Page 33 of I Am the Night

My heart feels a pang of regret that his relationship ended the way it did. It seems he's not found love again since. "It's not too late to find companionship once more," I say. "You have a long life ahead of you. Let yourself open up to something new again. I think she would want that for you."

He tilts his head. "Is that from memory?"

"No," I say. "But it's what I would want for someone that I loved. It's what I would want for you."

"Be safe, Miss Oliver. I will see you tomorrow."

He pulls away from me and transforms into a giant red dragon, fire sparking from his mouth. He gives me a brief nod and flies away, disappearing into the Dragon's Breath covering sky.

I glance back at the mausoleum where I know Sebastian is sitting in Ifi and Elal's home, worried sick. Poor guy. I close my eyes and teleport to their apartment.

I rematerialize… awkwardly, landing in Sebastian's lap, who is still sitting on the couch where I left him.

He grunts, catching me and preventing me from hitting my head on the edge of the metal and glass coffee table.

"I'm so sorry," I say, my arms wrapped around his neck to keep from falling.

He tightens his grip on me rather than letting me go. "I'm not," he says softly, his forest green eyes locked on mine.

"We have not stopped talking about you," Ifi says, with an excited clap of his hands. "Your powers are on fleek!"

I laugh and scoot off Sebastian to stand and stretch. "Thanks."

I give the Earth Druid a meaningful glance. "We should head home. There's a lot to discuss."

He raises an eyebrow and stands while I hug the guys and thank them for everything. "Any luck on the baby front?" I ask, knowing they are trying to adopt.

Ifi grins. "We might have a lead. But it's too soon to tell. Crossing fingers and toes. The need is real. My biological clock is ticking."

"Calm yourself, love. We are immortal. There is no clock," Elal says.

"Okay, Boomer," Ifi says, and I nearly die.

"Ifi, love, that's not quite what that means," I say, through fits of giggles. "But solid effort."

We leave and I'm still laughing as we head back to the carriage. "He's a crack up."

"They are quite entertaining," Sebastian agrees. "Now, tell me, what happened."

"First off, you're not going to like a lot of what I say, but I need you to chill, okay?"

He glares at me.

"Sebastian, I need your word."

With a huff he relents. "Fine. Tell me."

We climb into the carriage and Mable spurs the horses into movement.

Once we are on our way, I tell him everything. Including the kiss.

Sebastian clutches his fist but doesn't say anything until I'm done.

"I know if I forbid you to go to the Ancient Library tomorrow, you'll just do it anyways," he says after a moment of silence.

I smile. "You're finally learning."

He narrows his eyes at me but continues. "You and Elijah should hit the books tonight to see what you can learn about it before you go. There might be traps. Spells. Best to get as much information as you can, for protection at least."