"Shade has already come to, angel face," comes a mumble from my shoulder. I turn to see the wolf shifter looking up at me crookedly. His eyes, while still bleary, are as bright and silver as I remember, and my heart surges in my chest at the sight of him.
"Shade." Before I can stop myself, I'm pulling him into a tight embrace, kissing his cheek while desperately trying not to burst into tears again. "Holy shit, Shade, I was so worried about you."
"Easy, Boots, Easy," he says, his hand coming up to rest on my back. "You're gonna crush me."
Remembering his injury, I immediately pull back. "Fuck, I'm sorry."
"Don't worry about it," Shade replies. "I'm still kicking. A little worse for wear, though. Those bastards got me good."
"I thought you were going to die," I whisper, looking down.
Shade slides his knuckle under my chin and lifts my face up. He searches my eyes for a long moment and then kisses me gently, winding a hand through my hair as if hardly daring to believe I'm really here. "I thought the same," he admits when he pulls away. "Tell me you killed that fucker."
"Hawthorne?" Silas shakes his head. "If only. Glancing at me, he adds, "It sounds like we've got some catching up to do."
The train continues its journey through the British countryside, the areas around us slowly becoming more urban the closer we get to London. The trip takes the better part of the morning, but after changing trains in Birmingham, time seems to speed up. There's no denying that I'm nervous —I suppose we all are, now that I think about it—but part of me still wonders what we're going to find waiting for us back in the city. Blockades? Armed patrols? How much control does the school board have over the rest of the humans, anyway? And if Hawthorne is smart—which he, unfortunately, is—then he'll be anticipating our return. The key will be outwitting him long enough for us to outnumber him.
If that's even possible.
After checking in to a five-star hotel in the centre of the city, courtesy of Hunter's expense account, we sit down in our suite living room to strategise.
"You don't think this is all a little conspicuous?” Silas asks, pulling back the curtains to glance out the window.
"You should have brought this up before I paid," grumbles Hunter.
"I for one think it's great," says Landon as he flops back on the couch.
"You would," I tease, elbowing him.
He catches my wrist and presses a kiss to my knuckles. "You wound me."
"It's not a bad idea, actually," Shade comments from where he's leaning by the bookshelf. "Hawthorne's probably combing all the abandoned buildings and cheap motels in the city for us. This should throw him off, at least for a bit."
"We can't keep doing this forever," Silas objects. "Going from hotel to hotel, lying low, waiting… We need to find someone who can point us to where Edith is."
"What about Mollie's place?" Landon suggests. "She lived there for god knows how long. Maybe there are some leads there."
"I hate to rain on that parade, but the last I heard, that whole apartment building was a smoking pile of ash," snarks Shade. "Anything she might have left there is probably burnt to a crisp by now, not to mention the fact that the Academy agents are probably still in the area. Besides," he goes on, "any magical signature she left behind is inaccessible to us without a witch. Sorry, Boots. No offense."
"None taken," I reply.
"So we're screwed, then," says Hunter, throwing up his hands. "We don't have anyone we can trust to tell us where she's gone."
There's a long pause, and then an idea comes to me. "What about someone we can't trust?" I ask suddenly.
The others all look at me like I've suddenly grown a second head. "You feeling all right, Boots?" asks Landon.
I roll my eyes. "Guys, I'm serious. I'm talking about her contacts—you know, that couple we asked for help who then turned on us."
Hunter's brow furrows. "You think?"
"Think about it," I insist. "Edith sent us to them in order to get me killed. She was probably planning on handing my body over to Hawthorne as soon as that siren made me jump out the window. Clearly, they're on the same side."
"So… what?" asks Silas. "You think we should just pay them a visit and ask nicely?"
I shake my head grimly. "Not so nicely."
Shade laughs. "Badass," he remarks, straightening up. "I'm in."
"Hold it," Landon protests. "Your injury-"
"Relax, Thyme, I'm fine," says Shade, waving him off. "Whatever Josie did has me back to almost a hundred percent. Besides…" His face hardens. "Nobody fucks with Boots and lives to talk about it. I think we're all in agreement there, right?"
The others murmur their assent almost immediately. But as much as their obvious care for me warms my heart, it also fills me with discomfort. I hate the way the dynamics have shifted like this. I haven't always had magical powers at my command, but the one thing I'd like to think I've never been is a damsel in distress. It no longer feels like we're all on equal footing; instead, I'm struck with a sense of inadequacy so strong it's almost crippling. "Okay," I say, getting to my feet. "But I'm coming with you guys. I want to be there to see this through."
The others look at each other with uncertainty, but to their credit and my extreme relief, nobody voices any objections. "Fair enough," says Silas. "We'll catch them early in the morning tomorrow, when they won't be expecting it."
With that settled, we depart for our rooms, each of us in our own mind. After getting ready for bed, I steal a paranoid look out my room window. Nobody outside that I can see, but…
The feeling of strong arms wrapping around me from behind draws my attention away. "Mind if I sleep in here with you?" Shade murmurs into my ear, making me shiver. "As I understand it, I owe you for saving my life, and there are quite a few ways I'd like to show my gratitude"
Grinning, I turn in his arms and wrap my hands around his neck. "I wouldn't have it any other way."
Chapter 8
"And you're sure this is the right area?" Silas sounds doubtful as he and Shade creep along behind Landon, Hunter, and me.
"Have I ever been wrong before?" asks Landon, grinning.
"Yes," Hunter replies. "Multiple times."
Landon laughs. "Boots, back me up, here."
I come to a stop at the next intersection and put my hands on my hips, squinting as I glance around. Yes, this definitely looks familiar, although I'd be damned if I had to remember the building number. I guess we'll just have to hope that between the three of us, we'll be able to find the right apartment. "Yeah, I think we're on the right track," I agree. "This is the neighbourhood, for sure. Second block on the left, if I'm not mistaken."
"Right. I remember." Hunter falls into step next to me as we resume our journey.
"This whole thing has me on edge," Silas confesses. He keeps glancing around to check for suspicious characters amongst what few pedestrians are out and about, and I don't blame him. It's a little before five in the morning, and the night is still dark, which only makes things worse. Every creeping shadow hides a potential enemy, every movement I glimpse out of the corner of my eye is enough to make my heart race. Could the Academy have put feelers out around here? Half of me is expecting someone to reach out and grab me from every dark corner and dead-end street. Having the guys around only makes me feel marginally better.