A weird thing happened in my stomach. A mixture of nerves, excitement, jealousy, happiness, and even grief shot through me, making me feel like I might throw up. “Great.”
There was rustling on the other side of the phone for a moment before Alaric’s voice was whisper-soft. “He’s Grady’s best friend so we kinda have to have him, Izzy, but… if you need me to, I can ask Grady to take Laz out just the two of them so you don’t have to see him.”
My brow furrowed. “Why the hell would I want you to do that?”
He huffed. “Raphie’s told me… things. About your lives while I was trapped. I know… I know a little bit about what happened. Between you and my brother, I mean. He didn’t tell me everything, but I know…” He sighed as my stomach did that queasy thing again. “If you need me to keep him away, I’ll do my best. Or maybe you and I can go somewhere together while—”
“You don’t need to keep Laz away. Your brother is free to do what he wants.”
There was a long pause before Alaric said, “I understand, but I know it’s not easy to—”
“It’s fine. I like Laz. He’s a good guy. He’s a friend.”
“But—”
“I’ll be fine, Alaric. I appreciate it, but I’m fine.” I was always fine. I was Mr. Go-With-The-Flow. Always.
“Alright. If anything changes, you only need to tell me.”
“Thank you, little runt.” Raph’s nickname for his little brother sorta slipped out now and again. Luckily, Alaric never seemed to mind.
He chuckled. “I’ll see you on Monday. Will you please text Grady when you leave so we’ll know when to expect you?”
“Of course.” I smiled. Alaric had gotten used to a lot of the technology we had now, but texting was something he refused to do. It always made me laugh. The world was very different compared to before he’d been trapped away. He’d seen plenty of TV and movies while trapped and was up to date with the lingo, but seeing it that way was very different from living it. He was younger than both Raph and me, but in many ways, it was as if he was the oldest of us all.
We said our goodbyes, and I hung up, then shot off a text to Raph to tell him to hurry his ass up. It had been a long day, and I was ready to go home. I needed a shower, some food, and we needed to pack. Correction, I needed to pack while Raph inevitably whined about how annoying it was to pack, and I wound up doing it for him. I was pretty sure he only whined because he knew it annoyed me enough that I’d do just about anything to make the complaining stop. After all these years of working and traveling for the Conclave, you’d think he’d know how to be a grown-up, but maybe he never learned since I ended up doing it for him every time.
“What’s with the frown?” Raph’s voice called out to me.
“I’m thinking about how annoying you are when it comes to packing, and how I know I’m going to end up doing it for you.”
He smiled. “Was that an offer to pack for me?”
“Hell no, asshole.” I hopped off the trunk and threw him the keys, which he caught, and I was extremely happy that he was acting normal, as if nothing had happened. We’d be okay if we could pretend that kiss meant nothing. My heart twinged a little at the thought of him truly feeling like it was nothing, but I ignored it. “Pack your own shit.”
He groaned. “Pretty, pretty please? With ice cream on top and a cherry?”
I rolled my eyes and opened the passenger side door so the familiars could jump inside. “You know I made you a list, like ten years ago, with every single thing you need to pack on it.”
“I lost it.”
“It’s hanging on the back of your bedroom door. There’s a copy in our bathroom, one in our car, taped in every single suitcase, and I’ve left copies of it in every single house we own, taped up in your rooms. Nice try.”
He waved me away. “Did you talk to Alaric already? I saw that he called. I was talking to the other enforcers, so I couldn’t answer it right away, but I figured he’d call you.”
“Yep, it’s taken care of. He wanted to make sure we’re still coming to visit.”
He nodded before we both slipped into the car. He started it, but didn’t drive right away. Clearing his throat, he whispered, “Iz, about earlier—”
“Don’t, Raph. Just… don’t.”
He hesitated, then whispered, “Okay.”
Even though I knew I shouldn’t, I said, “Laz is gonna be there for dinner Monday night.”
“Izzy.”
“Thought you should know in case you want to you know.”
“Isiah, why are you—”
“He’s a good guy, Raph. I don’t blame you for going back to him again.”
He paused again, then asked, “Is that what you want? For me to go back to him?”
I didn’t answer right away. I waited until he sighed and pulled out onto the road before I said, “He makes you happy, Raphael. That’s all I’ve ever wanted. So yes, I want you to go back to him.” Because I know that’s what you want.
“Izzy—”
“I can feel your feelings for him, Raph, and I’m sick of you denying it and denying him. You like him, and that’s something you should take advantage of.”
“Isiah, you don’t have to—”
“I know, Raph, I know I don’t. But I want to, because you—and Laz—deserve some happiness in this life.”
He was quiet for a long time, then whispered, “So do you.”
“Yeah, well…”
He sighed and didn’t say a word the whole drive home.
And for once, he actually packed his own bags.
Chapter 3
Lazarus
Knowing I was going to see Raphael and Isiah again today had made me antsy. I had barely even slept a wink last night because the anticipation was making me jittery and hyper. With the apple pie I baked in hand, I hopped onto the porch and knocked on my best friend’s door. A minute later, he swung it open with a huge smile on his face.
“Hey,” he said as he pulled me into a side-hug even though we just saw each other yesterday. “I told you, you didn’t have to bring anything.”
I passed him the pie. “I wanted to.” I’d had too much energy not to bake. “It smells good in here.”
“Dinner’s almost done.” He shot me a grin before walking a step in the direction of the kitchen. “Raphie went to the bathroom, I think, but Izzy’s in the living room.”
As if he even had to tell me, considering the living room was only three feet from where I stood, and through the archway, I could see Izzy’s legs sticking out from where I assumed he sat on the couch. But I guess that meant Grady wanted me to go in there instead of following him around like a little lost puppy. Which was exactly what I wanted to do since I was too nervous to face Isiah.
Grady pushed my shoulder, giving me a little shove in the direction of the living room, so I swatted him away before taking a deep breath and heading in there. As soon as I came face to face with Isiah Shadowend, I froze, taking him in. He was gorgeous as hell with his blond hair sweeping over his forehead and falling into his startling bright blue eyes. I’d once asked him if he wore contacts because I hadn’t believed his eyes were naturally that color, but he swore they were, and when I’d asked him if he’d used magic, he seemed offended. Apparently, using your magic for something so trivial would be asinine to the point of him being seriously pissed I’d even asked. Like I’d accused him of something terrible.