Page 3 of The Magic of Destiny
“He did what to his dick? Oh my gods. Then he shoved it down his throat?! Sweet moon beams, what a warrior!”
“Are we sure he's one of the six? If not, can you put in a good word for me? We'd make a good match, and you remember how he was with the other old people in town. He's got a thing for the mature folk.”
But then, Fischer dropped the bomb on her. “Laurie told Sloane that she has another daughter.”
The mug Gran was holding hit the table, hot coffee spilling everywhere. Faris had a dish towel in a flash, but Gran was already up and on her feet.
“What did you just say?” she demanded flatly.
“That's what she said,” I confirmed. Gran wasn't giving anything away with her reaction to the news. I couldn’t tell if this was a complete surprise to her, or whether she was just shocked that I knew. “Is it true?”
Gran pinned her eyes on mine. “Not that I have ever heard. This is as much a shock to me as it is to you. Did she say how old the girl would be? She could have been lying—that’s something she's great at,” Gran said angrily, finally showing some emotion.
A soft popping sound was followed by a loud thump.
“Bloody hell, you're a big boy.” Bram's muffled voice came from the other side of the island, and I hopped up to run over and check on them.
“Oh my gods.” I clapped a hand over my mouth at the sight of Bram laid out flat on his stomach with Cam on top of him. Both of them turned to look as soon as they heard my voice.
“It's not what it looks like,” Cam started, jumping off Bram.
“Damn,” Faris whispered, throwing his hands up when Bram shot him a glare.
“Where's Sloane?” I asked as Faris offered Bram a hand up.
Cam shook his head and grumbled. “Not at the prison. He never showed up.” I could sense the frustration in his voice, but the ticking of his jaw was what really gave him away. My mind immediately went to the unthinkable—that Sloane had left us. My cheeks heated at the thought, and when Cam’s green gaze met mine, I’m sure he saw the same turbulence in mine as I did in his. But his face softened as he looked at me with concern, and I took a deep breath.
Fish strummed his fingertips on the table. “That makes no sense.”
“Yeah, we know. Stopped at a gas station, the only one within a forty mile radius of that hell hole. The woman who was there said she hadn't seen anyone who fit his description and she'd been there all night. No security cameras to check, either.” Bram scoffed, like the idea of not having such things personally offended him. Who knows, maybe it did. He was a damn prince, after all.
“His phone isn't working. It's either dead or he turned it off,” Cam added, grabbing a water from the fridge and downing it. Gran walked over and shooed everyone toward the table to get food.
Bram looked especially weary, probably from all the jumping he'd just done. I made a beeline for him and slid eagerly onto his lap, wrapping my arms around his neck.
“Princess, how are you feeling?” he whispered against my hair, his arms enclosing me against him.
“Sore. And worried now. Scared for Annie and devastated for Miranda,” I admitted, as my big demon held me a little tighter. Bram was nurturing and loving. Whatever I needed, he anticipated and just... provided. His very presence soothed me. I watched Faris give me a sweet smile as he slipped out of the room and headed down the hallway. I loved the ease with which we all lived together, like we were meant to all be here together.
All I was missing was my surly dragon.
“I can see if I can reach him telepathically,” Fischer offered, pulling me from my loved up thoughts.
“Yeah, that's a good idea. What do you think happened?” Gran asked, eyeing a sausage link in a way that one shouldn't look at food.
“Do you think he went off grid on purpose? Clearly, something happened—maybe he improvised?” Kai said, in between bites of his breakfast.
“Well, I’m worried. I hope he’s okay.” I rubbed my hands together nervously, and Bram took them between his own, calming me in one small move.
“No idea, but I want to kick his ass,” Cam growled, shoving two strips of bacon into his mouth.
“Kick whose ass?”
Cam’s entire body stiffened, and his eyes closed. The whole room froze, like time had been suspended. Cam's eyes met mine across the table, his back to the hall and the new addition to our conversation. He inhaled a huge breath, his shoulders shaking as he dropped his face into his hands, almost as though he couldn’t bear to look and not see Hunter standing there.
“Holy fuck!” Kai shouted, jumping up and knocking his chair back.
Cam lifted his face and I smiled at my strong mage, my gentle giant who was getting his ultimate wish right now—to get a beloved family member back from the dead. Tears were already rolling down my cheeks.
