Chapter 37
Chapter thirty-seven
Mandie
The weight of seven bodies had turned the combined beds into a sunken nest of tangled sheets and warm skin.
The air still carried the musk of last night. Sweat, sex, and the faint metallic tang, but beneath it, the scent of coffee brewing in the kitchen promised that the world outside still existed.
I lay on my back, one arm draped over my eyes. My other hand rested on Donovan’s thigh. His skin was cool, a sharp contrast to the furnace heat radiating off Matt’s massive frame pressed against my left side. Roger’s arm was heavy over my waist, his breathing slow and even.
Across the tangle of limbs, Sebastian sat propped against the headboard. His robe was slightly askew, one knee drawn up as he sipped from a mug. Steam curled around his face, making him look like an academic god presiding over the wreckage of our debauchery.
Teddy was sprawled beside him, shirtless, his hair tousled from sleep, or more likely, from my hands. He caught me watching and smirked, slow and knowing.
Johnny was face-down in the pillows, one arm flung over his head, spiky blond hair sticking up in every direction.
"Christ, my back," Matt groaned, stretching his arms above his head. The movement made his muscles ripple, tattoos flexing. He rolled his shoulders, joints popping loudly. "Sleeping on three beds pushed together is worse than a damn cot."
"You’re just old," Johnny muttered into the pillow.
Matt smacked the back of Johnny’s head. Not hard, but enough to make him yelp. "Watch it, kid."
Johnny flipped onto his back, rubbing the spot. "Yeah, yeah. Grandpa."
I snorted, shifting onto my elbow. Roger’s arm tightened instinctively around my waist. "You two are worse than siblings," I said.
I nudged Donovan’s knee with mine. He was the only one who hadn’t moved, staring at the ceiling like he was solving a math problem. "Donovan, you good?"
He blinked, turning his head. His pupils were blown wide. "Yeah," he murmured. "Just… processing everything from last night."
Johnny barked out a laugh. "No shit. I’m pretty sure we all are."
Teddy shifted closer, fingers brushing my tattoos. "You’re quiet," he observed, voice low. "Regrets?"
I looked at him. Sharp jawline. Cultivated stubble. The man carved out of money and ambition who was terrified of losing me.
"No regrets," I said. "Just… figuring out where we go from here."
His smirk faltered for a second, then returned. He leaned in, breath warm against my ear. "We go wherever you want, Amanda."
The name sent a shiver down my spine. I should’ve pushed him away. But I liked the way it sounded.
Roger stretched. "Alright, as much as I love this post-coital bonding session, I’m starving." He rolled onto his side, blue eyes bright. "Someone better feed me before I start eating the furniture."
Johnny groaned. "Ugh, fine. But if I cook, I’m making cereal."
"No," Sebastian and I said in unison.
Sebastian pinched the bridge of his nose. "Last time you ‘made’ cereal, you left milk rings on the counter and didn't clean the spoon."
Johnny clutched his chest. "That was one time."
"It was three times in one week," Matt rumbled.
I bit my lip to suppress a laugh. It was dangerous, how normal this felt. How domestic. Like we were a dysfunctional family instead of broken people clinging to each other in the aftermath.
Donovan was still watching me, gray eyes dark with something like devotion.
I reached out, curling my fingers around the back of his neck, and pulled him in. His breath hitched when our lips met. I kissed him hard, teeth grazing his lower lip. His hands dug into my waist, and for a second, I let myself get lost in the way he melted against me, pliant, eager, mine.
When I pulled back, the room was quiet.
"Be a good boy," I murmured, running my thumb over his swollen lip, "and make us breakfast."
Donovan nodded, once, sharp. He untangled himself from the sheets and swung his legs over the side. His black pajama pants hung low on his hips as he padded toward the kitchen.
"Holy shit," Johnny breathed. "That was the hottest thing I’ve ever seen."
Sebastian made a noise that might’ve been approval. Matt just grunted, fingers twitching.
Roger grinned. "Damn, Mandie. You got a dominant side."
I smirked, rolling onto my stomach. "I have many sides."
Teddy’s fingers traced patterns on my lower back. "You’re enjoying this."
