Chapter Six #3
“You actually ate something that came from here?” I scrutinized the dirty counters, unwashed cups, and stacks of plates caked with what I assumed was food but couldn’t be sure, as the color and texture were questionable.
“Are you feeling all right? Upset tummy or have a headache? Should I call poison control?”
“Poison?” Reign cocked his head. “Why would that be in the kitchen?”
“This isn’t a kitchen. This is where hope comes to die. Where’s the mop?” I shuffled forward, still in a state of disbelief. “And soap. Lots and lots of soap. The strongest you have. I’m talking professional-grade disinfectant. A flamethrower, too, if you have it.”
Big arms circled my waist from behind, bringing a warm scent I knew all too well. Like leather and manly muskiness rolled together. “Now, sweetheart, that’s not very polite.”
“It’d be impolite for me not to help. Poor, unfortunate souls. No wonder they’re always so hungry when they come to the cottage.”
Reign’s mask ruffled as he laughed.
“They’re here!” an unfamiliar voice called from the right.
“Wait for me,” another said, with a similar tone as the first but less enthusiastic.
Footsteps came from the stone stairs along the wall before two men appeared in front of us. Boys, really. They looked no older than eighteen or nineteen. Both had athletic builds, brown hair, hazel eyes, and sandy skin tones, like warm ochre.
“Twins?” I asked, noting their identical features.
“I’m the eldest.” The more serious of the two gave a curt nod of his head. “Name’s Lochlan.”
“And I’m Lyric,” the other added, flashing a set of pearly white teeth. “We’ve met you once before but were wearing masks at the time.”
“Oh!” I said, recalling the night I’d looked out the window and seen masked men in the backyard. They’d come to take Rowan to their captain. Two of them had stood behind Draven, neither saying a word. “The night Ro joined the Secret Order.”
“Right.” Lyric bounded forward, stopping inches from me. “You invited us to dinner, but Draven said no. He’s so mean. That food smelled incredible too.”
“We had orders,” a heavily accented voice said from the staircase. Draven made his way toward us, his gait steady and relaxed. “Filling our bellies was not one of them.”
I barely registered his words. I was too focused on his face.
“You’re not wearing your mask,” I squeaked.
His baby blue eyes narrowed. “Why would I? This is our home. Concealing my identity is unnecessary.”
The tiny glimpse of his mouth when he’d eaten a cookie in front of me gave me the impression he was hot beneath that mask, but it paled in comparison to seeing him in all his bare-faced glory.
Yes, as previously noted, his jawline could cut glass.
But he also had a head of pale blond hair, cupid bow lips, a perfectly sloped nose, and long lashes most people would kill for.
Draven was a total hottie.
“Need help wiping the drool off your face, little treasure?” Rowan asked, barely concealing a laugh.
“I’m not drooling.” I wiped at my mouth just to be sure. “He just surprised me, is all.”
Maddox’s arms tightened around me, and a deep growl rumbled in his chest. “I suppose I can gut him as well.”
Smiling, I turned to face my silly, grumpy man. “No gutting necessary. He’s like key lime pie.”
“Key lime pie?”
“Yep.” I pecked a kiss on Maddox’s chin, mulling over how to explain my least favorite dessert, one I’d never acquired a taste for. “It looks delicious, but I don’t want to put it in my mouth.”
Rowan choked on a laugh.
Draven shifted a blank stare between us before losing interest and dropping down into one of the armchairs.
Reign took the chair beside him and lowered his hood, revealing medium-length raven-black hair. And when he slid down his mask? My eyes nearly bugged out of my head. Smooth, tanned skin and a beauty mark beneath his left eye. Another hovered near his top lip.
Good lord. Was there some requirement to be a spy I didn’t know about? Must be stealthy, adept in wielding daggers, and drop-dead gorgeous. Bonus points for magic skills.
“You’re drooling again,” Rowan whispered. I playfully shoved him away, and he laughed.
Callum inched toward the counter, eyeing a half-eaten loaf of—probably—stale bread.
