Page 7 of Riot of Autumn

“How?” Miri’s leaning forward and Davis grunts, plucking her off the arm of the chair and tugging her into his lap. Both of their casual touches ignite a surprising jealousy within me, but not because I want Miri or Zara. My gaze flashes over to Ruby, who’s frowning at Zara. No, I don’t want that with either of them.

“I don’t know. Maybe all the magic we did last night in the clearing opened the veil? Maybe the Duke was doing something on his side to get it open. I thought the page I ripped out of the Duke’s book would keep them from opening the veil, but obviously not.” Zara chews on her bottom lip. “It doesn’t matter. He’s here, and that’s a problem.”

“What do we do?” Archer asks.

The golden boy of our group, mister sunshine, looks like he got a solid eight hours of sleep last night. He’s wearing jeans, which for him is dressed down, but he has it paired with a button-down shirt. The sleeves are rolled up, though, flashing a good amount of ink that covers most of his arms. Ink that I put there myself.

Several gazes drift back and forth between me and Ruby.

“What? Why is everyone looking at us?” I raise my brows and stare back at each of them.

“Have you considered bonding? After last night, I already feel my magic growing stronger. If the two of you bonded, we might be able to get the veil open and toss all the Fae back into Fairy,” Rhys says.

“Why?” Ruby shakes her head.

“Why what?” Zara frowns at her sister, and Rhys gives her hand a squeeze. God, everyone is so fucking lovey-dovey.

“The Fae are assholes. They killed Davis’s dad, stole a baby, and tossed it into Fairy. Why would we do anything they want? Why would we want to bond?”

“Ruby, isn’t that exactly why you should bond? These people are actively targeting us. They want us to be their magical puppets. You’re telling me you’re okay with that?” Lena says.

“That’s sort of what I’m trying to avoid,” Ruby snaps back.

“Things are obviously escalating, but Ruby’s right. We don’t ultimately know what their goal is. What if we bond and everything blows up in our faces? Isn’t that just as possible as this bond solving all our problems?” Everyone turns to look at me, exasperation clear on their faces. I shrug.

“Why are the two of you so against bonding?” Rhys asks.

“Says the guy that was adamant he would never join the Axis six months ago.” Ruby snorts. “It doesn’t matter what our reasons are. It’s our choice. And I don’t think we’re being irrational.”

Zara reaches out and squeezes Ruby’s knee. “You’re right. No one gets to make this decision for you. Can we just not completely remove the option if anything else happens?” Zara turns to look at me as well.

Ruby’s green eyes catch mine. I don’t know what I’m seeing in hers: trepidation, fear, excitement.

“Let’s wait and see.” I mean to say it to everyone, but really, it’s Ruby I’m speaking to. For once, she doesn’t have a snappy comeback. She doesn’t even acknowledge my words; she just stares at me like I’m a dangerous animal and she’s afraid of getting bitten.

The rest of the conversation goes nowhere. We don’t have a plan. No one has any bright ideas on how to get these assholes out of our lives. It’s frustrating.

Everyone heads out not long after that, but before Ruby walks through the door after Rhys and Zara, I hook her arm and hold her back. She glares down at my hand with a pointed look. I can read Ruby like a book. She’s still pissed at me for what happened in her kitchen last night.

“Can we talk?”

“My ride is leaving.” Ruby jerks her head to where Rhys and Zara are getting into his UTV outside.

“I’ll take you back.”

Ruby sighs and untangles her arm from my hand before sticking her head out the sliding glass door. She shouts at Rhys to go on without her and then turns back to face me, crossing her arms over her chest.

She’s dressed casually today. Well, casual for Ruby. She’s wearing a cropped t-shirt from the eighty’s movie RAD, with a guy doing a jump on a BMX bike on the front. Her pants are a pair of billowy, gauzy things that remind me of genie pants. They’re blue with a red starburst pattern. There’s a sliver of golden skin on display, looking warm and tempting. My imagination flashes the vision of me dragging my lips over every visible inch to taste her.

She’s not wearing any makeup, giving her an almost innocent look, which I know is a complete ruse. The glimmer that always shines in her eyes tells anyone who looks close enough that she’s not as sweet as she appears. Even without makeup, Ruby is the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen. Her skin is flawless, her eyes bright and a little wild. Her mouth is full and begging to be kissed. Although, I know if I leaned in, there’s a good chance Ruby would punch me in the gut.

She raises a brow at me when I’ve been staring at her for too long.

“Let’s sit.”

Ruby sighs and floats back to the couch, flopping down like the two hours she’s been awake have already exhausted her. When I don’t start talking right away, Ruby’s eyes narrow.

“Did you want me to stay so we could meditate together? I’d prefer a nap, but I’d rather do that in my own bed.”

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