Page 55 of Mage Massacres

Sloane

Thursday, June 11th

Early Morning

We made it back to my mother’s estate as the sun was beginning to rise. The clouds made my favorite time of day seem gloomy, and I longed to feel the heat of the Nashville sun on my skin.

There were two new faces with my guys and Murphy when we came inside. I was immediately on guard. They didn’t seem threatening, but I wasn’t sure that I was the best judge on that sort of thing.

Miller was ecstatic to see them, though. Her response relaxed me fractionally, only to raise my hackles when Hyland’s eyes went wide at the sight of them.

“For Devil's sake,” Hyde cursed under her breath as she turned her back to the group.

I dragged her down the hall into the sitting room that faced the backyard. My father would have called it an observation room. It was a place to enjoy the once immaculate garden inside, which defeated the purpose of enjoying the outdoors in my eyes.

The flowerbeds were overgrown with weeds, and all of the bushes needed to be trimmed. It was clear that it was beautiful when this house was lived in, but negligence had ruined it.

“What was that?” I whispered to Hyde.

Before she could answer, footsteps sounded behind us, letting me know that some of the guys had followed. Hyde opened the back door, walking away without a word.

“Who’s the hot old lady?” A pretty blonde guy asked.

The taller man with him slapped his hand over his face, covering his bright blue eyes and black-framed glasses as he groaned.

“This is Sloane.” Palmer nodded his head at me, exasperated that he’d already explained who I was to the newcomers. “This is Bishop and Joyner, Love.”

I scoffed at the blonde. “I’m not old.”

I wondered if he was a summer fae. His essence felt nothing like Vaughn’s, but it was similar. It was more a mixture of everyone around us than a single person’s mental signature. I’d never encountered whatever he was.

“You have gray hair,” he informed me, his expression serious as his olive-colored eyes sparkled.

I grabbed at my hair, quickly pulling it close to my face to inspect as I blandly replied. “Oh my gods. Is that what this color is? Thank you for letting me know.”

“Where did Hyland go?” Arwen questioned me, ignoring everyone else as he peered out one of the many windows.

“She went outside. I’ll go check on her,” I assured him, tossing my hair back over my shoulder.

“No, it’s okay. I’ll go,” he told me as he patted my shoulder awkwardly.

I smiled at the necromancer, hoping that she’d talk to him since they’d be alone. Her abrupt change in behavior was niggling at the back of my mind, making me curious.

I let the guys’ conversation flow in one ear and out the other as I waited to see if Arwen would be successful in bringing Hyde back. I could feel she wasn’t in any distress, but she wasn’t happy either. I kept my mind open to her as my thoughts wandered.

Today was Palmer’s birthday, and as badly as I wanted to forget all the bullshit, I was still on the fence. I couldn’t get over what happened, though I was in the mood to forgive him, at least.

Somewhat.

My instincts told me that it could have been much worse than it was. He could have been the bad guy, not just someone who lied to me, but someone who truly took advantage of me.

I knew that wasn’t the case.

I was the bad guy. They didn’t come much worse than me, and I was okay with that. I’d never wanted to be the hero.

If I stared at him too long, I could still see what he looked like after the spell. It put me in a somber mood. I didn’t think he understood how big of a deal that was for me. Feeling that type of pain again was a reminder of why I had stopped letting myself get close to people.

I didn’t want to push any of them away, but fighting that urge was more complicated than expected.