Darkblood Prison - G.K. DeRosa Page 0,81

only a few stops.”

His nostrils flared, and he stepped closer. “So you waited?”

“For a little while. Then when it didn’t seem like we’d be moving any time soon, I portalled our butts out of there.”

“What else did you do with your butts?” The words were joking, but his tone was anything but.

“What do you mean?”

“I can smell Talon all over you.”

Heat rushed up my neck and ran a scorching trail across my cheeks. My jaw dropped, and not a single word came out.

“You’re back together?” He bit out the words with such venom I staggered back.

“I… I don’t think that’s any of your business.” Plus, we hadn’t exactly had the talk yet.

“Whatever.” He shook his head and spun around, breaking through the cloaking barrier.

“What are you doing?” I hissed.

“I can’t—I need to get some air,” he called out over his shoulder.

“Vander, come on. Talon’s going to be back in a second, and we need to go up there.”

He spun back, his amber eyes glowing, and a frown carved into his face. “I’m sorry. I thought I was over you, but I was wrong.” The air glistened around him once again, and a moment later, a snow-white wolf ripped out of his flesh and bones. He galloped away, his alabaster form disappearing in the darkness.

Damn, did that go horribly wrong.

I shook my head and pushed the dark thoughts aside. I couldn’t focus on Vander’s hurt feelings, not now anyway. The guys needed my full attention. Speeding back to the spot under the window where I’d last seen Talon, I searched for him. It was weird how I could decipher his brain waves from the dozens of others within the house.

Talon, what’s going on in there?

Hold on, I’m coming down for you guys now.

Ugh. How was I going to explain the Vander drama?

A second later, Talon’s partially shifted form appeared overhead. He landed next to me with a ground-shaking thud. His reptilian eyes scanned the darkness before returning to mine. “Where’s Vander?”

I considered my response for a devastatingly long minute. I didn’t know why but I felt protective over my wolf bodyguard, despite his surprising behavior tonight. “He wasn’t feeling well. He’ll meet up with us later.”

“What was wrong with him?”

“I’m not sure. He didn’t want to go into details.”

“That’s not like Vander at all.” He glanced up at the brownstone full of demons. “Maybe it was too much? It reminded him of when he was captive in the Underworld?”

I shrugged. “Maybe.”

He stared down the quiet road, indecision twisting his features.

“Let him go, Talon. He just needs some time alone.”

“You’re probably right,” he muttered. “You ready to go in there?”

“Abso-freakin-lutely.” This was it, my big chance to prove I belonged in the SIA and not in Darkblood Prison. “Let’s do it.”

Chapter Thirty

Tiptoeing, I followed Talon through the pitch-black corridor. He pointed at the staircase, and I strained to listen. Muffled voices seeped from downstairs, and most of the echoes sounded more animal than human. Then he pointed down the hallway to the last door on the left and scooped me into his arms.

Not that I minded being pressed against Talon’s firm chest, but what was that for? The slight whir of his wings reached my ears, and I realized he was gliding us a few feet off the wooden floor.

Creaky floorboards. His voice echoed across my mind.

I glanced up and smiled. I wasn’t sure how he’d figured out how to broadcast directly to me, but it was definitely a neat trick.

When we reached the old door, Talon silently descended, landing on the old floorboards without making a sound. He wrapped his hand around the antique knob and pushed it open.

Talon exhaled and a flame appeared in his palm, lighting up the dark space. Dallas and Hayden sat on the floor in the corner, matching looks of boredom spread across their faces. “It’s about time you showed up,” Dallas whisper-hissed.

Talon pressed his index finger to his mouth, silencing him.

I raised a hand and motioned for them to wait. I was pretty sure I had a silencing spell somewhere in my bag of tricks. Closing my eyes, I visualized all the incantations I’d memorized from GG’s book on spellcraft.

Yes, got it!

“Silencium majorum.” I muttered the words as they swam across my mind’s eye. My tattoo flickered to life and magic skimmed over my skin, filling the room with that familiar smoky scent. “Okay, you guys can talk now. I blanketed the room in a silencing spell.”

Hayden’s mouth curved into a capital O. “Nice, pumpkin.