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Lies.
That was what they were. Lies.
Why else would he have run away the next day?
Ace headed toward the door oblivious to my flashback. “Just don’t be so stubborn that you die all alone in this cabin. Nala might be forced to eat you.”
Nala and I exchanged a look and my familiar whined.
Sometimes, I swore that wolf understood more of what we said than she let on. I would make a terrible meal—too bitter.
Ace left and shut the door to any protests I might’ve made. Pretty hard to argue against the truth, but something about that man made me want to argue out of spite anyway.
24
After Orion and Ace left, I tied my hair into a bun and changed into cotton pajamas before deciding to cook. Whenever things became chaotic in life, I found calmness in completing the most mundane tasks—bathing, cleaning, cooking. I moved around the kitchen and hummed the tune Sley had sung in my shop, though I didn’t know the words.
The peace didn’t last long.
Paul crashed through my front door without knocking and skidded to a stop in my cabin. Ace followed him through the entranceway and closed the door with an amused smirk. Hadn’t he just left? Didn’t he have something better to do with his time than saunter around my place and judge me?
“This feels eerily reminiscent of your last visit.” I set the plate of cooked meat down and straightened to cross my arms over my chest. “Have you tried knocking?”
My relaxing evening plans consisted of snuggling with Nala on the couch and reading a book. And once again, as if he anticipated my plans and sought to ruin them, my twin was in my face, leading trouble through my door.
Paul wore his regular, short-sleeved navy shirt and dark pants combo, whereas Ace had changed into dark leather hunting gear with a cloak to stave off the cold. Instead of wearing a back quiver over his cloak, Ace had opted for wearing one around his hip. Tall, leather boots rose to his knees, the leather pants clung to his thighs, and the shirt looked a little too snug on his shoulders and arms.
Why did he have to look so good?
I waved at his outfit. “Shopping at the bargain stalls at the market again? You need to go a size up.”
Ace flashed his teeth at me—either an attempt at smiling, or an attempt to hide his trademark sneer. Either way, he wasn’t fooling me.
“Play nice, Em.” Paul waggled his finger in my face. “I have urgent news, and I thought it prudent to grab Ace along the way and bring him with me so we can plan together. Also, I hate repeating myself, so this was just easier for me.”
“A plan?” I raised an eyebrow.
“Yes, but first I want to hear what happened to you.” He glanced at Ace. “Your partner indicated that the tracking mission didn’t go well but didn’t have a chance to elaborate before I hauled him to your cabin.”
I glanced at my food, still hot and smelling delicious. My stomach growled.
Paul followed my gaze and licked his lips. “Any chance you have more?”
Of course, I had more, and he knew it. Paul breezed in and out of my life and my cabin. I always made extra food just in case.
With a quick pivot, I plucked my plates off the table, and headed back into the kitchen. “Do you want a plate too?” I asked Ace over my shoulder.
“If you have enough,” he answered.
“She does,” my brother added as he rubbed his hands together.
I plated two more dishes and set them on the small dining table as Ace and Paul joined me. I spent the next twenty minutes recounting the events in the Danu Forest with Ace occasionally interjecting to add details.
Paul forgot he had a plate of meat in front of him and just stared at me, and then Ace, and then me again, his mouth progressively dropping more open with each movement.
“Holy shit,” Paul said after I finished the story. He didn’t look shocked anymore, just angry. His gaze flashed with barely contained rage and his magic simmered below his skin, calling to mine.
Paul didn’t have a familiar, but he had magic like me. The power raced in his veins, but he’d never found an outlet for it like I had with shooting. One day, though, when he found his familiar and his purpose, he would be spectacular.