Chapter 34

Chapter

Thirty-Four

Nora passed me the bag of oversized marshmallows before settling beside her husband on the log adjacent to mine. The fire we sat around crackled and popped, tiny ruby embers drifting toward the pitch sky spotted with bright stars.

Fane stood a few feet away, a brooding sentry watching everyone but not participating. His gaze flicked in my direction every few minutes, like a tic he couldn't resist.

The conversation shifted from movies to scary stories only nightworlders knew. Their tales of exploding sub-demons and ancient fae creatures put the human ones to shame. Jayla would have gotten a kick out of their urban legends.

Two days had passed since the Anders arrived, and I found myself in a dream. We had dinner together, walked around the vast grounds, fished in the lake, and now that I could shift, we ran and played in the woods. I never imagined I'd have a family, even if it was temporary. I felt like one of those people on TV I used to envy.

Barric's blood flowed through my veins, but I would never think of him as my father. Hopefully, I'd learn more about Tamara when my life wasn't in such peril.

For now, Nora and Kesa were the closest things I'd had to moms, the kind I always imagined having. As we sat by the fire, roasting marshmallows and making s'mores, I studied the sweet, warmhearted women and couldn't stop the smile from crossing my lips.

"I don't have three girlfriends, Dylan." Preston shook his head as he pulled his stick from the fire and blew on the marshmallow. "We're just casually dating. It's what you do in college."

His little brother grimaced. "I'm a one-woman kind of guy. I wouldn't want to share, so she shouldn't have to share me."

He was so freaking cute. I hoped he kept that same sentiment when he got older.

Ephraim kissed his wife's cheek, the firelight dancing across his copper hair and the matching beard covering his jaw. "I bet you'll find your fated, Dylan."

Nora patted her husband's leg. "But even if you don't, I'm sure you'll find that special someone to be your mate forever."

Fane's heavy stare burned into me, those glowing eyes trying to melt away my flesh and bone to capture my soul. The air rushed out of my lungs as his invisible touch traveled over my back and curved around my waist. Hot breath blew on my neck as phantom lips brushed over my ear.

The demon shifter hadn't moved from his spot, but his presence surrounded me and turned my blood to fire. If he didn't stop, the other shifters would smell the arousal. Hell, the moan I was choking back would tip them off.

Wrath wandered outside, looking lonely as he watched our little family circle. He'd kept to himself the last few days, lingering in the shadows and on the edges of the room. Fane had made it clear he didn't want the demon around .

Ruin had never looked as sullen or dejected as Wrath meandering on the outskirts. Sure, the demon lord had his moments of sadness, but his twin had him beat by miles. Wrath didn't have that perfection he'd projected as Demarcus either.

The high demon seemed so—human.

A low growl curled out of Fane as Wrath approached, stopping him in his tracks.

Kesa noticed and frowned. "Stop that, Fane. Wrath can join if he wants."

Wrath palmed the back of his neck and kicked at the ground. "I don't want to ruin anyone's fun."

"Nonsense." Kesa patted the empty seat beside her. "Have a s'more."

A timid smile worked its way across his mouth as his long legs ate up the ground toward Fane's mom. "Thanks."

"How could you let him sit next to you after what he did?" Fane snarled as Wrath settled next to her. "He allowed you to be tortured in Heldrok. Why did he allow you to be imprisoned there in the first place?"

"There are hundreds of creatures in that place," Wrath said as he plucked a marshmallow from the bag. "It's not a human prison. Just because I was the warden doesn't mean I knew every inmate there."

Fane folded his arms against his chest. "You've known my mother since you were little. How could you not know she was brought in on some bullshit lies over stealing charus coins from a royal?"

"I kept to myself, Fane," Kessa said. "I stayed out of trouble and was invisible for the most part."

She was still tortured, though, just not as bad as others.

"When I found out Kesa was there, I did everything in my power to keep her separate from the worst inmates, and I ordered her torture to end." Wrath pushed navy locks out of his pale face and heaved a tired sigh. "She wasn't bothered after that. I couldn't get her out at the time, but it was the least I could do."

"But Ruin got her out," Fane pressed. "How did he manage that?"

A dry laugh burst out of the high demon. "I let him take Kesa. When his men were sneaking in, I turned a blind eye."

Fane cracked his neck and grumbled a string of insults under his breath. If Dylan wasn't here, he'd probably storm over and knock Wrath out.

"Fane, honey, why don't you have a seat and join us?" Nora tilted her head to the empty spot next to me.

"You don't have to sit next to me if you don't want to." I didn't want him to feel forced.

The demon shifter stomped in my direction and folded onto the log beside me, warming my side more than the fire did. "Don't tell me what to do, Teague."

"Don't act like a prick, and I won't have to."

Fane grabbed the stick Preston passed over and skewered a marshmallow on the end, holding it near the fire with mine. "I don't trust him."

