Page 50 of The Warlock's Kiss

“Come on, Addy, you gotta give me more than that!”

She turned her head to meet Danny’s gaze. “You understand Merrick won’t hurt us, right? You trust him?”

There was conflict in his eyes, which flickered with soft reflected light from the candle. He opened his mouth, hesitated, and asked, “Doyoutrust him?”

“Yes.” She reached out and took his hand. “And you know what I want most is for you to be safe, don’t you?”

He nodded, frowning.

“I trust Merrick, Danny. I trust him to keep you safe, to teach you, to help you grow.” She gave Danny’s hand a squeeze. “He’s not human, but he won’t hurt you. Won’t hurtus. Do you understand, Danny?”

Her brother’s eyes flared for a moment, but he nodded again. “If you trust him, then so do I.” He smiled. “I like him, anyway. He can be a hardass, but he’s actually a pretty cool guy.Andhe helped you.”

Adalynn returned the smile. “Yeah, he did.”

For a little while.

“And what did I say about the cussing?” she asked, arching a brow.

Danny sighed dramatically. “Don’t know why it matters.”

If their parents were still around, Danny would’ve been grounded long ago—their mother had been a wonderful, caring woman, but she wouldn’t have accepted the end of the world as a valid excuse to break her no-swearing rule. It was Adalynn’s instinct to remind Danny of that…but what would it change? Mom and Dad were gone, the world was different, and Danny was growing up much faster than he should’ve had to.

“Maybe it doesn’t,” she replied.

“Does that mean I can cuss?” he asked hopefully.

Adalynn grinned. “I’ll think about it.”

“Aww, come on.”

She laughed—probably harder than was warranted, but it felt good—and was reminded when she inhaled afterward that she still smelled like vomit. She cringed.

And Merrick was standing right in front of me, wastouchingme.

It was embarrassing, but it meant he’d seen her at her worst—at least the worst it could get without her dying—and still wanted her. If anything, her sickness only seemed to drive him on harder.

“I’m going to take a quick bath, okay?” Adalynn said. “We should get some sleep while it’s still dark.”

“Okay. Addy?”

“Hmm?”

He ran his hands over the top of the blanket. “Can I sleep in here with you tonight?”

Adalynn smiled and leaned toward her brother, hugging him. “Yeah. You can.”

He hugged her back tightly. “Thanks.” He sniffled. “And Addy?”

“What?”

“Youdostink.”

Adalynn pulled away from Danny and laughed, shoving him down onto the bed. “Go to sleep. I’ll be back.”

Danny laughed and wriggled his way under the covers. “Love you, sis.”

“Love you too, Danny.”

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