Page 56 of Vicious Little Vows
I patted Gabriel’s arm. “You head in. I’ll follow shortly.”
Gabriel seemed unsure, but following my gaze to Crispin, nodded. He took Ringo, and the rest of the guys left us, closing the door to the main tower behind them. Of course, I wouldn’t be surprised if they had all stopped just on the other side.
Crispin seemed startled to find he and I alone. I turned and walked back toward him. “Everything okay?”
He blushed. “I’m not sure.”
I felt my encouraging smile falling before I could help it. “Do you regret—”
He lifted his hands. “No!” He took a breath to compose himself, then more evenly repeated, “No. I was just worried… Well, that was all quite magical, wasn’t it? And the Bogs had a large part to play. I was just worried that maybe you weren’t quite yourself? That you might regret—”
I stepped closer, tilting my head to meet his eyes. “I don’t regret it, but I know it’s a weird situation. The other guys, well, Sebastian and Mistral are both old as hell. They aren’t terribly concerned with societal norms. And Gabriel and I have established our own boundaries. But you and I…”
“We haven’t really spoken about any of this,” he finished for me.
I narrowed my eyes playfully. “Not for lack of trying on my part.”
He lowered his chin, smiling apologetically. “Yes, well, I have a history of not wanting to get attached. It has never ended well for me. I thought it better to spare us both from that issue.”
“And what do you think now?”
His eyes lifted to mine as he reached out to touch my cheek. “I think that you’re lovely, and I’ll gladly stop pretending I don’t have feelings for you as long as we can be open to figuring things out along the way.”
“Oh, figuring things out along the way is my specialty. Or didn’t you realize I’ve just been winging all of this?”
He laughed, his other hand going to my waist to pull me close. “Now that we’ve established that, there’s one more thing you should know about me.”
My brows lifted. “Oh?”
He leaned closer, his lips almost touching mine. “I may be younger than the others, but I grew up at the elven court, and some habits die hard. It may be a bit backwards, but I still intend to woo you, Eva Nix. So I hope we can have a redo of our date, you know, after we’ve killed your grandfather.”
I grinned. “It’s a—”
He kissed me before I could finish, and I melted against him. I was maybe a bit embarrassed by what had happened with the ritual, but if I had learned anything over the past couple of months, it was to just go with it. Even when you were caught in a dangerous game with mortal peril around every corner, things seemed to work out for the best if you just let them.
Or maybe I was just lucky.
EPILOGUE
My mom wasn’t in the Silver Quarter, but Marcie was there to fill us all in now that she had been made aware of the plan herself. The female angelic I’d met, Charla, was also in attendance, along with a few gargoyle bodyguards. Lucas had indeed returned to the Silver Quarter after the Bogs had stolen the rest of us away, and he was pretty pissed that we refused to tell him what had occurred in the time between.
Fortunately, the meeting hall was a full house, thanks to Lucas going ahead and telling everyone we would show up as soon as we were able. There were werewolves and fairies, and even a few nymphs. There was Elizabeta and Lilith, and most surprisingly, Varian. The same Varian who’d tried to steal our celestial magic to create a new pathway to his realm. He watched me with pursed lips, but made no move to attack. Marcie assured us he was on whatever side would grant him a pathway without endangering his realm, but I couldn’t quite bring myself to trust it.
Mistral took my hand, and I couldn’t help my smile. It was surreal being with him outside of the Bogs, and even stranger to be within the Silver Quarter together. The angelics had offeredtheir domain as a neutral meeting ground, and apparently they meant it, as so many of us were standing here now.
I tensed as Elizabeta stalked toward us, Lilith in tow. Even though Elizabeta was a full head shorter than me, dressed in a yellow cardigan and dress that made her look like a preschool teacher, she was likely the most dangerous creature in the room.
She stopped before me, looking me up and down like I might be good to eat. “I should kill you for disobeying me.”
Since I had disobeyed her a whole lot, and wasn’t sure which one she meant, I stayed silent.
Her brow twitched. “My spies saw you travel in the Bogs. I warned you that you would be unable to hide.” Her eyes drifted to Mistral, taking in his expression. “Do not be too disappointed in your people. Vampires can be highlypersuasive.” She looked at Lilith, and they both enjoyed a good chuckle. It had been Lilith who set up the meeting between my mom and Elizabeta, calling on their old friendship one last time.
“Well it’s good we’re on the same side now then,” I said cautiously.
Elizabeta’s eyes flared for just a heartbeat, but then she nodded. “You should have told me what you were trying to prevent. A few small pathways are far preferable to healing them all at once.”
“Well I didtry.” I bit my tongue at her sharp look, but then she simply nodded to each of the guys, then sauntered away, taking one of the assembled chairs.
