school, my goldfish died,” she admitted. “Quickly. Not nearly close to an expected life span.” She’d done everything according to the books too.
“I’m sure that wasn’t your fault.” He looked big and broad covering the door. “I get the feeling that your parents were great at the science stuff and not so much with the nurturing.”
“They did their best,” she protested, almost too quickly. Though had they?
He watched her. “All right. This is all rational and good. But I’ve explained to you a mating is primitive, and the male is primal. You have to understand that.”
Oh, she’d learned that lesson the other day when he’d kissed her. Yet she’d liked it. “I do understand.”
“So you want to mate me.” He cocked his head. “Or any immortal?”
“Just you,” she rushed to say, meaning every word. “I trust you.” She’d proven that.
His eyes flashed green through the blue. “All right. Tonight?”
She nodded, unable to speak. What an phenomenal decision, and she’d just made it.
“It’s a date.” He tapped his earbud. “I have to go for an hour or so. Why don’t you get settled in.” He hauled her close and placed a surprisingly gentle kiss on her nose. Then he opened the door and disappeared.
She swallowed. Good grief Newton on a double cracker with cheese. She had just agreed to mate a demon-vampire—and he’d agreed right back.
* * * *
It took Promise about five minutes to get settled in. She missed her whiteboards already. The lake sparkled in the fall sun, and beautiful colors cloaked the coniferous trees near the water. She allowed herself a couple of breaths to admire the beauty. Leaves fell, and she calculated their rate of fall.
She gasped. It was so simple. That was it. She needed results, and she needed them now. If her math was right, the rate of fall, or rather, the rate of the portals closing, could be happening too quickly. There wasn’t time to wait. It might be too late already.
She ran out the door, determined to find Mercy. So many theories attacked her that she had to act. Now. Time was running out.
She backtracked to the kids’ room, but it was vacant. So she looked around, and nobody stopped her, which worked just fine. Finally, she reached a massive kitchen. Mercy was inside, sitting on an island, eating what looked like microwaved noodles. “Hey.”
Excellent. Promise mentally pictured giant shields covering her brain and then proceeded cautiously. “Hi.”
Mercy kicked out her feet. “You’re doing well.”
A slight sting connected beneath Promise’s left ear, and she quickly slid the shield in that direction. “Thank you.”
Mercy held out the cup. “You hungry?”
Definitely, but there wasn’t time for dinner. Promise looked around the sparkling clean space and then pounced on a glass cookie jar. She took out two chocolate chip cookies and devoured them. “Mmm, so much better.” How could the studies on sugar be correct? It made her feel calmer. “That works for dinner.” She eyed the Fae, trying to find the right words to use. “What are you up to?”
Mercy finished her noodles. “I moved money around for a while and then invested in some new startups focusing on green agriculture. That’s about it. Why?”
Promise gnawed on her lip, mathematical equations flashing across her mind. She needed results from an experiment to continue with her math. There was no other way. “Can you get your hands on a compass and a barometer?” Rudimentary but necessary for commencing her practical research.
Mercy set the cup aside. “Sure.” She disappeared with a swish of air spinning around.
The cup fell over. Wow. Promise took a couple of steps back. That was amazing. Truly so. Then she waited alone in the now quiet kitchen.
About two minutes later, Mercy reappeared with a compass and a barometer in her hands. “Had to work for these.” She grinned. “I take it we’re going to do some traveling?”
“Yes.” Promise almost jumped when an invisible blade ripped behind her left eye, and she smashed her palm against it. “Shield, shield, shield,” she muttered, imagining the protection was made of diamonds this time.
The pain disappeared.
Hey. Diamonds. She smiled. “They are a girl’s best friend.”
Mercy jumped off the island. “Huh?”
Promise waved her off, excitement and a sense of urgency taking her. There was too much she didn’t understand about teleporting, and that had to stop now. “Nothing. So. Are you willing to jump with me and do some work?”
Mercy nodded. “Always. But don’t you think you should check with Ivar first? He seems rather insistent that you