83. Chapter Eighty-Three
Chapter Eighty-Three
Kai Moreno
Why Am I Always In Danger?
Beau is loading the trunk and I can tell he thinks I’m in the way, but I want to help. I still grab a bag anyway, even though he doesn’t need help. I just don’t like standing still and letting him do everything on his own. Just because he can doesn’t mean he should.
I’m halfway through stacking cans when the air changes.
That tight, electric wrongness snaps down my spine and I spin just in time to see her.
Kalevala. She’s just there. No footsteps and no warning.
One second it’s Beau and groceries, the next it’s her standing too close, eyes wild, hair half out of place like she ran through hell to get here.
My heart stutters and instinct kicks in before fear can catch up.
I step in front of Beau without thinking, hands out, pulse roaring in my ears.
“Stay the fuck away from him, you weirdo bitch,” I snap, even though my legs are screaming at me to move.
“I don’t want to hurt you,” she says fast, breathless, like every second is burning her alive. “I don’t have much time.” Her eyes slide past me and lock onto Beau. “Beau, I need your help.”
A hand touches my shoulder. Beau’s voice cuts through the noise.
“It’s okay, Kai.” He steps forward, puts himself between us with that quiet certainty that makes my chest ache.
He closes the space like it’s nothing, like danger is just another thing to be managed.
“Kalevala,” he says evenly. “What do you want?”
She starts to cry, sharp and frantic, words spilling over each other. “Time is running out. Empusa—She—Time is running out, Beau. Empusa wants out. She wants to take over. This isn’t a joke. This might be my only chance.”
“Empusa?” he asks.
Her hands shake as she grabs Beau by the collar, fingers digging in, and I almost lose it again.
Then, she slips something into his jacket, quick and desperate, eyes pleading.
“You have to help me,” she says, voice breaking.
“Before it’s too late for all of you.” And then she’s gone.
Just gone, like the air swallowed her whole.
I stare at the empty space she leaves behind, heart hammering, then look at Beau. He smooths his jacket like he just got bumped in a crowd, not grabbed by a nightmare. “You alright?” I manage to ask, my voice finally catching up with what just happened.
He nods once, sharp and final. “Get in the car, Kai.” He shuts the trunk with a solid thud that echoes too loud in the quiet lot.