Page 87 of Claim the Twilight
ORINA
“This is insane,” Nyx said, looking around at the humans going about their day. “They really don’t see the wards? They don’t senseanything?”
“Obviously not.” Sin peers down at a passerby. With his reddish skin and horns on clear display, Sin should have evoked a response, but the woman looked right through him and continued on her way. “Ingenious.”
“It’s creepy as fuck,” Nyx corrected. “How are we going to find these faith warriors if we can’t question the humans? I’m assuming the faith warriors could be human too, right?”
“But they’ll be immune to the spell because of their mark,” Ordell said, prowling beside me, the breadth of his shoulders taking up most of the sidewalk. “And that’s what we’re hoping to come across. A human or two who see us.”
Loviator’s spell had grown stronger, starting a calming effect on the human population that made them look away from anything strange or unusual. Now they literally didn’t see anything or anyone supernatural, so if we came across a faithwarrior, they might give themselves away by lookingatus, notthroughus, and then bam, we’d have them.
So far no luck.
With only a day and a half to find Loviator’s warriors, we were running out of time. The white wings were evacuating as many supernaturals as they could, but we couldn’t do much for the humans. Loviator’s spell made it impossible to interact with them, and all we could do was hope that when we fought her, she protected the people who would ultimately be fueling her.
Ideally there’d be no need for a war.
Ideally Harald would have a solution that took out Loviator and avoided bloodshed.
But I’d been an operative long enough to know thatideallydidn’t happen often.
We’d visited all the charity and religious-type organizations in the territory, our reasoning that the faith warriors might be working under the guise of a legitimate organization. The humans who ran the establishments treated us as if we were invisible, and the supernatural-run places were closed—owners gone to ground.
“What now?” Nyx asked from up ahead.
“I’m hungry,” Ordell said. “Let’s grab a bite.”
“How can we grab a bite if the humans don’t see us?” Sin asked.
Ordell’s eyes lit up as he grinned. “We’ll have to help ourselves. And I know just the place we can go to do it.”
Royal House restaurantwasn’t as busy for lunch as it would be for evening meals, so it was easy to find a table on the sidelines. No one even looked our way as we made ourselves comfortable.
“I’ll just wander into the kitchens and grab us some food,” Ordell said, his eyes twinkling with mischief.
“I’ll come with you,” Sin said. “This might be fun.”
Nyx rolled her eyes, but there was a definite tug to her lips as if she was holding back a smile.
The guys crossed the restaurant, weaving between tables to get to the kitchens—two impressive figures that only Nyx and I could see.
“It’s enough to make you doubt your existence,” Nyx said.
“Loviator’s created a bubble of oblivion, and when she pops it and the humans realize what’s happened, it will be too late for them.”
“We won’t let it get to that, though,” Nyx said. “We’ll find the faith warriors, and if not, then Padma will come back with a solution.”
“And if neither of those things happen?” I sucked in a breath. “Fuck, I can’t believe I’m considering that option.”
She fixed me with a level look. “Optimism does not need to equate to delusion. There is always a possibility of that. And if it comes to pass, then you’re coming with me. Quinn too. You’ll be safe in Morningstar.”
“Thank you.”
She covered my hand with hers. “I love you, Orina. We’re going to get through this. Together.” She glanced over my shoulder. “And here comes the food.” She sat back on her seat with an arched brow. “I think they stole the whole kitchen.
I followed her gaze to see Ordell and Sin each carrying a tray laden with dishes. My stomach growled, and my gums ached. I lightly touched my mouth, Ezekiel’s warning coming to mind. With everything that had been going on, I’d neglected the oneaspect of my new nature that was vital to keeping it in control. I needed to feed. Soon.
“You okay?” Nyx asked.
