interesting stories between me and him. I have no idea where he is, what he’s up to, or even if he’s still alive.”
“Can they die?”
“Everything can die,” I whispered, gently pressing the brake as I saw two figures on the road ahead of me, the fae and witch on duty. “I would know.”
“That’s right. You would. I guess I forgot what you were after a few months of nothing happening.”
“Raphael—”
“I shouldn’t have.” He didn’t look at me again as I slowed to a crawl, then stopped in front of the two guards of the prison.
I rolled my window down and smiled at them, trying to be personable, and as if I wasn’t screaming on the inside with frustration and anger. I needed him to get over it. I needed it more than anything. The light burned my eyes, and the heat was overbearing this far out into the desert, but it was better than the cold wall that had just filled the BMW.
“Hey! Tarak scheduled an appointment for me. Standard walkthrough and report this evening.” I checked the time, seeing it was nearly four. “We’ll probably be here until midnight.”
“He let us know. Have a safe visit,” the fae said with an affable smile. He nodded to the witch, and both of them raised their hands, two different types of magic that worked in very similar ways. Fae had specific light and dark abilities, based on their clans, but all of them could do certain things. I didn’t know the real list because the fae were a little guarded about what all they could really do. Part of that was because of the witches, who always tried to copy them.
“You’re clear to go in,” the witch called out, revealing it was a woman. I hadn’t had a chance to get a good look at her. I shoved my hand out my window with a thumbs up and hit the gas once they were out of my way.
As I drove through the barrier, there was a moment when it seemed charged. The air felt as though a thunderstorm was brewing and caused the hair on my arms to stand up. It passed quickly as we made it through and once we were beyond the barrier, not even a residual tingle of magic remained.
“Does that happen every time?” he asked, looking back with a severe frown.
“Yeah. It’s just how the barrier is set up. If you’re hostile, it hurts, but some have still been able to get in one way or another to help get their friends out.” I didn’t feel like talking anymore.
It took thirty seconds for the wolves to show up. Raphael visibly tensed in the passenger seat, but I didn’t say anything. I knew he’d had fights with werewolves working for Mygi Pharmaceuticals, and the giant canines running alongside us probably brought up those memories. I wanted to see if he had a prejudice against them, so I tested the waters.
“Did you know the moon-cursed actually take the shape of ancient beasts,” I said softly, looking at the two in front of me.
“I think you’ve explained it before, but I also read it in the files. Werewolves are like direwolves, gigantic compared to modern wolves. Werecats are actually solitary sabretooth cats. They aren’t real species, they’re supernatural versions of ancient animals.”
“They aren’t so bad, the werewolves. They pack hunt, and most have a strong Alpha who keeps them in line. The Alpha sets the tone of the pack and—”
“They were just doing their jobs, I know. You don’t need to turn this into another lesson. I don’t hate werewolves because some helped Mygi. Why should I? I was going to join the military, and one day, I would have been in their position in a way.”
I sighed, shaking my head to myself as the building came into view. At least he was honest, though I was a little annoyed he had picked up on what I was doing.
We made it through the gate without a problem, the werewolves leaving us. I pulled into the parking lot, which only had the vehicles of the employees who worked in the prison, and found my favorite spot in the back.
“Let me do most of the talking,” I said, before jumping out of the BMW. Tarak was walking across the parking lot with a female werewolf, his second, Korey. “No Dian and Eliphas?” I asked loudly.
“No, not tonight. Dian is in the fae lands on vacation with his family. Eliphas is working on