“Don’t you dare,” I said. “I love you and your taste buds too much.”
He grinned. “What will you do if I eat it?”
“Have a heart attack, probably.”
Maddox breathed out a laugh and hugged me tighter. “That’s a thing I’ll never allow. Any harm coming to your heart.”
My insides wobbled. “Promise?”
“I swear.” Maddox placed the softest of kisses to my neck.
“Such a beautiful shade of silver.” Lyric admired Lake’s hair. “And those purple eyes. You’re quite handsome.”
Lake slowly stepped away from him and came over to me, pressing into my side and pushing his face against my shoulder. My heart almost exploded.
“Ah, he’s so bashful,” Lyric said.
Lake nuzzled more into me.
“Forgive my brother.” Lochlan bowed to us. “He has no manners or sense of personal space.”
“You have no manners or personal space,” his twin mumbled back at him.
Suddenly, the twins snapped their heads toward the door at the far end of the kitchen. A man dressed in black stepped through a second later. He had daggers strapped to his chest and two longer ones attached to wrist cuffs, Assassin’s Creed style. Gold eyes popped against his ebony skin.
“Captain.” Lochlan bowed his head. Lyric did the same.
Draven and Reign stood from their chairs and mirrored the gesture.
“At ease,” Captain Remy told them before focusing on me. “You must be Evan Clark. Welcome.”
“Thanks for letting us stay here tonight,” I said.
He nodded in response. I got the feeling he was a man of very few words.
“Shadow is our brother.” Draven nodded to my favorite redhead. “A threat to him or his family is a threat to us all. We protect our own.”
“Shadow?” Callum smirked. “Snake is more fitting.”
Rowan bumped his side. “Shut it, rabbit.”
Captain Remy headed toward the front door without another word and slipped outside. The twins followed after him. Lyric smiled at me, then at Lake, before lifting his mask over his face and closing the door.
“I’ll show you upstairs.” Rowan snatched hold of my wrist and tugged me along with him. “I don’t use my bed much, but it’s comfy enough. We can find more pillows if not. The view’s the best part though.”
As he led me toward the stone steps, I detected a rare giddiness. He was excited to show me around his second home. Excited to let me into this part of his world that’d been kept secret until now.
Stomach fluttering, I went with him up the winding staircase. Maddox walked a short pace behind me, followed by Callum, Lake, and Briar. The steps seemed to go on forever. We passed a few doors on the way up, one that led to a bathroom and others that belonged to the other spies.
“Of course your room would be at the very top,” I said, out of breath and fighting for my life.
Rowan tossed me a toothy grin over his shoulder. “Thighs burning yet?”
“They’ve been burning since step ten. We’re now on step one billion. I may die.” Unfortunately, my thighs weren’t the worst of it. A wheeze sounded in my throat, followed by a wet crackling in my chest.
“Evan?” Rowan’s humor vanished, and he flipped around.
“I’m—” Wheeze. “Okay.”
“Come here,” Maddox said before sweeping me up into his arms. He cradled me to his chest and kissed my hair. “I’ve got you.”
The curse of low stamina and weak lungs strikes again. Each day was better, but it’d be a while longer before I felt back to normal.
“Thanks.” I rested my head on his shoulder and worked on catching my breath. “I’m still not a damsel though.”
“Oh, absolutely,” he murmured against my ear. “You’re a mighty muffin lord.”
“Yep. Don’t ever forget it.”
He chuckled, low and gravelly.
Finally, after a thousand years, we reached the top of the stairs.
Rowan pushed open the door and led us inside, still with an excited air about him.
Moonlight came through the single window, illuminating enough of the dark room for me to make out the shapes of a wardrobe, a small table, and two beds.
“I share it with Draven.” Rowan glided his hand over a candle, lighting the wick with his magic. Another of his abilities. “Though I rarely sleep here. Mainly use it for naps between missions. I prefer being at home.”
Home. I loved hearing the word leave his lips so easily.
Lake padded over to the window and peered out, ears perking up. “I’ve never been so high up before.”
