turned back to us and said, “I think we have everything for a stew.”
Kian groaned, and Axton shot him a glare.
Kian ignored it, though, and grumbled, “I hate it when you make a stew. That's all we'll eat for a whole set. You make too much. Way too much.”
“I do not. It's efficient to pre-cook meals,” Axton defended, crossing his arms across his chest.
A clothed Trace emerged from his room, nodding his head. “Way too much.”
Axton scoffed but said nothing. Instead, he twisted to watch Trace knock on Grace's door.
“I'm wearing clothes now. You can come out if you want,” Trace said, his voice raised slightly.
Trace took a seat beside Axton at the same moment Grace's door cracked open. She peeked out, checking on us before she stepped out and hurried to the couches. When she reached us, she paused, and her cheeks flushed gold. She turned towards the couch Kian and I rested on, but then glanced at Trace. Her feet couldn't seem to decide which way to go. Finally, I sighed and shoved at Kian, pushing him down, so he sat directly across from Trace. Grace looked at me with gratitude in her eyes and rushed over to practically throw herself in my vacated spot.
Trace just shook his head and launched into the story. “I went to help Zella carry everything home, but then I heard a yell. It sounded familiar, so I began running. You know how far I can see in the dark, right? Well, I spotted a group of Reapers in a circle.”
He paused and looked away. We waited, but with each moment that passed, his shoulders seemed to inch higher as they tightened.
“I was followed,” I said, drawing all eyes to me—all except Trace's, that is. He stared at the rear door as if he thought about dashing out of it and escaping.
“Another one of those oddly cloaked ones?” Axton asked though it sounded more like a demand than a question.
I raised a brow, eliciting a shrug from him, but answered. “Not just one this time. Apparently, they've decided they are serious, and that I'm worth sending fourteen of the weird cloaks. Wonder where they're getting those made. Think one of them is sitting at home and sewing a bunch in their spare time? Like when they aren't trying to kill me.”
Kian whistled, his free hand's fingers tapping rapidly on his thigh.
Axton leaned forward. “That's not funny, Zella. This is a major escalation. They went from one to fourteen? No,” he said and reclined again. “They're dangerous, and we need to deal with them. Didn't Con say he's seen some of them around his place? By the palace?”
I nodded as an idea sparked. “I think you're right. Let me talk to Con. I might have a way to spy on the spies.”
“So, how did you get away, and what does this have to do with Trace being naked?” Kian asked, pulling another blush from Grace.
I laughed softly, but my mind raced as I tried to find a believable excuse for both. Say I ran off and then had a little fun with Trace? No, he would have come back with a cloak surely. Maybe I can claim I set his clothes on fire by accident in the fight.
“I changed,” Trace replied, halting my bad ideas.
It seemed that his words stopped everything else as well. At least, it froze Axton and Kian. Neither of them seemed to breathe for a moment, and they both gaped at him. They already knew. Of course, they did.
They did a shitty job at hiding it. Their reaction meant that what he'd said had importance. Thankfully, Grace still stared at the table, because if she hadn't been, she would have picked up on their odd behavior and likely wondered why it garnered such a response.
I suppose it wouldn't have mattered though because Trace blurted out, “Into my Demon form.”
Grace got over her embarrassment at that, her head snapping up so she could gawk at him with wide eyes. It seemed that everyone wanted to do that.
“And he saved me,” I added, hoping to draw at least a few gazes back to me. It didn't work.
“Demon form?” Grace whispered in a trembling cry.
“And he saved me,” I spat harshly, glaring at her as my body tensed up.
“Of course,” she mumbled, nodding. Her brows furrowed, and she looked down. “And he is Trace, right?”
“Same one you've known since you met him. Except with a bonus form,” I said, keeping my voice firm