Page 55 of Claim the Twilight
“What?” I matched his frown. “What are you staring at?”
“Your hair,” he said bluntly. “Is it natural?”
“That’s for me to know,” Ezekiel said, “and for youneverto find out.”
Ordell choked on a laugh, and Holly snickered.
Lorenzo ended his call and joined us by the Order van.
“They’ve contacted the Isle, but the ritual to close off the Island has already begun. The Isle will be inaccessible in three days’ time, which means no one gets in and no one gets out.”
“Then we better get on with it,” Harald said.
“Kaster will need to get you out of Dracul and hopefully to the port on the coast,” Lorenzo said. “A Lantana will meet you in the Belt.”
“The what?” Padma asked.
“It’s where all guests materialize when they enter the Isle through the official gate. The rest…well, it’s up you.”
Padma lifted her chin. “I can do this.”
“Kaster said he would meet us here,” Merry said, looking up at the sky as if expecting a beam to lance down at any moment.
“He may have gotten caught up fighting more cold ones,” Hemlock said.
“So what do we do?” Padma asked. “We can’t get out of?—”
The night flashed bright then dimmed to reveal Kaster by the park wall.
He approached with a purposeful stride, which slowed when he caught sight of Harald. His eyes narrowed, and he canted his head.
“I don’t believe we’ve met.”
Harald’s lips pulled back in a smile with no warmth. “No, we haven’t.”
Padma stepped forward, quickly explaining what we needed to Kaster.
Kaster’s gaze kept flicking to Harald. “Are you sure we can trust?—”
“We’ve been through this,” Padma snapped. “This could be our only hope.”
Kaster’s jaw ticked. “Very well. I can take you where you need to go. Loviator seems to have extended herself a little too much and will need to recharge before she tears another hole between our worlds to send more minions through.” He sighed. “All we can hope is that none of the tears become permanent. We’re struggling enough manning two.”
Merry let out a squeak, her wide gaze on the gates to Brimswood Park, where Crush had appeared with his three ogre blood friends.
He zeroed in on Merry, his expression intense as he approached.
Merry took a couple of steps toward him, then stopped, her hands bunching into fists at her side.
Crush exhaled and bridged the last of the distance, lifting her off her feet and into his arms.
My heart swelled with joy for her, eyes pricking with the threat of tears. I sniffed and blinked to hold them back.
“It’s all right to be emotional,” Ezekiel whispered in my ear.
I’d always been in control of my emotions, at least of what I allowed people to see, so this seesaw of feelings was untethering. “I’m fine.”
Crush gently set Merry on her feet, looking down at her as if she was the most precious thing in the world. “You asked me if I could walk away if my friends were in danger, and I told you no.” He smiled. “But you didn’t ask me if I could walk away from the woman I was falling in love with.” Merry sucked in a breath, but he forged on. “And we can talk about that confession later. In private.”
