Page 87 of Witch Untold
“What if there are more humans than we anticipated?” Poppy asked. “What if the room we saw isn’t the only one?”
I sat forward, forearms braced on my knees. “Then we save as many as we can.”
Sloane nodded and ran her hand over her face. “Okay. It’s settled. We round up the troops and we do this tomorrow night.” She looked at me. “Do you still have the complimentary tickets the warlock gave you?”
I nodded.
“Okay, we meet at the atrium…” She trailed off, chest heaving.
Shit. “Can we meet on the drive instead?” I shrugged. “I’ve got a meeting with Anna late afternoon, so it’ll be more convenient, if that’s okay with you guys?”
Jessie’s dark eyes were on me, and Poppy shot me a quick smile.
Sloane’s jaw ticked and then she nodded. “Yeah. Sure, we can do that.”
“Awesome. I’ll see you guys then.” I stood and stretched, happening to glance in Sloane’s direction to find her gaze raking over me.
She looked away quickly. “I’m gonna take a nap.”
Her bedroom door closed behind her and Poppy sagged back against the sofa.
“That was sweet,” Jessie said to me.
“What?”
“The change of meetup location.”
“I figured she might need a little time before going back to the atrium.”
“She looks like she’s okay, but she’s not,” Poppy said.
“She almost died,” Jessie said. “That shit changes you, and in Sloane’s case, more than most.”
I met their gazes levelly. “She’s still Sloane. And she’ll be okay. I mean, if having to ingest blood twice a month is the price of being alive, then she’ll pay it. Sloane’s a tough cookie.”
“But even cookies crumble,” Poppy said softly.
“Seriously, Pops?” Jessie shook her head.
“What?” Poppy frowned at her.
These two... A subject change was in order. “How did Anna take the news?”
Poppy answered. “Sloane’s alive, she still has her ability to do magic. As far as Anna’s concerned, it’s a win.”
I scooped Wren off the sofa but couldn’t help looking across at Sloane’s bedroom door. The urge to go to her, to make sure she was okay, was a gnawing thing in the pit of my belly.
“We’ll take good care of her, Cora,” Poppy said. “It’s fine.”
“Was I that obvious?”
“It’s obvious you care,” Jessie said. “But best to keep a distance…Sloane told us about the bloodlust.”
My neck heated. “Yeah. Yeah, you’re right. I’ll see you guys tomorrow night.”
I made the jump home.
* * *
