She took a tissue from a pouch at her side and wiped her face. "Before I met you, I was alone. I have wandered this Earth for so long, always so lonely except for my feline companions. I have made friends along the way, true. Bella, as you know, is quite an old friend. But after I met you, things, well, they changed."
"Yeah, if you count me dragging you off into dangerous encounters with people who want to destroy the world."
"Oh, it is quite exciting," she said, nodding. "And I enjoy fighting for a cause. But what I mean by change is so much deeper, love. You brought me in, a lonely stray whose only thought was of living day-to-day. You accepted me. You made me a part of your—dare I say it?—family. I had forgotten what it was like to be loved and cared for. You risked your own life to save me. And without you, I might never have met my love, Ryland." Her face lit up at his name. "Oh, he is a scoundrel, and our relationship is by no means perfect." She purred. "He is a wolf, after all. A very naughty—"
"Uh, I don't think you need to get any deeper into the naughty bits," I said, smiling while my heart swelled to bursting with affection for this crazy woman. "Maybe it's a good thing you assaulted me at the gym."
"Oh, the things I planned to do with you," she said, sniffling into a tissue. "But I'm rather glad things turned out this way. It seems every time I've built up the courage to tell you this, Justin, something comes up, or I falter. I'm not very good at trusting people with my heart." She touched my chest. "But you have a good one, and I trust you. Know that you have my love as much as any brother of mine would have had. If you ever need me or Ryland, we will always be there for you."
I tried to speak, but my throat was suddenly choked up. The sting of tears in my eyes left me wiping furiously at them.
Stacey offered me a tissue.
I took it, sucking in a deep breath to keep the tears at bay.
"Just because you are a super hero doesn't mean you dare not cry," Stacey said, her usual mischievous grin returning. "I promise not to tell anyone."
A laugh broke through the blockade in my throat and a couple of tears pulled a jailbreak, rolling down my cheeks. I pulled her in for a hug. Kissed her on the top of her blonde head. "I love you too, sis. If you weren't older than me, I'd adopt you as my little sister."
"I believe you already have a little sister," she said, her grin fading. "I hope we can help you with that someday, brother."
We rejoined the others in the den. The crowd had swelled to include Shelton and Bella, both of whom were apparently trading the day's adventures with Elyssa's mother, Leia. Cinder stood in a corner, hands straight by his sides as he watched the festivities.
"Are you okay?" I asked the golem. "I didn't mean to abandon you at Maximus's place, but Elyssa and I had to get back here."
"I understand, Justin." He attempted a smile, but the result only startled me. His lips snapped back to neutral.
"This guy was a whirlwind," Shelton said, appearing to my side, and clapping a hand on the golem's shoulder. "He disarmed about ten guys before I even cast my first spell."
"I was glad to be of service," Cinder said. "Do you happen to know of any magic spells that could make me real?"
Shelton seemed at a loss for words, glancing back and forth between us.
"I'm sorry," Cinder said after an uneasy moment of silence. "That was meant to be a jest, but the attempt obviously failed."
Shelton and I burst into laughter.
"Or perhaps my attempt succeeded after all," the golem said, tilting his head like a curious puppy. "I must be, as you say, 'getting a handle' on humor."
I turned away from the two, and the laughter faded from my lips. Thomas stood in the kitchen doorway, beer in hand, looking on as Ryland worked his cooking skills. It reminded me a little of the last time I'd had Ryland's cooking. We'd been cooped up in one of Shelton's hideouts, on the run from hellhounds and one of my dad's sisters. Underborn had put a death mark on my dad, and Elyssa and I