Lord of Destiny (The Dragon Demigods #6) - Charlene Hartnady Page 0,87
their deal.”
“Also, that night we ended up going for pie,” I say to Raven as the thought comes into my head. “West was there when we got back. Why? It was as if he knew we had left. How did he know? Was he watching you? Maybe your weyr was watching already by then. It just seemed weird to me that he showed up so late at night to…check in on you. I don’t believe in coincidences.”
Raven has started crying. Tears are rolling down her cheeks.
“I’m sorry, sis.” Maddox puts his arm around her. “I’m so damned sorry.”
“I thought I knew him,” she whispers and then sniffs again. “I can’t believe he would do that to us…to me.” She looks distraught. Shit, I’m back to thinking that maybe she still feels something for West. I can’t shake that thought. I know it’s stupid at a time like this. I have zero rights over this woman. We’re not in a relationship of any kind. No promises were made. I need to stop my shit!
“I’m so sorry.” I see him hug her harder. Then he stands.
“Where are you going?” Raven asks.
“I’m going to have a little conversation with West.” His jaw clenches.
“We should tell the others first,” Raven says. “Confront him together.”
Maddox pulls in a breath. For a moment, it looks like he’s going to disagree. Then he nods. “Fine!” he growls. “Before we go,” he says to me. “Star is also here. You know Star. She—”
“I know Star,” I say. “I don’t remember much, just that she helped me and that she has really long blond hair and the same eyes as Night and Death.”
“Yeah, well, we brought her back with us. She didn’t want to stay with the weyr anymore. We’ll be out of your hair in a few days.” I note that Raven doesn’t say anything about staying. She doesn’t say anything at all. It doesn’t mean anything. I need to calm the fuck down. So much has happened.
I nod. “I don’t mind. You can stay as long as you need.”
“We’ll see you later,” Raven says as they walk out. Then I hear her say, “Don’t hurt him, please.” She’s talking to Maddox about West.
Don’t hurt him!
Don’t fucking hurt him!
I don’t get it. If I wasn’t as weak as a day-old fucking lamb, I’d go over there and make sure that West was in pain for the rest of the week. The month. The rest of his fucking life. He doesn’t deserve to breathe. I hate him. I know this is partly jealousy talking. I also know that I couldn’t kill him even if I wanted to. I had the chance…I didn’t take it. I know that makes me a good person. Screw being fucking good! Nice gets you nowhere.
“You’re grinding your teeth.”
“Am I?” I ask.
“I think that Raven might still be hung up on her ex, despite him being the biggest fuckhead alive.”
I don’t say anything. I can’t because I don’t want to admit that he might be right.
23
Raven
We all pile out of the car. Our old rust-bucket isn’t a rust-bucket anymore. Forge is a genius. The engine is so smooth you can hardly hear it when it’s running. It emits a beautiful, soft purr.
Although the inside is the same, the outside is radically different. Forge repainted the vehicle in a light green color that works for a vintage model. That’s just it; it looks vintage now instead of old. I think he must have refitted all of the chrome parts as well because they look shiny and new. Like the headlights, the grille, and the handles. I still can’t believe it. Barrett runs his hand lovingly down the side.
We’re all in awe.
We turn and trudge to the door of Jarrod’s place. Before we can knock, Zale opens up. “Is that our car?” His eyes have this confused look; he looks over our shoulders, straining to see the vehicle. “Nah! That isn’t our car…is it?”
Barrett nods. “It’s our car. Can you believe it?”
“I can’t.” Zale is grinning. “It looks amazing! Forge did a great job.”
“I helped.” Barrett puffs out his chest. “It was such fun. If we stay—”
“Let’s tackle one thing at a time,” Maddox suggests. “We’re here to speak to West. Let’s get that out of the way first.”
Zale shakes his head. “I doubt you’ll get him to talk to you. He’s hiding out.” He rolls his eyes. “I think he even eats during the night because I have yet to see him. Maybe he’s starving himself.”