“Incredible, eh?” Rowan joined him at the window. It had a sill thick enough to sit on. Not that anyone in their right mind would ever— “I like to sit here like this.”
He sat on the ledge and dangled his legs over the side.
My stomach flip-flopped. No way in hell was I going near that window. From my spot in the room, I couldn’t even see trees, only sky. Meaning, we were higher than even the tallest trees in the surrounding forest.
No, thank you.
“Time for sleep.” Maddox placed me on the bed and brought my legs up, unfastening my boot laces.
“I’m not tired.”
“You need your rest, love.” Briar inspected the desk against the wall before dusting off the chair and taking a seat. “Morning comes early, followed by quite the long and eventful day.”
“Oh, right.” I blinked. “The ball’s tomorrow. I almost forgot.”
Fortunately, Prince Sawyer had arranged for me and Miles to be picked up and brought to the castle at first light, so I didn’t need to change our plans at all. It did little to ease my anxiety though.
“Do you think the mercenary will come here?” I wiggled on the mattress, too antsy to sit still. “Will the warding really stop him?”
“Breathe, Ev.” Callum sat on my other side and ruffled the top of my hair. The warmth of his palm calmed some of the anxious twists in my belly. “You think any of us will let anything happen to you?”
“I’m not worried about myself.” I dropped my gaze to the blanket. My sternum tightened when realizing it was one Lake had knitted. Rowan had brought it to the Tower. To have a piece of home with him when he was away? “If anything ever happened to any of you because of me, I’d…”
My vision blurred with tears.
“Enough of that.” Maddox cradled the back of my head and brought me closer, pressing his lips into my hair. “We’re all beside you tonight. That’s the only place your mind should be. Here with us. Nowhere else.”
He removed my boots while Callum grabbed my overnight satchel and handed me warm socks and my sleep shirt.
“I’m not a kid,” I told them.
“Hush and let us take care of you.” Maddox removed my tunic and helped me into the softer sleep shirt.
Once ready for bed, I lay down and covered up. But I was far from relaxed. My anxiety was sky-high. A looming war. A powerful mercenary. And a dangerous secret I carried that not only made me a target but could hurt my men as well, should anyone learn the truth.
Lake stepped away from the window and rifled around in my bag before withdrawing something. “Here.” He placed Mister Hop in my arms. The stuffed animal used to belong to him, but it had since become a comfort item for me. “He’ll chase away any bad dreams.”
“Where will all of you sleep?” I cuddled the rabbit, eyes suddenly heavy and anxiety gradually loosening its hold. “This bed’s not big enough for all of us.”
“Since you’re holding a rabbit, it’s only fitting the other one sleep with you too,” Rowan said, shifting sideways on the window ledge.
He leaned against the frame, allowing him to see us and the view he loved at the same time.
“Captain Glutton may be too big to squeeze in, but the pup probably can since he likes to sleep on your lap.”
“The captain and physician can have my bed,” a voice said from the open doorway. Draven entered the room. “I’ll keep watch through the night with Shadow.”
Rowan nodded to him. He didn’t smile, but I caught a soft gleam in his topaz eyes.
“Good night, sweetheart.” Maddox kissed me and smoothed my bangs aside. “We’ll be here when you wake.”
Briar kissed me next and added a second to my temple before joining Maddox in the other bed.
Callum crawled in behind me and slipped an arm beneath my head, pulling me to his chest. Being spooned by him put me even more at ease.
The bed was just a tad bigger than a full-sized one, but we managed to fit fairly well.
The instant I closed my eyes, those worrisome thoughts struck again, made worse by images of battle and the one thing I could never survive: losing any of my men.
Lake nuzzled my belly and peered up at me, the purple in his eyes faintly glowing in the dimly lit room. “Are you all right?”
“Yeah,” I said, throat tight. “Just finding it hard to shut off my brain.”
“I can help with that.”
He then started to sing.
It was a lullaby he’d sung to me many times, yet it always helped soothe my restless mind. The bad thoughts fluttered away, leaving behind nothing but a full heart that led me into a dreamless sleep.