When The Grave Calls (The Veil Diaries #9) - B.L. Brunnemer Page 0,2
me through the house, pausing in the kitchen only long enough to turn off the lights at the back of the house and outside before he held the back door open for me.
Guided only by the soft glow from the pool, Miles took me to the chaise lounge at the end of the patio. “Here.” He picked up a folded blanket and handed it to me. “I thought we could do a bit of stargazing tonight. There is supposed to be a meteor shower.”
I smiled. “And you put a blanket out this morning?”
The tips of his ears turned pink. “I remembered a few hours ago,” he said before gesturing to the lounge.
I sat down, checking that there would still be room for him. Miles joined me, and I rested my head against his shoulder as his warmth wrapped around me. Curling up against him, I spread the blanket out over us as I took in that wintergreen scent. We looked up at the sky. Dry leaves rustled in the breeze. An owl hooted from somewhere in the distance.
I looked up at him. “Are you okay?”
His eyes were half closed as his gaze swept across the night sky. “Sure.”
My phone vibrated in my pocket. I pulled it out and saw the number. It was a text from an unknown number. Fuck that. I didn’t even look at it as I shut off my phone and tucked it back into my pocket.
“Who was that?”
“No one worth interrupting my time with you over,” I muttered before looking up at him again. “Sorry.”
He brushed his thumb across my jawline, sending my heart racing. “What’s wrong?”
I leaned more into his touch, savoring the warmth. “I miss you, Nemo.”
His thumb moved to my cheek and began to stroke it gently. “I miss you too, but this is something I have to do. If I can get enough staffs made, maybe I can turn the tide of a fight when it comes.”
I nodded, still holding his hand to me. “I understand that, but I … I’ve never seen you like this.”
“I know. But I’m still me. You’re still important to me.” His face softened along the edges. I took the opportunity to really look at him. His chestnut brown hair was starting to curl around his ears again. The bags under his eyes were a slight purple above his high cheekbones and angled jaw. He was still handsome, but anyone could see that he needed sleep, and certainly more than the few hours he could manage every now and then.
“You have to promise to go to bed at a decent hour tonight,” I said.
“I will.” His eyes warmed as they met mine. “How are we doing?”
I smiled. After I got jealous of Lucy last month, Miles and I had checked in with each other daily. If Miles wasn’t being attentive enough I could tell him before it ate at me too long, and it guaranteed that I could get his complete attention when I needed it. He was trying to make sure I felt loved. It was sweet and seemed to be working pretty well so far. “I’m worried you’re not sleeping enough.”
He nodded as if he expected it. “To be honest, I’m not. But I’ll try to go to bed at a decent hour tonight.”
I looked down at his chest. “My room or yours?”
He reached up and tucked a stray hair behind my ear. “Mine.”
I smiled and met his eyes. “Will you set an alarm so you come to bed at a decent hour?”
His cheeks tinted pink as he shifted, pulled out his phone and set an alarm.
“There.” He tucked the phone back into his pocket. “I’ll come to bed at eleven tonight.”
“Thanks, Nemo.” I reached up and brushed my fingers along his jaw. “Are you okay?”
“Honestly? I don’t know.”
“You’re not really talking to anyone,” I whispered.
He moved to face me. “There’s a lot going on. With Jadis, her witches in town—”
“With your father,” I couldn’t stop myself from adding.
He shook his head, his face falling into that blank-wall look he’d perfected at some point. I’d come to know that look well; it was his ‘I’m done talking about this, please change the subject’ face. He looked back up at the sky. “That doesn’t factor.”
“Of course it factors.”
“No. It doesn’t,” he said, his voice sharp. “The fate of the supernatural world hangs in the balance at the moment. Hangs on our moves, our decisions. There’s no reason for it to even be a blip on the