Can you use the bond to locate her?”
“I don’t think so.”
I snap my fingers at Luca and Alistair to get them to focus. “That’s a waste of time, anyway. We already know where she is, or at least where she’s going.”
They face me, and I wince.
Luca’s hair is wild, the milk chocolate brown strands sticking out in all directions. Alistair is barely moving, but his eyes are blood red, and they have been since we woke up and realized Celine wasn’t in the bathroom.
“Elaborate,” he hisses, fangs peeking past his lips.
“She obviously went to check out that gateway Joshua mentioned at brunch.”
Alistair considers that and curses. “I know she’s worried about Malach, but going by herself is dangerous.”
“She’ll see it as minimizing the risk,” Luca groans.
Alistair snarls. “She must know we’d do anything for her. We’re stronger together.”
“She knows,” I whisper. “But it’s not about us. Not really. Celine knows what it’s like to lose someone. What happened with Malach has cracked her grief wide open. She can’t risk adding to it.”
“But why did she take the veydra?” Alistair snaps.
“We don’t know that she did.” Luca drops down on the bed and fists the covers. There’s a yellow glint in his hazel eyes that I haven’t seen this close to the surface since the monster realm. “They just disappeared at the same time.”
I roll my eyes. “No one saw either of them leave,” I point out. “That’s not a fluke. They’re together, we all know that, and gods, that actually makes me feel better.”
Luca shreds a pillow with his bare hands, bits of fabric and fluff raining down on his lap.
“Chill out,” I snap. “They’re two of the deadliest supernaturals alive. He’ll watch her back, and you fucking know it.”
“It’s not her back I’m worried about him watching,” Alistair says.
I grab the trash can and rake pillow fragments off the bed. “I’m confused. Didn’t you both encourage her to hop on his dick like two days ago?”
Luca groans. “That was different—”
“She’s not choosing him over us,” I insist, inhaling their collective fear and shaking my head. “You’re scared. You aren’t thinking straight.”
Someone knocks.
I hurl the trash can at the door. “Fuck off!”
“Fuck you,” Callum shouts back. “You’ll want to hear this, asshole.”
I stride to the door and yank it open. “What?”
“There’s a new report. A shifter cop from a town in the middle of nowhere believes he just encountered two unknown supernaturals. He wanted to bring it to our attention.”
I drum my fingers on the doorframe. “Description?”
“Blond male, about six feet tall, black eyes, described as ‘the douchebag type.’”
“Motherfucker!” I smirk at Luca and Alistair. “He’s wearing my face.”
Callum’s lips twitch. “The second person was a woman.”
I raise my eyebrows. “And? Get on with it, bro, we’re freaking out.”
He scrubs a hand over the back of his neck.
“Please remember these aren’t my words. I’m the messenger.
” Callum fishes a scrap of paper out of his pocket.
“Female, red hair, big”—he coughs—“tits. And this part is a direct quote: ‘Man, oh my fucking gods, man. She was the sexiest woman I’ve ever seen.’”
“Where?” Alistair demands.
Callum looks at him, and his forehead creases. “You know you can’t kill the cop, right?”
“We know,” I say. “Alistair is being dramatic.”
“Sure.” Callum doesn’t sound convinced. “Idris hasn’t been to this town before, but he can portal you pretty close to the gateway if you want.”
I force a half smile. “We’ll let you know what we decide. Celine doesn’t want us involved in this, but we need to decide whether we’re going to respect that or not.”
Something crashes behind me, and I wince.
Callum squeezes my shoulder. “I know it’s not my business, but if she’s trying to protect you all, maybe you should let her.”
He leaves, and I close the door behind him, steeling myself before facing the others. Luca’s head is bowed; Alistair’s face is twisted; and the love seat is as fucked as the shredded throw pillow.
I sigh. “The way I see it, we have three options: wait here with our thumbs up our asses, wait at the gateway and sulk, or help her.”
“Celine doesn’t want our help,” Ali hisses. “She made that clear.”
I shake my head. “She doesn’t want us going to the celestial realm with her; that doesn’t mean she doesn’t want our help.”
“What can we do?” Luca massages his chest with the heel of his hand. Their bond must be strained by the distance. They may not be fated, but they chose each other, anyway. The magic will punish them both until they’re reunited.
“She wants to find a way to get to Malach. It’s what she’s wanted since we landed in the Fringes and she started screaming bloody murder.”
“She was hysterical,” Alistair mutters. “We all were.”
I scoff. “She told us what she needed, and we didn’t like it, so we hoped she would forget about it. But Celine doesn’t forget, and she doesn’t change her mind. We fucked up by not talking about it, and it’s time we fixed it.”
Luca gnaws on his lip ring. “How?”
“She needs a working gateway, right? We’re going to find her one. If the rumor Joshua told her about doesn’t pan out, we need to be ready with more.”
They stare at me in silence for a long time.
My shoulders droop. I did my best, but it wasn’t enough. I don’t know why I thought they would listen to me. It was stupid to think—
“You’re right,” Alistair says. “I need a phone and a computer.”
I nod. “I’ll take you to the surveillance room to meet the nerds, then I’ll go talk to Joshua and Idris. I bet they’ve got a list of rumored gateways. Not all intel is actionable, but this is important enough to warrant a file.”
Luca grabs my face with both hands and kisses me hard. “This is good,” he whispers. “Except I’m useless. I don’t run an information network, and I’m not part of the enclave. I’m a fucking bartender.”
I kiss him again, nipping at his bottom lip. “Bullshit,” I argue. “You have the strippers, and you have the bond. Call Imani, ask around, and keep track of Celine’s emotions. If she’s in trouble, we’ll step in; otherwise, we keep digging.”
Luca nods, and I force a smile. This plan is risky, but I won’t let Celine down again. She needs a gateway. We’ll find her one. No stone unturned.