After Rowan delivers her ultimatum, effectively threatening the lives of dozens of people, she just kind of… Wanders off. Like she didn’t just do that. Like it was just another casual part of her evening. And maybe for her it was. She shoves her way through the vampires crowding around Rina and greets her like they’re old friends catching up at brunch. Just like that. I stare after her, stunned. Then I turn to Andrew, who is still sitting beside us, watching his wife affectionately. As if she didn’t just casually drop a death threat and walk away like it was nothing. The front door swings open, and Andrew glances over his shoulder. He sighs.
“Oh, we should probably head off.” hH says conversationally.
“That guy is so dramatic. He thinks Rowan killed his nephew, and he always kicks up such a fuss whenever we run into him.” He complains. I blink.
“…Did she?” Lukas asks, his voice neutral.
“Kill his nephew, I mean?” He clarifies. Andrew scratches the back of his head.
“Well… Yeah, technically.” He admits. Lukas raises an eyebrow.
“…You do know your wife is kind of terrifying, right?” Lukas says bluntly. I elbow him in the side.
“Lukas! That’s so rude!” I whisper. But Andrew just laughs.
“Yeah, I’m aware.” He says easily.
“She can definitely take care of herself, that’s for sure. But I’m obsessed with her anyway.” He says, his smile softening. I pause… Huh. Lukas still looks vaguely confused, probably because Andrew and Rowan are such an odd couple. Still, it’s kind of… Nice. They just accept each other. Completely.
“Right… Well. Okay then.” Lukas says slowly. Andrew just grins, completely unbothered, then stands to fetch his wife. Rowan hands me a small card with her number on it before heading out with him. I watch them leave, casually chatting about what takeout they should get on the way home, as if they didn’t just threaten to dismantle a criminal empire. What is my life?
Torin seems to relax a little now that Rowan has left. Not that I think he dislikes her or anything, he did say he thinks she is fair. But she made it pretty clear that she keeps a close eye on him. That’s a lot of pressure. I can’t imagine having someone constantly watching me, fully prepared to just… End me if they decided I was stepping out of line. Particularly when he hasn’t actually done anything to deserve that kind of suspicion. That has to be exhausting. I shake off the thought and turn back to Torin.
“So… Is it alright if we go check on Wren?” I ask hopefully. Torin frowns ever so slightly, his gaze flicking toward the door that leads to the back of the bar. I get the distinct impression that he doesn’t like letting people wander through his territory. Which… Makes sense. I think I was told once that demons can be territorial. Actually… Now that I think about it, it’s kind of strange that he owns and manages a bar on his territory. He’s CONSTANTLY inviting people in. Maybe he’s friendlier than I initially thought. Or maybe it’s just his way of controlling who comes and goes. Torin finally nods.
“Yes. I’ll take you back there.” He says shortly. Then he narrows his eyes slightly.
“Just… Don’t go wandering anywhere.” He says firmly.
“We won’t.” I promise immediately, completely sincere. The guy is already doing us a huge favor by keeping Wren here. I don’t want to make things harder for him.
“Good.” He says, apparently satisfied. Then, after one last moment of hesitation, he turns and warily leads us behind the bar. Roxy trots along at my side, sniffing curiously at everything. Lukas keeps his hand tightly wrapped around mine, staying close as we follow. When we reach the door, Torin is careful to open it for us.
“Don’t touch this door. Or the back door.” He warns. His tone is firm.
“If you need to get in or out, you’ll need to ask someone who works here.” He pauses, glancing at me seriously.
“They’re spelled, it could be… Rather painful for you to touch them.” He adds. That makes me pause. I take a closer look at the door, reaching out with my senses, and immediately recognise the familiar signature of my cousin’s magic.
“Laura spelled them?” I ask, intrigued.
“It looks like a warding spell of some kind. The dangerous type.” I observe. Torin nods.
“Yeah.” He confirms. I take an instinctive step back from the door. I do NOT want to get caught up in a spell like that.
“Well, we definitely won’t be touching them.” I mutter. Then curiosity gets the better of me.
“What kind of customers do you get that require this level of security?” I wonder aloud. Torin’s expression darkens. His jaw tightens slightly before he finally responds.
“It was set up when Solem was still after Rina.” He explains. Ah. That makes sense. Spells like this are a lot of work, and they can be extremely dangerous to people who don’t know about them. Not to mention, my cousin is basically a genius when it comes to this kind of magic. It’s no wonder my parents and aunt were so eager to pair her off with Lukas. She has all the talent and discipline that they always wanted to see in me. A familiar pang of jealousy tugs at my chest. Not resentment, I don’t resent Laura. But it hurts to know that my family considers her to be… Better than me. And, oddly, there’s a new kind of jealousy there too. I don’t like the idea of her ending up with Lukas. Which is stupid. Laura has her own guy, Kyle, I think his name was, and she has zero interest in Lukas. But still… The thought of it makes me super uncomfortable. I’m still caught up in my own thoughts when Lukas suddenly slips his arm around my waist and tugs me closer as we follow Torin down the hall. I barely register where we’re going until I hear Eli’s voice echoing from a small room ahead. Lukas leans down, his breath warm against my ear. And then, in a voice softer than I’ve ever heard him use, he whispers to me.
“I’d pick you every time.”
I am completely flustered. Lukas’s words are still looping in my head, and my face is definitely still red as we step into a small bedroom at the back of the bar. Why is there a bedroom here, anyway? This place is so weird.
“Clare!” Eli greets me enthusiastically, all his earlier frustrations apparently completely forgotten. I glance around the room, taking in the strangely normal scene in front of me. Wren is perched on the edge of a decent looking bed, watching a movie on a tablet. Damien is here too, sitting nearby on an armchair, looking perfectly comfortable. So… I guess the three of them are just hanging out? That’s… Kind of unexpected. I mean, I knew someone had to be looking after Wren, but I didn’t think Eli and Damien would be playing babysitter. Wren looks up and spots us.
“Hi Clare, hi Lukas.” He greets us with a smile. He actually seems happier than before. That’s a good sign.
“Hey Wren, how are you doing?” I say, stepping further into the room.
“Not too bad.” He answers.
“Although I’m a little stir-crazy. Maybe we could go up front and sit at one of the tables for a bit?” He asks hopefully. Uh… I don’t know about that. It’s a bar, after all. And he’s still a kid. I hesitate, not sure if that’s really appropriate.
“Or, we could just catch up here? It’s pretty loud out there. We could use a break from the crowd.” I suggest instead. Wren pouts dramatically and Eli pats his arm sympathetically.
“Nice try, kid.” He shakes his head.
“But Rina made herself very clear. You aren’t allowed up front while the bar is open. You’re underage.” He says firmly. Oh. Seems like Wren was trying to manipulate me a little. Honestly?
That’s the most teenage behaviour I’ve seen from him so far.
“Such a stupid rule.” Wren mutters.
“It’s not like I want to drink anything. I’m just bored back here.” He complains.
“Sorry, kid. Rules are rules.” Eli says, sounding not even a little sorry. Wren slouches, clearly defeated. I exhale and decide to just rip off the bandaid.
“Well… The good news is, you shouldn’t have to stay here too much longer.” I start. Wren perks up slightly. I glance around at the others.
“The bad news is… We have exactly one week to figure out what we’re doing about Solem, or a hunter is going to figure it out for us.” I blurt the last part out, just trying to get it over with. The room falls dead silent. Everyone stares at me, expressions ranging from concerned to borderline horrified. Yeah. That’s about the reaction I expected.