Chapter Thirteen #2
One by one they turn to look at me, and I can feel how much they like what I’m wearing.
My cheeks burn as the tension in the room ramps up bit by bit as they run their eyes over what I’m wearing.
I take in what they’re wearing too. Annie has done a very good job, but I wouldn’t expect less.
My Nexus stretches in my mind, watching them from my one eye and purring in my mind.
She focuses on Finnegan, who I’m sure is her favourite for a long moment, but she looks at them all.
“Have a good night.” Her offer is simple, and I feel her slipping into a sleep in my mind, leaving me alone with my mates.
Mine, mine, mine. “Are we ready to go? Or—”
Onyx chokes on his reply. “Y-yes.” He comes to me, offering me his hand before anyone else can. “We need to take you to the roof first.”
“Alright.” I raise an eyebrow at him, but he doesn’t tell me anything more.
His hand loops around my waist, but Severi leans over on my other side, his lips brushing my ear, his hand touching the ends of my hair. “You look delicious, Tulip.”
“No flirting until we get there.” Onyx warns them all.
Groans erupt across the room. Severi sighs and backs away, running his fingers down my arm. “There I was thinking you’re my favourite of the lot.”
Onyx just rolls his eyes. I have a suspicion these two are going to be good friends, eventually.
We go up to the roof in the lift and step out into a cold breeze.
There’s a helicopter waiting — a big one, and its choppers are spinning.
There is a pilot in the front seat, waiting for us.
I turn to Onyx. “I thought the date was in the city. Where exactly are we going?”
“To the border of the city,” Onyx replies, shouting over the noise as the helicopter blades blow towards us and we walk closer.
A heavy coat falls over my shoulders before I can even shiver from the cold.
I look back to see Finn and smile gratefully as I slide my arms through, my fingertips barely touching the edges of his jacket, before I let Onyx lead me onto the helicopter.
We all sit in rows, putting our seatbelts on before the pilot takes off into the skies of the city.
I watch the sparkling lights as night begins to fall over the towers of the city, and I rest my head on Aleksander’s shoulder.
He kisses the top of my head, watching me instead of the city.
The sun finally disappears and leaves the city in a dim darkness as we land just outside what looks like a very overgrown part of a forest on the border of the city.
I can still see the city towers, but we are quite far enough away. I’m more curious by the second.
I trust my mates, but I still frown at them.
“Is anyone going to tell me where we are?” They all smile knowingly, but no one tells me anything as we land.
Aleksander lifts me down off the helicopter, and as soon as we are far enough away in the short grass, it takes off again, disappearing into the night sky.
It’s silent when the helicopter is gone; only a few crickets echo in the distance.
“The chopper will be back at midnight, so we’ve got hours. ”
I look at the woven path in the grass that leads to the forest — the only thing I can see now it’s getting dark fast. Then I focus on the forest, which does look a bit odd.
There’s something in it. A building, maybe.
There are lights coming from the forest too.
“Okay, I’ve seen several movies where an innocent girl is led to a forest and murdered.
My Nexus would likely love that type of game tonight, but I would be pissed. ”
“Come on, my little psychopath. No death tonight.” Finnegan barks a laugh, wrapping his arm around my waist and leading me down the path. Rhodes and Hollis lead the way, whereas Onyx, Severi, and Aleksander walk behind us.
“How did you find out about this place? What is this place?” I question, unable to wait to find out.
“It’s better you see it first. But it belongs to your aunt, technically.
She was more than happy to recommend it when we started asking around for somewhere quiet, somewhere special for a date.
It’s just us here, just so you know,” Alek answers for me, linking his fingers with mine as he takes my other side.
“We know it’s been difficult to get alone time recently, and the apartment is full. We all need this.”
I nod in agreement. There have been too many moments interrupted by someone in the apartment.
I love Annie, Issan, Franklin, my aunt, and the many healers that come for Feyre, but it means being alone is out of the window.
The only time we get alone now is at night, but usually my mates are off training until the late hours and I’m asleep when they come back to me.
