certainly felt her meaning, and I was pretty sure Ash should sleep with one eye open tonight.
“I think I prefer the imp high.” Ash headed over to Warwick, pouring himself a drink. “Since when does my life consist of arguing with an imp and needing to hide my vacuum from a brownie?”
“When she entered your life.” Warwick flicked his chin at me, taking the bottle from Ash, pouring a healthy amount of liquid.
“Hey now.” I twisted my palm. “When did this become my fault?”
Both guys looked at me with their eyebrows raised. I looked over at Opie, who was back to fixing his cotton shorts, which looked like diapers, a gauze crop top, and his feet in fresh puffs.
“Yeah… okay…” I curled my hand for Warwick to bring me a drink. He pushed off the table, handing me his glass. It was silly, but I liked that he automatically shared with me instead of getting me my own.
The burn of extremely potent Pálinka watered my eyes. I watched his attention dart to the object on the table, brows furrowing.
“What the fuck is this?” he snapped at Ash.
“Right…” Ash cringed. “Look, man, I was going through it for you when she woke up… and…”
“And what?” Warwick sucked in, spine going rigid.
“I thought why not let her try to read it.”
“Are you kidding me? You let her touch a fae book? Especially this one.”
“She’s fine.”
“Fine?” Warwick barreled over to Ash. I squeaked, jumping up as he grabbed Ash’s throat. A small cry of pain bent me forward, but I moved over to them.
“Warwick, stop. I’m all right.”
He shoved into Ash, ignoring me. “You know what that book is capable of.”
“I didn’t let her do it alone. I held her hand, but Warwick, I’ve never seen the book respond this way. It took to her instantly, shoved me out instead.”
Warwick’s mouth pinched. “It blocked you?”
“Yeah.” He nodded in shock. “I could feel it. It wanted her. As though it had been waiting for her or something.”
Warwick let go of Ash, whirling to me, staring at me like I was some mystery.
“What?” I stepped back. “Was it not supposed to? I thought you said it couldn’t hurt me.”
“Not physically, but if you are weak or have nefarious plans for it, it has been known to make people go crazy or to hold them prisoner.”
“Prisoner?”
“It has the power to trap your mind in it, not letting you out.”
“And you let me touch that thing?” I yelled at Ash, motioning back to it.
“The book only protects itself. You have to have ill will toward it. You do not. It was a gut feeling. I just felt the need for you to touch it… like it was asking me to.”
“What did it show you?” Warwick leaned into me.
I stared up into the very eyes I saw look upon me on the battlefield.
“You,” I whispered.
His jaw rolled, but he didn’t respond.
“It showed me Ash and Ms. Kitty, I mean Janos…”
Warwick inhaled when I said the name, stepping back, running his hand over his face as he started to pace.
“Yeah, I had the same response,” Ash said.
“Why?” I looked between them.
“No one else knows that name but the three of us. Kitty said Janos died that night in the war. She has never allowed us to mention the name or acknowledge him again. To her, he did die. There’s no way you’d know it unless…” Ash trailed off.
“I was really there,” I filled in.
“What else?” Warwick demanded.
“I watched them find you…” My legs started wobbling from fatigue, and I lowered myself onto the bench. “Dead.”
He didn’t react, but his shoulders strained against his dark shirt.
“You-you were…” The images of him dead had me shaking my head, my throat tightening with nausea. “What they did to you.”
“Yeah, I know what they did,” he grumbled. “That was it?”
“Yeah,” I lied, scared to admit he woke up and saw me. I could feel it in my bones, his gaze embedding into me. But it was ridiculous. There could be no way I was actually there at that moment. The book replayed what had already passed, so I couldn’t interact with it.
Warwick’s eyes went back and forth between mine, sensing there was more. I hiked up my walls, keeping my face emotionless and not letting him in.
We stared at each other; the pressure of him trying to push in thumped at my skin. He had always been able to just invade me, take what he wanted, see and feel my emotions.
“No!” My shoulders