Page 119 of Anomalies

“I’ll cover my eyes,” Kimber groans.

“Lucina, I need to make sure your body is healing.”

“Oh good, they’re all here,” Callan says with the utmost level of sarcasm, then he props himself up on one elbow and bends down to whisper, “If we’re quiet, maybe they’ll leave⁠—”

“We’re not leaving,” Selene snaps, then the doorknob rattles. “Let us in.”

Callan groans, and I pull myself up in the bed while he rolls out of it. He doesn’t bother with a shirt, striding up to the door and opening it proudly. Selene grimaces, pushing past him, and Gemma hardly spares him a glance, her eyes instantly pinned on me, but Kimber…sweet little Kimber is left frozen in the doorway, eyes bulging.

Callan doesn’t move, but his smile is smug.

“Hey,” I get Selene’s attention, nodding to the door. “Help her, please.”

Selene groans, going back to snatch Kimber’s wrist, then she pulls her over the threshold and all but tosses her onto the bed beside Gemma, who’s already funneling Mender magic up through my arms. Selene perches herself on the edge of the bed and glares at Callan. “You got coffee?” she asks, and his brows rise.

“I do.”

“Great. I’ll take some.”

Callan turns fully to face Selene, folding his arms across his bare chest, broad shoulders flexing, and then I’m no better than Kimber, who’s now intentionally avoiding where he stands.

The two of them glare at each other in some unspoken contest, then Callan looks up at me with softer eyes. “Lucina, would you like some coffee?”

“Sure.”

Callan looks back down at Selene. “You can have whatever she doesn’t drink,” he says, then leaves, gently closing the door behind him.

Selene huffs, turning to face me. “Everyone’s talking about you.”

“New topic,” Gemma snaps, her brows pinching as she concentrates entirely on prodding my vital organs. Her magic is warm and soothing as it sweeps down my limbs and pools in my chest, flaring bright just like it did last night. “How are you feeling?”

“I’m okay,” I reply quickly, then I turn my attention back to Selene. “What do you mean everyone’s talking about me?”

Gemma shoots her a warning glare and Kimber winces, but Selene couldn’t give less of a fuck. “There were already rumors about you and the Captain, but nurses are the biggest gossips here, and he made such a scene last night that even the band stopped playing.”

“She was dying,’’ Gemma fires back, as if her comment was insensitive, but I like that Selene will tell me how it is. No sugar coating and all truth.

“No one is saying anything bad,” Kimber assures me with a gentle hand on my knee. “They’re just talking to talk. Pirn is one big rumor mill⁠—”

“It’s not a rumor,” Callan says, shouldering through the door with two cups of coffee. He hands one to me, then reluctantly gives Selene the other. “Let them talk,” he shrugs, looking over at me from the foot of the bed. “Unless it bothers you.”

All eyes swing in my direction as I take a slow sip of my coffee. “Even if it did bother me, what are you going to do? Stop the rumor mill?”

He smiles so wide, a small dimple shows. “It’s not a rumor.”

Gemma’s fighting a smirk, and Selene exchanges a knowing glance with Kimber.

“No,” I exhale, my breath shaky. “It doesn’t bother me.”

“Good.” He pulls a shirt out of the dresser, slides it over his head, then grabs his boots and vest from where they lay in a neat pile on the floor. “I’ll be back in time to take you to your meeting with Her Grace, but Pax and Hunter are out front if you need them.”

My brows scrunch. “Where are you going?”

Callan clips his vest into place, a shade of seriousness sliding over his face.

The events of last night come flooding back in, and my eyes slide warily up to him. He’s going to kill Fenton Thorneveil. His coven probably has him tied up somewhere, ready and waiting for the Captain to torture.

What comes out of my mouth next, I can tell, is the last thing he expected to hear. “I want to come with you.”