"Neither do I, but he just looks so sad most of the time." I bumped his shoulder. "Why is that?"

"It's either a ruse to make us feel sorry for him and let our guard down or…" He shrugged. "Maybe being around my mom and me reminds him of Warin."

My brow arched. "Your brother?"

"They were really close."

Wrath had claimed he was helping us because of Warin. The topic of Fane's brother always brought warring feelings to the surface. On one hand, he'd killed Jayla and my friends and turned my life upside down. I was forced to kill a monster I didn't understand at seventeen.

But Warin had been a person before that moment. He was a brother and someone's son. And a best friend.

Kesa's laugh brought me out of my thoughts. "You and Warin were the cutest little devils, running around Vlehull and chasing all the girls." She shook her head, her raven locks flowing around her narrow shoulders. "Ruin didn't do the chasing, though. He waited and lured them in."

Wrath chuckled. "He's always been a sneaky bastard." His blue gaze flicked to mine. "You never know what's really going on in that mysterious head of his."

Frost crystallized over my spine, and I shivered. Was the high demon trying to send me a message about his twin? He didn't believe Ruin was as good as he pretended. He'd said as much in Heldrok. He'd even had the balls to blame his brother for the crazed demons.

Fane leaned closer as if he felt the chill take hold and wanted to warm me. Was it a subconscious move, or had he done it on purpose?

"I remember when you and Warin brought a stray vumra demon to my house." Kesa pulled a graham cracker out of the box and placed it on the napkin in her lap. "You boys thought I wouldn't notice all the food missing or the barks coming from Warin's room."

Wrath shrugged as he turned his marshmallow in the flames. "Brutus was just so cute. We couldn't stand leaving him on the street without food or shelter. He needed us."

"He needed a place to slobber." She broke the graham cracker in half and nibbled on the edge. "I came home one day to a drenched couch. You boys pretended you spilled juice on it but forgot to hide Brutus. He was sitting in the corner, wagging his tail and drooling while you lied through your teeth."

Laughter traveled around the fire.

"It was Warin's idea!" Wrath tossed his hands in the air as he smiled, the sadness gone from his expression. "He was confident that we could keep Brutus a secret. I just went along because he was so determined. Warin didn't have the heart to put him back outside."

Kesa sipped her water and sighed. "He was such a sweet one. Warin had a heart of gold." She dragged her fingers through her long raven hair, the firelight glinting on the scars running down her face and neck from Fane. "He was always bringing home strays. That's how he met Logan?"

"Warin found him in a pile of trash after Logan got his ass kicked by a bunch of jerks." Wrath grabbed a cracker from the box and a piece of chocolate to make his s'more. "Warin dug Logan out, took him home, and cleaned him up. And Ruin and I went back to that establishment and beat up the demons responsible for hurting our new friend."

Invisible strings wrapped around my heart as they reminisced about Warin, the demon I killed. After a few more minutes, I couldn't take it anymore and stood. When they all looked at me, I grabbed my empty glass.

"I'm out of lemonade." I hightailed it back into the house, their conversation echoing behind me.

From what Fane and the others had said, I knew Warin wasn't the monster he'd been that night. Like the demons now, something happened to make him crazy, but hearing how kind and sweet he really was tore my soul to pieces.

I'd taken him from this world. He was as much of a loss as Jayla.

A throb pulsated in my forehead by the time I made it into the kitchen. I set my cup down and rested my elbows on the white marble island, rubbing my temples. My neck tattoo tingled as Fane's presence emerged behind me.

He had every right to be angry that his brother was gone, but I couldn't take his icy temperament now or his cutting reminders that I'd ripped his one and only sibling from him.

"They weren't trying to make you feel bad." His low, gruff voice vibrated my back as he stood so close his cinnamon and amber scent drifted into my nose. "They just want to remember him."

I choked back the sob that wanted to burst from my lips, relieved Fane hadn't flipped his switch to pick mode. "I know," I whispered, unable to speak any louder.

When I refused to turn toward him, Fane came around to my side and leaned against the counter. His gaze drilled into me until I finally opened my eyes. "You didn't have to run away."

"I just needed a minute." I took a deep, shuddering breath. "It's like they're talking about a different person than the one I encountered that night. You saw him in my memories, in my nightmares. That wasn't the same guy."

Fane's lips thinned to tight lines. "No, it wasn't. Warin was never vicious or cruel. Something was wrong, and I'm going to figure it out. Then I'll make those responsible pay."

My heart thumped against my chest because it didn't seem like he lumped me into that group anymore. He cupped my cheek, his thumb sliding across my bottom lip. He wanted to kiss me, but a struggle raged within him. It was the same song and dance with us from the beginning.

Before he could make a move, Fane's muscles tensed at the same time as goose bumps erupted across my flesh. And then a piercing scream ripped through the night.