The only chance we have is to catch her the moment she steps out of that damn tunnel, which means Tegan needs to be ready to move at every second.”
“And you’re sure she took a safe potion?” Deacon’s scowl had softened but his concern was still there. “I mean, we can’t save Saffie without her. We all know that.”
“Trust me, she knows that.” I pinched the bridge of my nose as their panicked energies slammed into me. I couldn’t just ignore their concerns, especially since they were entirely warranted. I sighed, probably for the millionth time. “But listen, I’ll keep an eye on her. Make sure she eats and rests and such—”
“You have to sleep too, son,” my dad spoke up for the first time. His amber eyes were dark with worry that I didn’t want to look to closely at.
“One step ahead of you, papa bear,” Henley said cheerfully from behind me. When I looked over my shoulder, I found her still stirring the cauldron. She winked one sapphire eye at me. “The second I got a look at that one over there, I knew Tenn wouldn’t sleep. Soooo, this potion is to give him enough energy to survive a few weeks with only two or three hours of sleep a night. This way he can keep an eye on her as much as possible.”
I opened my mouth and then closed it.
“It’s safe? You’re sure?” Uncle Timothy practically growled from the table. “Even for him?”
My cheeks warmed. I looked away from him before my emotions got the best of me. I was still real raw about having him and my memory back. If I let those thoughts run rampant, I’d fall apart. Again. And we had a job to do, many jobs to do.
“It’s safe, Tim. I promise.”
My dad pursed his lips. “When can he take it?”
“Oh, in about twenty minutes.”
“Good. But, son? You’re going to let us know if you don’t feel right, got it? We’re all going to stay cool and let you two non-humans do your thing, but you have to level with us if something is off.” He met my eyes and waited until I nodded. Then he nodded. “Now, I’m fairly certain you called this meeting today for other reasons.”
“Right. Yes. The demon problem.” I rolled my shoulder. “Until we have Saffie back, Tegan and I are not going to be out fighting demons. She needs to be ready to move, and ideally I need to be ready to go with her. So I’m benching both of us effective immediately.”
They all gasped and shook their heads.
I held my hands up. “That’s my decision. So take the night to relax, take a deep breath, eat a real meal – and no, Easton and Royce, a family size bag of chips does not count. Trust me, I’ve been told that many times. Over breakfast, I’ll be handing out orders for who is going where to kill some shit.”
Devon pushed off the wall she’d been leaning on and prowled toward me. Her pale green eyes were sharp with laser focus. She stopped right in front of me and crossed her arms over her chest. She looked exactly like her daughter. “You may be my Coven Leader, but Hunter and I are staying here. With our daughter. There’s more to her health than getting sleep, and no offense, but you’re not exactly the ideal role model there. We’re staying.”
I glanced over my shoulder to Hunter and found him nodding. Part of me wanted to argue that we’d be fine, but I knew she was right. My soulmate and I had the tendency to forget to do the normal mundane human things like eat, sleep, or shower. I met Devon’s eyes and grimaced. “Seeing as I can’t tell you the last time either of us ate, I think you’re probably right. You, Hunter, and Bentley will remain here.”
The tension in her shoulders eased.
Braison raised his hand while scratching his dog Albert’s head with his other. I almost laughed at the sight of his red hair sticking straight up, but since no one was sleeping well I let it go. “Um, boss? When are Constance and Daniel back? And Bettina and Jackson?”
“Constance and Daniel won’t be back until the 20th, at the earliest. If I can get them to stay longer, I will. They need this break, so if any of you disturb them I will make you hurt. Got it?” I glared at them all so they knew I