Chapter Twelve
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ZOE HAD A FLASH OF a vision just before she woke up and grinned.
“It’s about damn time,” she murmured. Arakiel was attuned to her and woke as well.
She hurried to his nursery across the hall to feed him before he could start crying.
Her sisters all got up at around the same time.
Even Qiana had changed her routine. There was no need for her to work late at night now that she no longer hunted for patients in the danger zone of Manhattan.
“What are you grinning about, mama bear?” Grace asked when the mystic joined them in the kitchen.
“You’ll find out soon enough,” Zoe said mysteriously. The males converged on the dining room to eat their second breakfast when it was ready.
Amaros sensed Queegly heading towards them before the others, since his senses had been boosted so much. “We need to set another plate,” he said.
“Queeg’s coming?” Bria asked in surprise.
The Mad Prophet usually visited them for dinner.
It wasn’t normal for him to turn up for breakfast. Amaros nodded and the emotion manipulator opened her mental door a crack as she got up to grab another plate.
Zo was hiding glee about something. Her mate knew what she was so happy about and was also feeling glad.
Letting himself in through the back door, the Mad Prophet ambled to the dining room. “Mornin’ folks,” he said in greeting.
“Hey, Queeg,” Tori said, pointing a finger at him and shooting a tiny lightning bolt in his direction. He pulled an imaginary gun from his hip and pretended to shoot it out of the air. They all grinned when the bolt fizzled and died.
“Take a seat,” Amaros invited him.
Bria held the plate out while Vic piled food onto it from the platters in the middle of the table.
The Texan sat down with a nod of thanks.
He met Zoe’s eyes and they shared a conspiratorial smile.
“I was thinking it’s high time I paid a visit to your second base in Brooklyn,” Queegly said casually.
“Can we go there after breakfast?” Grace asked, instantly onboard. “I bet GG and Dalt will be surprised to see us!”
“Sure,” Zo said, struggling to hide her glee. “We can postpone training for a while.”
Angel scrambled into the room, screaming at the top of her lungs. “Guess who just woke up?” Sin said wryly as the kitten launched herself at Eze.
Her mate caught the feline and held her in the air so she couldn’t try to climb onto the table.
He fed the ravenous animal some bacon. “Who did the little monster sleep with last night?” Ezequiel asked.
Angel liked to roam around at night. She chose a different room to slumber in whenever she felt like a change.
“My mate and I were blessed with Angel’s presence,” Braqel said with an eyeroll.
“She scratched me when I accidentally rolled over and squished her a bit,” Reegan said sheepishly. “I’m not used to having a pet in my bed.”
“It’s awesome that Angel loves all of us,” Vic said. “I thought cats were snobs that only chose one person and ignored everyone else.”
“She loves me best,” Sinai said. “But she’s really sociable.”
“We should take her with us so GG and Dalt can see her,” Oak suggested.
“Someone might run over her if she gets onto the rink,” Arkas said in concern.
“Good point,” his mate conceded in disappointment.
They all decided it was too risky to take the kitten with them after cleaning the breakfast dishes.
As usual, Vic and Cam stayed behind, so at least the feline had company.
The knights pooled their power and Amaros teleported them all to Brooklyn.
They appeared in the center of the rink an instant later.
Grace saw GG and Dalton locked in a kiss at the base of the stairs and squealed in delight. “Are you two finally a couple again?” she asked.
GG broke off the kiss and turned to face them with a grin. “Yep,” she said proudly. “We decided to resume our relationship last night.”
“Who’s this?” Dalton asked, eyeing the stranger, but already suspecting who he was.
“I’m Queegly Crantz, the Mad Prophet,” Queeg said, striding over to offer the cattle rancher his hand. The pair shook, sizing each other up. The seer caught flashes of Dalt’s life and concluded that he was a good guy. “Ma’am,” he said to GG.
“It’s nice to finally meet you, Mr. Crantz,” GG said without offering to shake hands. She didn’t want him to see any of her past. Her allies already knew about the bad deeds she’d done anyway.
“Get over here and tell us what happened last night, GG!” Wynter demanded with a huge grin. She was delighted her bestie was back with her ex.
The males followed Dalton over to the recreation area, shaking his hand in congratulations while GG headed over to the food area with the girls.
Zoe had dressed Arakiel in blue again as she always did.
GG reached out and the seer handed her son over as the ex-wrestler quietly told them about reconnecting with her cowboy.
Grace’s nose wrinkled when their ally got too graphic for her. She’d already pulled her skates on and stood up. “I’m too young to hear all the gory details,” she said. “I’m going to take little Arak for a spin on the rink.”
GG handed the baby over, then leaned in to whisper more of the details to her spellbound friends. Humming to drown out the sound of Glory Gold’s far too detailed recount of her night, Grace cradled her best friend’s son as she skated around the rink.
Dalt got up to put the music on for the teen, but he turned the volume down so it wasn’t blaring. He resumed his seat and filled his friends in on rekindling the flames of his long-dead romance, but with less graphic description.
Grace ignored the conversations as she danced to the music on her skates.
Arakiel waved his arms and smiled as she zoomed around the rink.
She wasn’t sure how, but she always seemed to know what the tiny half cambion, half knight wanted.
His arms waved with increased vigor as she picked up her speed.
Coming to a stop, she held the baby above her head and spun in a rapid circle just like Vic usually did with her.
“You’re cleaning it up if he pukes, short stuff!” Zoe called out.
Grace came to a stop, feeling dizzy, but full of joy.
Arak’s smile lit up his tiny face. “You’re not going to puke, are you?
” the teen cooed, then groaned in dismay when the infant promptly upchucked all over her.
“It was worth it,” she declared defiantly when the females burst into hysterical laughter.
She loved making her unofficial nephew smile and she didn’t care if she looked like a fool in the process.