It sucks... not literally, unfortunately.
This place is ancient, and I can tell by the way trees have woven together around the path, shaped to keep the light out.
Warm yellow fairy lights make it possible to see as we turn a corner, and my mouth pops open.
Hidden well in the trees is a vast dome, and it is bursting with green, yellow, and purple lights.
The dome has ivy growing up the side, curving around the door, and I can’t see inside because it’s foggy.
We go through the doors into an entrance area.
There’s a shop on one side and a viewing area on the other, but they lead me through some plastic flaps that hold in the warmth of the place.
The heat brushes against me as I step into the botanical garden.
It’s overgrown in the most beautiful way.
Bioluminescent plants crawl up all the sides, giving off warm, beautiful rays of light, almost acting like sunlight but in shades of green and yellow.
Several of the plants have giant, purple, glowing flowers that look like stars.
This place feels like magic— untouched, perfect, and natural magic.
“This technically belongs to the healers, but your aunt owns it. It’s where they grow everything that could be needed for the city.
But at night, it’s like this. The plants glow and make their own light.
” Rhodes softly explains. “Even when it’s dark, only a little light is needed to make a beautiful thing. ”
I have a feeling he is talking less about the plants and more about me.
I’m speechless as we walk together through the garden, admiring the various areas, filled with plants I wouldn't know how to pronounce even if I tried. Onyx and Severi know, both of them talking about them as we walk. Severi stops me to look at a black plant, its leaves are as dark as the night sky, but in the centre is a powder like pollen. “This is a deadly poison. I’m impressed to see it.”
“It’s stunning. I’ve never seen anything like it.” I lean down. Aleksander sighs, pulling me along and away from the deadly flower. “The last thing we need is for you to suddenly learn a new killing trick with pretty plants.”
I sigh, turning back and mouthing to Severi. “Teach me later?”
He winks. “Always, Tulip.”
The sound of running water echoes as we come around into the centre of the garden, where a huge willow tree hangs over a large grass clearing.
The willow tree sways, almost like it’s alive, and there is no breeze in here.
Next to it, a creek circles around the clearing; a wooden bridge is the only way over it, leading up to a tiny waterfall. It smells incredible here, too.
I turn around before I get to the bridge. “This is perfect. I don’t even have any other way to thank you other than just saying thanks.”
“Wait till you see the rest,” Finn nudges me forward.
He takes my hand from Alek and leads me along over the bridge and around the corner just by the willow tree.
A movie night! It’s all set up — a few blankets scattered around an area, plates, baskets full of food and drinks, and a projector screen set up with a laptop in front of it.
Rhodes clears his throat. “We picked a dozen movies so you can choose anything you like. I thought we could eat and just chill here, all of us together.”
“I love that idea.” I wrap my arms around him, hugging tight, before rushing over to the food.
Fireflies drift around the top of the dome as I sit down and lean back as Finn mentions a few movies before we all decide on one.
I lie down, my head on Hollis’ lap, while Finn sits near my feet, takes my boots off, and starts rubbing them as the movie plays.
Onyx sits next to Rhodes, Hollis and Severi sit on the other side of me.
We share various foods they’ve brought — every fruit they know I love, two different types of chocolate cake, full size, tubs of ice cream, just everything that they know I love.
I literally can’t eat more as I rest back, enjoying how perfect this is.
I look up at Hollis, taking my eyes off the screen.
“Enjoying the movie?” he whispers, stroking his finger softly over my face.
I realise I never want to anywhere else but with them.
I’m home. For the first moment in my life, I realise this is what I’ve been fighting for— a home.
A future that can have moments like this, love like this, and no one can take it from me.
Before I can think better of it, I lean up and kiss him.
He groans, deepening the kiss almost instantly.
Finn’s hands tighten on my foot a second later, but Hollis continues to kiss me, hard and deep, making it very clear what he wants.
I moan into his mouth, enjoying every second, well aware of what I’m beginning here.
I’ve been with two of them at once, but all six?
I’m not sure how it’s going to work, but I’m very willing to find out.