Chapter 18 #2
Something deep inside me coiled tight with eagerness. Staying at Bastian’s might mean other things, too. Things I needed to be careful about. But since I was trying for casual. Trying to give myself room to have fun with no strings attached, maybe I didn’t have to be too careful.
“Well, for starters,” he said, “I read through your list of artifacts and it got me thinking…”
“Oh?” I perked up. “Do you think that what’s going on could be artifact related?”
“Depends. I don’t want to rule anything out. Magic is obviously involved. I trust Aramis. If he says his people are safeguarded, under constant surveillance, I believe him.”
An idea struck and I leaned forward. “What if we’re dealing with an artifact that allows someone to be in two places at once?”
A lazy grin spread across his lips and a blush crept up my neck. “I like the way you think, Eleanor. Might you know of any capable of that?”
“Hmm. Two places at once,” I mused, my eyes going distant as I flipped through my mental library of artifacts, but nothing came to mind.
I’d encountered the mention of many artifacts during my studies.
Professor Miller and I had only come into contact with a fraction of what existed in the world.
Knowing what artifacts were capable of, the vast span of things they could be used for, I didn’t doubt for a single second that this was possible.
Bastian rubbed his temples, leaning back, his eyes fluttering closed. I used this unguarded moment to study him. When I blinked, the transparent glimmer of his true form came into view. I tried to hold it in place, to better assess him, but like always, it quickly disappeared.
I liked his goblin form. I wanted to learn its intricacies when I shouldn’t have.
What would it be like to kiss him that way? What would it feel like? What would sex be like?
My chest fluttered. Would he show me his true form, if we ever—
“Why don’t you think on it, hmm?” Bastian said, grounding me.
“I don’t expect you to come up with something right this moment.
I haven’t slept for nearly…thirty-six hours?
I need to build up some energy. I’m lagging.
” His eyes opened again, pinning me in place.
“Let me have a quick nap, then we can blow off some steam downstairs.”
My eyes widened and he laughed. “Sparring, sugar. In the basement. Unless… Well, we can certainly have fun in other ways, if that’s what you’re thinking.”
I made a choking sound. He stood, all cocky exuberance, and began collecting our things from the table, sliding them into the bag to dispose of. “Come on inside. I’ll feel better with you behind the security barrier.”
I stood and followed him in, my eyes lingering on the pool. Going for a swim sounded kinda nice. Bastian caught my gaze and seemed to read my mind because he said, “How about later, sugar?”
“Are you ever going to call me by my actual name?”
“Eleanor?”
“Ugh, no, Rose.”
“I like sugar better.”
I shook my head, tossing my plate into the trash. He did the same with the rest of our stuff before heading for the stairs.
“Have a good nap, I guess.”
“Yup,” he said, throwing a hand over his shoulder in farewell before disappearing.
I retrieved my phone and saw the missed calls from Eaden. Great. I’d have to face him eventually. Exhaling, I braced myself and called him back.
“Rose? There you are. Is there a reason you’ve been ignoring my calls?”
“Not ignoring, no. Just… It’s a long story.” I sighed, pacing in my room.
There was a pause and then, “Everything okay? I’m kind of freaking out over here.”
“You, freaking out?”
“Rose,” he growled.
“Fine. I assume you saw the security feed?” I knew he kept cameras around the exterior of the club.
“Yeah, and heard about your apartment. Wanna explain what’s going on?”
“Not at the moment, no.” I had initially planned to tell him about Luke. To see if there was anything he could do. Now that I had Bastian… I was less inclined. “Look, I need a few days off to sort things out. Then I’ll tell you what I can.”
“Fine. Not a problem. Take whatever time you need. If anyone knows about dealing with personal shit—well, whatever. Take what you need. Just don’t start avoiding my calls. You go silent, I get worried.”
My chest warmed at his concern.
“Speaking of,” I said, “did you ever get ahold of Micky?” There was a long silence. I glanced down at my phone but we weren’t disconnected. “Eaden? You there?”
He sighed. “Yes. I got her.”
“She’s…okay?” Relief unspooled in my chest.
“Not so sure, actually. Probably shouldn’t talk about it, especially on the phone. Some weird shit’s been going down in Walton. You saw the news this morning?”
“Yes?” I frowned. What did Micky have to do with the mayor’s gala?
“Right. Then you know that there’s some strange stuff going on.”
I hesitated. “Eaden, have…have any of your people been acting strange? Like, falling asleep and not waking up?” Another long silence. “Eaden?”
“Come to the club, Rose,” he said at last. “Let’s talk there, not on the phone.”
My heart thudded. “Then you ha—?”
“Rose! Enough. Come to the club if you want to talk about this shit.”
My mouth dropped open. I pulled my phone away, glancing at it, then put it back to my ear. He was right. Something like this should only be discussed in person.
“I… I can stop by tonight, if that’s okay? I can’t work though.”
“Fine,” he said after a long hesitation. “Come by and we’ll talk. Until then, take care of your shit and do what you need to do.”
“Thank—”
The line went dead. I huffed.
“What did he say?”
I yelped, whirling around.
“Bastian?!” I hissed. He stood in my doorway, leaning against the door frame. “What the actual fuck? You can’t just…”
“It’s my house, sugar. I can. With just about anything I want around here. What did he say?”
“He wants me to come by the club tonight—to talk. I think something might have happened with some of his people, too.”
His jaw flexed, then he nodded. “Probably a good thing. I was hoping to talk to him anyway.”
“You… You want to come with me?”
His eyes narrowed. “You really think I’d let you go alone? Yes, I’ll be going with you. Maybe we can do a little more dancing while we’re at it.” His voice dropped suggestively and he smirked.
The reminder of everything that had happened last night flooded through me making my breath hitch. I pushed it away and stood up a little taller. “Weren’t you, like, going to go nap or whatever?”
“Yep.” He winked. “Night night, sugar.” He disappeared again, out of my doorway and up the stairs. I rolled my eyes at the wall, then went in search of Teddy and my e-reader, cozying up on the couch to get a good dose of smut.