Chapter Twenty-Eight – You could have just asked!
~Likosa~
I don’t know what I expected from Shontae.
She’d already made it clear she wanted to help me get home, but when she didn’t ask me to stay, my heart ached.
There she was, eyes wide with excitement to see me, but when I said I wanted to go home, she relented.
A veil covered her expression, and I could no longer tell how she felt.
Another version of myself would have said something, but after everything she’d been through, maybe she’d changed her mind. I found myself not wanting to hear that from her. I couldn’t bear the rejection.
This was not like me.
I stepped away from Shontae’s doorstep and walked into a room where three women sat, waiting for me. I heard their laughter before the room fully materialized, and their joy pushed away my own disappointment.
Sitting together on a sofa that had once gone untouched in front of a massive window looking out at the ocean were three women. It amazed me to see how much they favored one another, and if I hadn’t known better, I would have assumed they had always been together like this.
“Finally!” Rayna said as I appeared. She had been holding her hair above her head when I appeared. It fell down her face in a cascade that reminded me of a waterfall. “You pop up and tell us you need our help then vanish for weeks. What’s up with that, Likosa?”
“Hello to you too, Rayna.” I winked at her. She was as beautiful as ever, and until I met Shontae, I’d been plotting a way to steal her from Metice. Would he try to kill me for it? Possibly.
Rayna tilted her head to the side, “Um, what happened to your tattoos?”
“You noticed!” I winked at her. “Honestly, I grew tired of the look, but I may bring them back someday.”
“Likosa, what’s all this about?” Whitney stood from the couch. Maverick, her moody cat who sat in her lap, looked completely annoyed with her for disrupting his peace.
“As you’ve clearly pieced together already, I had a plan to awaken each of your potential,” I explained.
“That was not for altruistic reasons. I have a goal, one that requires a blend of abilities. The Bane is not my true home, and for longer than I can tell you, I’ve been trying to get back. With your help, I can do that now.”
“That’s what this is all about?” Jericha asked. “I had to go save a friend from hell because you wanted to go home? Why didn’t you just ask?”
“You had to save a friend from hell because you have control issues—which I hope you’re still working on.” I pointed at her.
“She got you there.” Whitney laughed at her sister.
Seeing them together reminded me of my sister, and my heart tightened. I would see her again soon.
“Look, no matter the method or the chaos that ensued after, I’m glad you did what you did. And I’m down for helping you out,” Rayna said. “Just don’t ever leave us hanging from a cliff like that again. For weeks, we’ve been wondering what you wanted.”
“Same.” Whitney nodded. “I’m down to help, but the suspense was killing me!”
“I still think you could have just asked,” Jericha fussed, and Whitney poked her in the side.
“She’ll get over it—she hasn’t had as much time as we have to come to terms with things,” Whitney said. “So, what’s the plan?”
“We’ll need to go somewhere, and I’ll tell you everything you need to know. There’s one more person I want you to meet first.”