Page 334 of Commanding Blood And Bonds
In all seriousness, watch your back out there.
Tu me manques.
Scowling, I copied his last text and dropped it into a translator. Of all the skill sets that didn’t transfer from Valora to me, losing French and being redeployed to Louisiana was an especially cruel joke.
Awe. Fuck me—the menace was a closet romantic.
“You are missing from me,” I read aloud in translation, shaking my head as I scrolled through search results. He missed me. Jesus. Why was everything more poetic in foreign languages?
Freya
Ditto.
Ugh. I gagged typing that. What the hell was wrong with me? One day of getting properly dicked down and I’d turned into a puddle of goo. I backpedaled, erasing the sappy response.
Freya
*Middle finger emoji* Watch your own back.
Your death would be a lukewarm inconvenience.
Irritated at the soft-hearted monstrosity I was apparently becoming, I slid my phone into my pocket—only to find Ally watching me with a smirk and one perfectly arched brow. She stood sentinel beside the witches’ Ferris wheel at the town’s Equinox festival, looking for all the world like an omniscient circus freak waiting for her nieces to get off the ride. It was kind of adorable.
“You’re…glowing,” she accused, casting the line.
I bit. “Five orgasms will do that.”
“Jesus, Freya,” she choked out, blushing as she grinned at her feet.
“Dammit, I need to get laid,” Blythe groaned, jogging down the creaky metal steps, Magnolia tight on her heels and beaming. I liked the witches—more than I expected to. Fresh, sassy, a little chaotic. They’d cackled when Alvara terrified the mortal psychic fraud. That sealed it. They’d fit into our coven just fine.
“I’m with Freya,” Magnolia said. “No better skincare than some toe-curling pleasure.”
“Oh shit, Ally is turning red,” Lana said dryly, lips twitching.
“Shush, you,” Ally snapped, trying to smother a smile. “Like you’re thrilled to hear about Freya’s sex life.”
Lana shrugged one shoulder, but her smile faded as her eyes locked on mine. She didn’t need to say it. She’d seen what Ansel had—me unraveling while Cyrus died. “I’m grateful they found each other,” she said, voice softer, as if it cost her something. “Even if he is a Paladin.”
Fae skipped up beside her with two ice cream cones. I swiped one before Lana could claim it and took a massive bite.
“Brat,” Lana squealed, kicking my shin.
I cackled, covering my mouth with one hand.
“Anyone up for the fun house?” Fae chirped.
Unanimous nods. For a moment, it was easy to pretend we were just a group of women laughing at a fair—not the core of a rebellion. It was Ally’s eyes on me that gave it away. She saw right through my smile.
She reached out, and I stepped back, sliding Fae between us and untying my sweatshirt from my waist, tugging it on like armor. I hated that I had to keep anything from her—especially everything.
Once covered, I rejoined the group, laughing along though I had no idea what they were talking about.
Ally’s lips parted. Her jaw tensed. “Hey, Freya. A quick word?”
Nodding, I let the others drift ahead. Fae looped her arms through Lana and Blythe’s; Magnolia snagged Blythe’s other side. They slithered off in a chain of laughter. I forced my attention back to Ally and lifted my chin with a brittle smile. “You okay?”
“Are you?” she countered gently.
