Wicked Wings (Lizzie Grace #5) - Keri Arthur Page 0,92
“You okay to drive?”
I hesitated, and then pulled the keys from my pocket. “You’d better—at least until we get to your place. I can manage the short distance from there.”
He accepted the keys, then glanced across to the other two men. “Ready to go?”
“Yes,” Monty said and then hesitated. “Should we set another trap around this place, just in case she comes back here?”
“I’ll do it,” Eli said. “You three start making your way back to the SUV. I’ll catch up.”
“You’re not staying here alone,” Ashworth immediately said. “That bitch is pissed off, and there’s no telling where she is at the moment.”
“I’ll stay,” I said. “You two are so drained a gnat could overpower you right now.”
Monty’s smile was a pale echo of its usually robust self. “Only if said gnat has superpowers.”
But he didn’t argue any further. He simply turned and hobbled away. Ashworth hesitated, obviously torn between the need to protect Eli and the knowledge that he wasn’t going to be of much use if the Empusae did hit us again. Common sense prevailed, because he nodded and followed Monty into the trees.
Eli quickly constructed another demon snare, weaving in an exception that would allow the local wildlife to seek its shelter without setting off the trap. Once he’d finished, I said, “Do you want me to lay another concealment spell around it?”
He shook his head. “I doubt the Empusae will come back here—not now that she’s aware we know they’ve been using it. She’s too canny for that.”
I nodded, and we headed out of the clearing. Vita’s essence faded in the opposite direction. I guess her need to recover overran the desire to follow me about.
Once Monty had been dropped off, Eli drove home. As both men walked inside, I jumped into the driver seat and headed back to the café.
Belle was waiting with a reviving potion, a couple of strong painkillers, and the demand I head upstairs and rest. I didn’t argue. I might not have been the one performing the harder magic in that clearing, but I nevertheless felt drained.
It was close to ten the next morning by the time I woke. I grabbed the plastic wrap from the kitchen to protect the bandages from water and then had a quick shower.
Aiden just walked in came Belle’s comment. And he’s not happy.
Feed the man a brownie and tell him I’ll be down in a sec.
I don’t think a brownie is going to cut it.
Meaning he’s probably heard of our little adventure last night.
Probably. I can tell him you’re still sleeping if you can’t be bothered facing questions right now.
Which will only make him more annoyed. Especially given he was well aware that I only overslept when I’d overdone it magically.
I pulled on a sweater to hide the bandage and then slipped on jeans and some shoes. Every movement made my arm ache, but there wasn’t really a lot I could do about that aside from taking more painkillers.
I clattered down the stairs and spotted Aiden waiting at his usual corner table. Though his expression wasn’t giving much away, his aura spoke volumes. As did the untouched brownie slices sitting in front of him. I grimaced and delayed the inevitable confrontation a few seconds longer by first making myself a coffee, then cutting several bits of thick banana and caramel cake. It wasn’t what dietitians might recommend for breakfast, but right then I wasn’t caring.
“Why didn’t you ring me last night?” he said, the minute I sat down.
I squashed the instinctive rise of annoyance and raised the muting spell so those at the nearby table wouldn’t hear our conversation. “Because you would have been a liability.”
“It was my duty—”
“It’s your duty to maintain law and order and to keep both the human and wolf population safe,” I cut in bluntly. “It’s Monty’s duty—and Ashworth’s, while he’s acting reservation witch—to take care of any supernatural nasties that are endangering said population.”
“That doesn’t negate the fact—”
“That you would have been a fucking liability out there. The four of us barely coped, and we were all well prepared and well protected by magic. Having you there—having to expend extra time and energy protecting you—might have gotten one of us killed. So stop with the alpha bullshit, Aiden, because I’m really not in the mood for it this morning.”
He stared at me for several seconds, his expression unreadable, then reached past the plate of brownies and gently took my hand. “How bad did you get hurt?”