Page 25 of City of the Lost
The incredulous look on his face made my chest ache with guilt for any reluctance I’d just felt. “We’re friends, right? And that’s what friends do.”
The corner of his mouth lifted. “Yes, Miss Bastion, we are, and they do. Thank you.” He reached out to brush a tendril of hair off my cheek as if it was the most natural thing in the world. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
I trailed him into the hallway. “Hey, don’t you think you should start calling me Wila, now that we’re friends?”
“Why rock the status quo?” He gripped the door handle and then vanished.
Well, at least he was abiding by the leave-by-the-door rule. Trevor trotted down the stairs, nose twitching.
“Hey, Trevor.”
“Um, Wila. Why can I smell dog?”
“Have you bathed recently?”
If he could have arched a brow, he probably would have. “Wila, what aren’t you telling me?”
I winced. “Look, don’t freak out, but remember that hound I told you about? The one that saved my life?”
He sniffed again. “No. Oh, no you didn’t.”
I winced. “Yeah, I kinda did.”
Trevor shot up the stairs again, his body quivering. “Where is it? Where?”
“Calm down. It’s in the lounge, and it’s out cold. It won’t hurt you.” At least I didn’t think it would. “On second thought, maybe stay on the second floor until I have a chance to assess the situation fully.”
His tiny body shook, whether in indignation or fear, I wasn’t too sure. “This is our home. It’s meant to be safe, dammit.”
Guilt rocked my stomach. “I’m sorry. I promise if there’s any sign of him being dangerous, I’ll get rid of him. You know I’d never let anything hurt you, right? Not if I can help it.” I climbed the steps and crouched by him. “We’re family, Trev.”
He lifted his pointy chin, his left eye twitched, and he sniffed. “That’s low, Bastion, using the F word. Seriously.” He turned his back on me and stalked up the stairs.
“Wila?” Tay called. “Someone’s waking up.”
Shit. I ran toward the lounge, coming to a halt in the doorway. Tay had wisely backed up too, putting himself between me and the hound. I caught a glimpse of its head around Tay’s enormous bicep. The gleam of amber eyes as it swung its nose our way had my feet rooted to the spot, and then a low growl teased goosebumps to life across my skin. It backed up and then fell into a crouch.
No, it wouldn’t attack. It had saved me. What was it doing? Shit. It was probably confused, scared. And all it could see was Taylem.
“Tay, you need to move. It needs to see me.”
“Like fuck.”
“Fucking hell, Tay, move!” I shoved, but the guy was a tank. “Dammit, Tay, trust me. It needs to know I’m okay, that this is a safe place. It needs to see me.”
The hound’s growl intensified into a threatening rumble, and with a curse, Tay stepped aside.
I slipped in front of him and held up my hands. “Hey. Hi. It’s me, the neph you saved. Remember me?”
Its glowing eyes fixed on me, and his upper lip, which was curled in a snarl, dropped back over its teeth.
“Yeah. That’s right. You saved my arse, and you got knocked out, but it’s all good now. I brought you home with me. You can stay if you like.”
A low rumble.
“Or not.” I pointed to the French doors we’d used to get him into the house. “I can open those for you if you want to leave.”
The hound studied me for a long beat, and then its huge body relaxed and unknotted. It dropped to the ground, laid its head on its front paws, and closed its eyes.
