“Aw, Gid. You’ve gotten mushy in your old age,” Jai teased, knocking Gideon’s shoulder as he passed us.
Gideon flipped him off with a droll stare, and I chuckled as I ducked under the desk and plugged my computer cord into the outlet. It didn’t take long for Jai and Noel to empty my suitcase. I almost forgot about the box of condoms and the enema that Beau had gifted me for my birthday, hidden at the very bottom of my baggage. But I remembered in time to subtly snatch them from the bag and slip them under my pillow.
For some reason, the condoms helped answer my unasked question about the size of my bed. I was small and could easily fit on a single bed, and a single would have been better suited for a studio apartment. But they’d bought me a massive mattress instead—king-sized, if I ventured a guess. It seemed illogical until I realized I probably wouldn’t be sleeping alone very often.
That thought spurred on other scarier, more naked thoughts, which in turn sent blood rushing to my cheeks until my face broiled like the summer outside. Oh God, I didn’t know if I was ready for that.
“You okay?” Noel asked as he shoved my empty suitcase under the bed. “You look—”
“I’m fine.”
Three sets of eyes weighed on my shoulders. I blushed hotter.
“O-kay?” Noel dragged out the O as he stood and brushed off his knees. “Well, I guess that’s it. You don’t have a lot of stuff.”
“I don’t need a lot.”
“I guess.”
Now that there was nothing left to do, we stood aimlessly in awkward silence. There was a lot we hadn’t talked about since I’d been away over the summer. I didn’t think they were angry at me anymore, but there was an undercurrent of tension and insecurity buzzing between all four of us. I wasn’t sure how to fix it.
“You’re wearing it,” Noel said, reaching under my collar to pull out the leather strap of my necklace. The gold, onyx, and opal wing pendants clinked as he withdrew my birthday gift from beneath my shirt.
“I always wear it,” I admitted, fidgeting with the hem of my shirt. It was true; I never took it off unless I was showering.
A pretty pink spread over Noel’s cheeks as his eyes darkened a shade. “Good.”
When a throat cleared, Noel dropped my necklace and stepped back. Gideon stood near the open door connecting our apartments. He ran a hand through his too-long, dark blond waves.
“We should talk about our schedules,” he said. “Riley starts classes, and our new assignment begins, as well.”
“He just got here,” Jai said.
“Give him a second to get settled,” Noel finished.
“It’s fine,” I interrupted. “A new assignment? But you’re not Guardians anymore. I thought… You have another ward?”
My heart raced as panic threatened to consume me. I’d hated that they’d given up their Guardian status for me, but the thought of them having another ward made me want to throw up.
“Of course not, sweetie.” Noel rubbed my shoulder as Jai kicked at the carpet with his sandal.
“But it’s not like we have vacation for the rest of our existence,” he said as he slipped his hands into the pockets of his cargo shorts. “We might not be Guardians anymore, but we still have a responsibility to Utopia.”
“We’ve been given a new assignment.” When Gideon gestured toward their living room, I walked into their apartment and took a seat at the loveseat. Jai sat beside me, and the hesitancy with which he dragged a knuckle down my arm was both adorable and heartbreaking.
With a shy smile, I took his hand, and our fingers twined. His eyes warmed, the flames behind his irises flickering. Noel perched on the armrest on my other side, and his nails scratched up and down my spine. Taking a military stance in front of the loveseat, feet shoulder-length apart, hands clasped behind his back, Gideon cleared his throat again.
“When you were hospitalized, demon activity increased. The protective wards placed in and around the hospital were tested and, at times, infiltrated. We have to assume your presence was the catalyst.”
“They tried to take me from the hospital,” I clarified, almost a question but more of a statement.
Gideon nodded. “Yes, I believe Lucifer thought it a prime opportunity to get his hands on you. Demon attacks around the city skyrocketed. I think they were trying to spread our resources so there was less protection around you. Thankfully, any attempts to kidnap you from the hospital were unsuccessful.
“But the impact was felt by many angels who reside here. A team of Principalities were ambushed and slaughtered. Only three survived. They were given the summer to grieve, but they applied to return to work. I’ve been tasked to fill the role of their Power. Jai and Noel will join their team.”
“Principalities. They’re like police, right?”
“Kind of. We’ll monitor demon activity, investigate supernatural crimes, eliminate threats. Things like that.” Noel smoothed a hand over my hair. “Don’t look so worried. We’ve been training for this over the summer, and it’s not that much more dangerous than what we faced as Guardians.”
“So you’ll work with the human police like Obie?”
Jai shook his head. “No, only a few Principality teams are integrated into the police. We’re independent of the mortal system.”
“Oh. Okay.”
“But this does mean that we can’t be with you all the time,” Gideon continued. “Your campus is still heavily warded, and Uriel has reported your self-defense capabilities are adequate. When the team isn’t busy, one of us will accompany you to school.”
I crossed my arms over my chest. “I don’t need babysitters, Gideon. I’ve trained hard all summer. I’ll be fine.”
“We can tell you’ve trained.” Noel waggled his eyebrow as he traced my biceps. “Look at you getting muscles.”
“Shut up.” I slumped down in my seat with a blush.
“We’ll flex for him later.” Alter Riley growled in satisfaction at the heat in Noel’s eyes. He wanted to puff out our chest and strut, and I internally sighed in exasperation.
“That would be mortifying. Let’s not.” Aloud, I said, “I don’t want you putting you and your team in danger by keeping Jai or Noel with me.” I glanced at them both. “Not that I don’t want you there, but the smaller your team, the higher the chances of someone getting hurt. Right?”
Rubbing the back of his neck, Gideon grimaced. “That is a possibility, yes.”
“I’ll be fine. You have to trust me to take care of myself.”
“And if a demon breaches the wards and you’re faced with the choice of getting the Hades out of Dodge or protecting the humans around you, what are you gonna do?” Jai flicked my ear, and I flinched away.
“And we can’t ignore human threats,” Noel added.
“Ms. Janet is under house arrest, and I haven’t talked to Brian since first semester of freshman year.”
“This isn’t up for discussion,” Gideon said. “When possible, one of us will be with you.”
I almost rolled my eyes but stopped myself when Gideon gave me a stern glare. “Fine!”