Chapter 2 #2
Blake Masterson. A human that I once might have called a friend. Like me, he’d been a prisoner of the fae for many years, but unlike me, he’d retained no magic of his own. Instead, he’d learned to use magic-imbued objects, and decided to use that power in unspeakable ways.
Last we knew, he’d begun recruiting an army of other humans and training them to use stolen magic, with the goal of…
Well, we weren’t entirely sure, but it was nothing good.
All signs pointed to him wanting war between humans and Idrians, and I couldn’t help but wonder whether the increased hostility from my neighbors was due to his efforts.
If you don’t tell me, I’ll just ask Faris.
I grimaced and sent back a winking emoji.
you have enough to worry about
seriously we’re fine
ari and logan weren’t even here
I wanted to say so much more. I wanted to tell him how much I missed him. How much doubt cycled through my brain on a daily basis when I didn’t hear from him.
Was he second-guessing his choice?
Had the mate bond faded now that we weren’t in close proximity?
Had the Shapeshifter Court’s disapproval made him rethink everything?
We’d been together such a short time, but already, this separation felt like someone had chopped off one of my limbs. I assumed it was one of the side effects of the mate bond forming between us, but that wasn’t a discussion I wanted to have over text.
My fingers hovered over the screen, trying to decide how best to reassure him. I was a slow texter to begin with—this was my very first personal cell phone, and I’d only had it for about a week—and apparently the hesitation was just long enough…
My phone buzzed again with an incoming call, and my heart lurched as I took a few steps away from Kes and Ethan before answering.
“Hey,” I said quietly, once again fighting back the threat of actual tears. Stupid feelings. I never used to cry about anything, and here I was crying about a phone call.
“Hey yourself.” Callum’s voice surrounded me with its warm, smoky timbre, wrapping me in a sense of safety and home.
“Are you sure it’s safe to call?” The Shapeshifter Court didn’t know about our bond yet, and we wanted to keep it that way until after we’d dealt with the charges against me.
“Strangely enough, I’m actually at home right now,” he told me. “By myself. Preparing for the unfamiliar ritual known as sleep before I head up to Colorado tomorrow.”
I would have rewarded him with a laugh, except I knew that the joke was meant to gloss over the painful truth—he hadn’t slept much in days.
“Psshh, who needs that stuff,” I scoffed lightly.
“Raine.”
I loved hearing him say my name. But this time, there was nearly as much pain as comfort. I wanted him here with me. Wanted to know if we were still okay. But I had no clue how to ask, and I didn’t want him to worry.
Love was so much harder than it looked in the storybooks.
“I just need to know if you’re okay,” he said softly.
“How did you know to call?”
“I sensed something off,” he admitted. “Felt like I had to hear your voice.”
How could I feel so much warmth and so much worry all at the same time?
“I swear to you, I’m fine,” I told him firmly. “No one was hurt, and Faris has it handled. I miss you, and I wish it didn’t have to be this way, but we’ll get through it. And I know how much you need to sleep, so don’t worry. We’ve got this.”
I heard him sigh. Heard a rustling and suddenly caught a mental picture of him lying in bed, staring at the ceiling with the phone to his ear and one hand behind his head. Was it real?
Not like I was going to ask. I didn’t really want him to know I was thinking about how he looked while lying in bed.
But then I heard something rumbling or rattling near the phone and couldn’t help being curious.
“What is that sound?”
“Oh, that?” His voice went muffled for a moment, and for a horrified instant, I wondered whether there was someone else in the room.
“You can stop freaking out,” he said, and I could almost hear his grin. “That was Ember. She doesn’t like it when I ignore her.”
Ember. The kitten I’d saved from being tortured by a gang of teens back in October. He’d kept her, and had probably been spoiling her rotten. And honestly, nothing could have made me happier.
“Not to change the subject,” Callum said abruptly, “but how’s Kira really doing?”
I suspected he would never truly stop worrying about his little sister—not after the years he’d spent trying to find her when she went missing. Knowing she was hurting no doubt only added to the burdens he was carrying.
“She’s okay,” I said, and meant it. Kira was tougher than her brothers usually gave her credit for. “She’s worried, but you know she doesn’t care a lick about the wedding part. She just wants to fly directly to Colorado and knock some fae heads together until they stop threatening her mate.”
“Can’t say I haven’t been tempted to do the same when I meet with them tomorrow,” he confessed. “Sadly, that sort of thing is frowned upon by my council.”
“Can’t imagine why.”
He chuckled. “Think of all the problems it would solve.”
I rolled my eyes. “Maybe you should ask your mom whether it actually creates more problems than it solves.”
Callum’s mother was the former dragon queen, and was notorious among Idrians for her role in ending Elayara’s reign of terror—by simply eating her. She’d been forced to step down from her throne to do it, but seemed to have no regrets.
At least, none that I knew of. I hadn’t met her yet, and was more than a little terrified of the day I would eventually have to confront her. She wasn’t likely to be happy that her son had formed a mate bond with a human waitress, let alone one accused of multiple crimes.
But I wasn’t adding those worries to Callum’s shoulders tonight, especially not now that the day of our meeting had been put off indefinitely. Until Kira’s wedding actually took place, there would be no reason for me to encounter the rest of Callum’s giant, scary dragon family.
“I should go,” I said reluctantly. It was the last thing I wanted to do, but Callum needed sleep and I needed to confront the crisis at hand. Mitigate the water damage and figure out what we were going to do with Ethan.
“If you must.” I could hear how sleepy he sounded already. “But Raine…”
“Yes?” I was proud of myself when my voice didn’t wobble.
“Nothing has changed,” he said, each word quiet but firm. “I’m not rethinking or second-guessing. No matter how long we’re apart, no matter how hard we have to fight. You’re worth it, and I’m not giving up.”
I held onto those words like the lifeline they were. But how had he known what I needed to hear?
“Same,” I said, unable to manage more without betraying the feelings I was trying so hard to hide. “You can’t get rid of me that easily.”
“If you ran, I’d find you.” This time, I could hear more than just his words. His emotions were no steadier than my own.
And he clearly didn’t know me well enough yet, because if I ever did run? It would be to him, not away from him.
“Stay safe,” I murmured.
“The only thing likely to kill me in this job is bureaucracy,” he grumbled. “And if I get tired of it, I can always just set the paperwork on fire.”
“Play nice,” I admonished. “And, you know… eat your vegetables. Not the fae.”
I heard the low rumble of his laugh. “Sweet dreams,” he said…
…at the exact same moment I heard myself blurt out, “Love you.”
And then the line went dead.
Kill. Me. Now.
Maybe he hadn’t heard me. Maybe he’d already hung up, or the words had been garbled. Maybe he thought I’d said, “You too.”
Or maybe I could convince Faris to just open up the earth and let it swallow me. Kes could mark my resting place with a headstone.
Deceased—Raine Kendrick.
Cause of death? Acute and soul-shriveling embarrassment.
“Raine?” That was Faris’s voice. “We need to talk.”
Well, great. Tonight just kept on getting better. Good thing sleep was so overrated.