If they aren’t here, and I have to switch forms suddenly, then you may be asleep when I really need you.
It acted as though it heard and understood me because it stopped its antics and clung to the side of the well, its eyes aimed upwards in unblinking concentration.
With that handled, I sucked in a breath and turned the knob. The door swung open slowly, revealing part of the gathering room. Nothing seemed amiss in the area that I could see. The couch sat where we’d left it, still intact and upright. No bodies lay on the floor, and no cries floated out.
I hurried inside, closing the door behind me carefully to avoid the clicking noise it usually made. Floating so I wouldn’t reveal myself with the sound of my steps, I moved forward, my head swiveling as I glanced from door to door. Where to check first? Grace, who might help me, or Kian, who can’t fend for himself?
I didn’t have to worry about answering that question or choosing between the two because Grace appeared in Kian’s doorway right then, a tray in her hands. My exhale was long and audible, and her gaze shot from the dish she carried to my face. When she spotted me, a smile curved her lip upwards, but that quickly fell as she really looked at me.
“What’s wrong?” she whispered loudly, then twisted to glance inside the room.
Evidently happy with what she found, she eased the door shut and rushed towards me.
“I’m almost positive that a group of Reapers is coming here to kill anyone they can,” I said quietly, my eyes still scanning. “Oh, and Shadow returned.”
“What are you talking about?” she asked shrilly and obviously louder than she’d intended because she sighed and shook her head.
“No one else is here, right? Besides you and Kian, I mean?”
“No, Kian is asleep, and I was about to do some paperwork for us,” she answered, following me as I peeked inside Trace’s empty room.
“Okay, stay here, and don’t let anyone in. I’ll be back.” I turned, intent on retrieving Axton and Trace, but Grace blocked the way.
Her cheeks puffed out, and she balanced the tray on one hand while her other fist rested on her hip. She looked cute, like a miniature adult, but with tinier features. She was precious. Obviously, I didn’t mention that.
“Someone is coming. Let me go get Trace and Axton,” I ordered.
She deflated, and her head whipped side to side as if a host of villains suddenly appeared in the room. When she caught sight of me, she started. My face must have relayed my statement's seriousness because she spun, dropping the tray on the table as she rushed past it on the way to Kian’s bedroom. The bowl clattered and tipped over, spilling out what looked to be a soup of some sort.
I left her, pushing open the rear door and flying outside. Trace raced towards me, and I halfway expected the ground to shake beneath his lumbering gait and bulky frame. Axton zipped beside him, his Grim form glowing brightly.
Shaking my head, I held my hands out before me, fending them off. “They’re fine. They’re fine.”
Trace slowed, but stopping that much muscle once it was in motion proved difficult. Instead, he simply snatched me up as he ran past, and I bounced in his arms while Axton kept pace with us. Heat soaked into my body, making me sweat and forcing me to work to keep myself from being burned.
Axton sped ahead, switching forms in an instant so he could open the door. By the time we arrived at it, though, Trace had slowed to a fast walk, and we passed through without resistance.
Trace let me go, dropping me to the floor, and I grabbed his hand. Unable to grip it due to the size, I settled on holding a couple of fingers and pulling him behind me.
Grace hovered over Kian’s bed, continually trying to assist his transition from sitting up to the bedside, but he kept pushing her away gently. His words proved to be a stark contrast to the careful way he diverted her touch.
“I can do this,” he snapped, his tone devoid of any his usual cadence. “I don’t need your help.”
“Yes, you do,” I said, and he flinched.
Then he slumped as if that slight movement exhausted him. Worry bubbled in my gut, but it felt different from the general concern I already had swirling inside. Sharper, more defined, I knew it stemmed from Kian’s