Chapter 9
I ’d barely made it onto the trail when I spotted Curi walking toward me, hands in the pockets of his pants.
He looked up, frown melting when he saw me. “Can’t stay away from me?”
The shadows in his eyes belied his light tone.
I matched his tone. “You know me too well.” I held out the cup as he drew closer. “And I came bearing gifts.”
He sniffed the air. “Caramel latte?”
“Your favorite,” I sing-songed.
He took it with a wistful smile. “Dammit, Cameron, you make it so hard not to fall in love with you.” He laughed softly and took a sip of his drink to defuse the moment.
But although his words were uttered in the same light tone of earlier, they sliced into me, leaving me aching with regret and sadness because it would be so easy to be with Curi.
He was like the ray of sunshine that weathered any storm, finding the cracks in the shroud of gloom that surrounded me to touch me with his warmth, asking for nothing in return.
No demands. No expectations. Being with Curi was comforting and freeing.
“I’m sorry I left. I needed some air,” he said.
I fell into step beside him. “You don’t need to apologize for taking a time-out, Curi. I just…I was worried about you.”
He bumped me with his arm. “Thanks.” He held out the cup. “You wanna sip?”
I took a swig. “Damn, that is good.”
“Why didn’t you get yourself one too?”
“Why? You don’t wanna share?”
He chuckled. “I’ll always share with you, Cam.”
I bumped my arm against his. “Good, so…you wanna share what upset you earlier?”
“I walked right into that one, didn’t I?”
I stifled the pang of guilt and forged on. “You don’t have to tell me, just know that you can. I’m here for you.”
We trudged in silence for a couple of minutes handing the cup back and forth before he spoke.
“It was a memory I’d forgotten…or tried to.
It was so vivid. I think I must have been eleven or twelve.
Living in the omega nest with my mother.
We were in the kitchens baking. Ginger snaps, our favorite…
at least they used to be. I was rolling out the dough, ready to cut the cookies, when my sire abruptly arrived.
We weren’t expecting him. If we’d known, Mother would never have allowed me in the kitchens.
But…he was there. His face filled with rage at the sight of me in my apron dusted with flour.
The way he looked at me…with such disgust and disappointment…
” He exhaled. “That was the last time I saw my mother.”
“He took you away?”
“That very hour, and when I cried, he struck me. Told me to be a man. That males did not cry.”
Heat stung my eyes. “Curi…that’s…that’s just cruel.”
His mouth twisted in a bitter smile. “It’s normal. Our sires are tasked with ensuring we’re strong enough to do our duty. But no matter what I did, no matter how hard I trained, how fast I ran, how many competitions I won, I was never, ever good enough for him.”
I drew him to a halt at the edge of the woods and looked up into his moonlit face.
“But you are, Curi. You know that, right? You know that you’re more than good enough.
You’re the best.” I swallowed the lump in my throat.
“You’re strong, but you know when to be gentle.
You’re tough, but you know when to be kind.
You’re strong-willed, but you know when to show compassion, and I… I adore you.”
He reached up to stroke my cheek. “I adore you too, Basque, and trust me, I have tried not to.” His gaze softened.
“Being with you, Sharniza, Touron, and the twins is like finding home.” A moment stretched between us, a moment that could become something more if I took the step to make it so.
I dropped my gaze, and the moment passed.
Curi dropped a kiss on my head. “Let’s get back. You can tell me what you saw in your mind walk along the way.”
SHARNIZA
I should have shared my experience with Cam. Why didn’t I? I stir the pasta sauce per Touron’s instructions. She’s my friend. What is wrong with me?
“You worried about things?” Derek says from over my shoulder.
I resist the urge to lean back against him. “I’m fine.”
“No. You are not. I can feel it. What is wrong?”
“Earlier, Cam asked me what I saw in the mind walk, but I didn’t tell her. But she told me what she saw in hers.”
“And you feel bad for not sharing?”
“Basically.”
“But you were not ready to share.”
“No, I wasn’t…I’m not.”
“Then why you worry? You know that Cam not think badly of you for not sharing. Cam loves you.”
He makes it so simple. “Thank you, Derek.”
“Um…Shar, is the sauce supposed to smell like that?”
I look down at the angrily simmering sauce that I’ve stopped stirring. “Shit!”
“What’s that smell?” Touron comes hurrying across the kitchen. “Is that my sauce?” I step aside for him to examine his creation. “Oh…oh shit. It’s burned.”
“I’m sorry. Can we save it?”
He takes it off the hob with a huff. “Nope. It’s done for. Dead.”
My cheeks burn. Such a simple task, and I messed it up. “I’m really so sorry.”
His shoulders sag. “It’s all right. I’ve burned this sauce recipe several times myself.”
“I’m starving,” Ginia whines. “What are we gonna doooo?”
Palia rolls her eyes. “You’re acting like there’s no more food left in the world.”
Levi sniffs the air as he joins us in the kitchen. “Is something burning?”
Touron groans.
“The sauce is ruined,” Derek says. “But it is not Sharniza’s fault.”
“Well,” Levi says, “Stone Comfort does excellent pizza.”
“Oh yes!” Ginia claps her hands. “So cheesy and delicious.”
“I’ll go get us some,” Levi says.
“I go with you,” Derek says. “Help you carry all the pizza.” Levi looks a little wary, and Derek’s eyes dim slightly. “I not hurt you, Levi. I only hurt those that try to hurt my Cameron.”
“Good to know,” Levi says.
The door opens behind him, and Orix storms in looking windswept and angry.
I step away from the hob and round the island. “What’s wrong?”
“Where’s Willowman?” Palia asks. “What’s happened?”
Orix bites on his bottom lip, his chest heaving. “The alchemists have Willowman. They think he has something to do with the attack.”
“That’s ridiculous,” Touron says. “Prasan almost killed him.”
“We saw it,” Palia adds.
“They’re claiming that he used some kind of mind-altering spell to make you believe that he was injured. That he deliberately took longer than necessary to alert the academy about the breach.”
“That’s fucking bullshit!” Touron snaps as the lift dings
“What’s bullshit?” Cameron exits the lift with Curi in tow. “What’s going on?”
“The alchemists have Willowman,” Derek tells her.
“What? Why?”
Orix reiterates what he’s just told us, and Cameron’s face takes on the blank look that I’ve come to associate with an intense wave of rage. “Where did they take him?”
“Carter’s office,” Orix says. “It’s been commandeered by the alchemists while they stay here. They said that they needed to do something called a deep dive.”
“But that could kill him!” Palia says, shocked. “I mean…I read about their practices. Deep dives are only to be used in extreme cases where the evidence supporting their use is strong.”
Orix’s gaze shoots up to meet hers. “You know the law on the methods used?”
She nods quickly. “Our sire has access to certain legal texts. I used to, uh…take scrolls and books to read. The binding laws surrounding alchemists and their interactions with the gargoyles made for interesting reading.”
Cam crosses to the stairwell exit, her stride long and determined. “Then we use what you know to our advantage. We are not losing another friend.”