meltdown. It’d be a lie to say we all weren’t a little concerned. A headstrong half-demon son, heading into puberty as besties with a full-blooded chaos demon… What could go wrong?
“Aha!” Jaden’s easygoing exclamation bursts out as Maximus and I step closer. His greeting comes with a generous I-might-be-a-little-high hug. “Look who’s rolled in from the land of academia. Thought you’d never get here. Last time I checked, you guys were turning out of the canyon. Seems eons ago.”
I hug him tighter, hoping that last part gets muffled by my hair, before he breaks off to plunk me down in the sand. Maximus is relaxed and happy tonight, and I want to keep it that way. The last thing he needs is an explanation about Jaden’s black-ops-level hearing abilities.
“And look what else we’ve got here. Her lucky escort!”
Oh, yes. He’s buzzed.
“Maximus, this is my brother, Jaden. J, I’d like you to meet—”
“The Professor Maximus,” Jaden intercedes before hauling my date into a hearty bro hug. “Good to meet you, dude.”
“Uh…yeah. Sure,” Maximus mutters. “Same.”
“I’m so psyched you guys could make it. Rerek is too.”
I sneak a glance around him toward the spot where Rerek arcs his hand in a wax-off wave. His black, semi-wiry hair is longer than I remember, serving him well by hiding the tops of his ears, their size exaggerated by his noticeably long neck. His whole form is the same way. By most human standards, his body would be called gangly, though he handles it all with the cocky elegance of a rock star. He’s actually smirking like one, exaggerating dramatic cheekbones that clash with his generous mouth.
But that’s Rerek. The guy revels in his contrasts. Doles them out like his chaotic calling cards. That’s why my return wave is brief and cautious. Really cautious.
“Hello, Rerek. It’s been a while.”
“I think your brother is feeling nostalgic, Kara. I believe I may be too.” Rerek pairs the remark with a look as warm as the brandy snifter cradled in his palm. Reflections from the fire lick up its sides and into his pastel irises. “But you’re right, I think. It really has been too long.”
Every syllable is an unnerving drawl as the demon ambles over, regarding me with new intensity across his enormous ice blues. I’ve always wondered if his eyes seemed bigger because so few demons have pastel irises. Now, this close to him, I know. His eyes really are that big. And discomfiting. And prying.
Maximus stabs a hand through his hair, looking awkward but delectable in the same moment. I shift my weight too, reining in the craving to climb him like a hungry squirrel up a pine tree. It’s a much preferable feeling to the sensations brought on by Rerek’s persistent perusal, which I know is designed to incite discomfort. Is blinking as foreign to him as smiling?
Jaden leans and pats the center of Maximus’s chest. “That’s Rerek. He’s like a brother.”
“Speak for yourself.” I sock him in the shoulder.
Jaden chuckles. “Fine. He’s like my brother.”
I don’t miss the slight wince in Rerek’s guarded stare, now fixed on my brother. “Brother. Hmm.”
I inhale deeply, hoping it helps my gritted smile to stay in place. “Rerek.” It’s my textbook surfacey chide, usually brandished on reporters who aren’t aware of boundaries. “You know it’s bad form to openly gawk, yes?”
Rerek’s secret passion for Jaden has never been much of a secret, at least to anyone belonging to a family with our kinds of intuitive gifts. He knows that too, but that doesn’t stop him from rolling his eyes with a silky smirk after brushing a few ashes off his velvet jacket. “Come now, Kara. There’s a lovely line between gawking and appreciating a creature of splendor.”
Examining his subtext—a brand of not-so-brotherly affection that is often felt but never discussed—feels daunting. And I’ve had my fair share of daunting for this week and next.
“Nice threads,” I say, hoping to shift the conversation for everyone’s sake. Except Jaden has already distracted Maximus with a sidebar about firewood and trucks.
Rerek adopts an urbane pose, feathering his fingertips over his satin lapel. “You like it?”
“Very much.” This time, none of my sincerity is forced.
“I’ve had it since the sixties. That makes it vintage haute couture now.” He relaxes his stance and wrinkles his nose. “Though I see I’m not the only one who got the fancy fashion memo for the night.”
He nods toward Maximus, who purposely ditched his tie and dress jacket back in the truck but still looks like