I turned my head, noses nearly brushing. "Maybe I am."
His smile was dangerous. "Good."
Sebastian cleared his throat. "As fascinating as this display of dominance is, we should probably discuss the fact that we’re still no closer to stopping Capital Punishment."
The mood shifted instantly. The weight pressed back down. Johnny’s grin faded. Matt’s jaw tightened.
Teddy’s fingers paused on my skin. "We will," he said steady. "But not right now. We have another day until the Tomb talks to Victor. I have a spy keeping track. Once Victor knows, we know. Then we make sure he doesn't get whatever the hell he is after."
“You have a spy?” Sebastian asked.
“Yes, and I promise that is the last secret. Just trust me, we have good intel on what is happening.”
“Then how come you don’t know more?” Sebastian asked. I was curious too.
“I can only meet up with him every few weeks. It is too dangerous to meet up more than that.”
"Teddy—"
I couldn't finish my words, as the Keystone shook like an earthquake.
The Keystone wasn’t just trembling; it was screaming. Metal groaned. Glass rattled in its frames like teeth chattering in the cold. A blizzard blew off the ceiling above us, the roof being swallowed into the sky.
The coffee mug Sebastian had been holding exploded against the wall in a starburst of ceramic shrapnel. My bare feet skidded, nails digging crescents into Roger’s biceps. His skin was slick, not just with sweat, but with the ghost of what we’d been doing moments before the world decided to end.
Johnny was a crumpled mess on the floor. Spiky blond hair fanned out like a broken halo. One arm flung over his face. He wasn’t moving.
My stomach dropped. Johnny is unconscious. The word hit like a bullet. He wasn't conscious; something must have hit his head.
Before I could move, the next tremor hit, deeper, like a fist through the building’s ribs. The windows along the far wall screamed as fractures spider-webbed across the glass, sunlight splintering into a thousand jagged knives.
Donovan was already moving. His body stretched with fluid, inhuman grace. His black-painted limbs stretched, the ink-like sheen of his suit rippling. He snatched his pants from the floor and yanked them on.
"We’re under attack," he said, voice sharp as a blade. His gray eyes flicked to me, wide and dark.
Sebastian was on his feet before I could blink. Water swirled around his wrists like liquid cuffs, sliding into his Liquin costume.
Teddy was already at the wall screen, fingers flying over the holographic interface. The screen flared blue, resolving into a grainy feed of the exterior.
The sky was wrong. Black smoke coiled above us, swallowing the sunlight. It pulsed. And beneath it, a dragon ten times the size of Gorath.
An honest-to-fuck dragon. Scales the color of a fresh bruise. Wings casting a shadow big enough to blot out the sun. Its maw opened, and even through the screen, I felt the heat.
Roger was already in his Riven costume, flying towards the dragon.
I lunged for Johnny, fingers finding the pulse at his throat. "Johnny?" My voice cracked. I slapped his cheek. "Wake the fuck up."
Nothing.
The next tremor nearly sent me sprawling. Matt caught me with one massive blue hand, his crystalline shell clicking as he adjusted his grip. His yellow eyes burned like embers, pupils contracting to reptilian slits.
"Get to the bunker underneath," Matt growled, the sound vibrating in my bones.
Gorath was then tackled by Brickslayer. The two of them started duking it out.
I knew I had to get down to the bunker, but I couldn't leave Johnny. I reached underneath his shoulders and started dragging him with me.
A lightning bolt lit up the sky and Conductor appeared. He bolted towards me and I knew I couldn't get away from him.
Before he reached me, Quantum Knight lunged out of nowhere, latching onto him. Conductor took off into the sky, with Quantum Knight holding him tight.
"Teddy!" I yelled, but not even I could hear my voice in all the confusion.
I could see Flexel fighting with Soulflame in the distance. I pivoted Johnny in another direction to try to avoid them and kept pulling him.
A thick black smoke blinded me. I couldn't see where we were going or who was around us. Then I heard a voice.
"Did you honestly believe you could escape, little angel?"
I wanted to scream. I wanted to argue. But Johnny’s weight was dead in my arms.
Something knocked me backwards, and I lost my grip on Johnny. The smoke got thicker, then everything became a blur.