Page 40 of Magic's Rise

Haut smirks. “I’m worth the extra cost since you trained me so well.”

Levi snickers while Aspen’s brow wrinkles in confusion. Damn wolf hearing, eavesdropping even from the parking lot.

The elevator comes to a stop and opens onto a long, beige hallway lined with identical, dark-brown doors.

The carpet resists the tiny wheels on the luggage cart as Haut pushes us down to room 212. Aspen and Levi continue past us to the next door over and disappear inside.

Haut slides the keycard into the slot, and with a satisfying click, the door swings inward to reveal a spacious room with two queen-sized beds and a small sitting area by the window.

I leap off the cart to bellyflop onto one of the mattresses with a sigh, the soft comforter enveloping me like a cloud. “We made it.”

A knock comes from the adjoining door beside the dresser, and Tris bounces over to open it from our end.

Immediately, I scramble off the bed to go investigate the other room, which is identical to ours, only mirrored.

I pass Aspen in the doorway as I head back into our room, where Haut crouches in front of a mini-fridge, stowing our bottles of water and placing the ice packs in the tiny-freezer to keep things cold for tomorrow.

“Should we order something?” Tris walks to the desk to inspect a three-ring binder. He flips through a couple of pages. “No room service, but they have the numbers of some delivery restaurants.”

“It’s getting pretty late for most places.” Haut straightens, stretching his arms over his head. “Pizza’s probably our best bet.”

I bounce back to the joining door. “We’re ordering pizza. What do you guys want?”

Aspen grimaces. “Do they have a chicken Caesar on the menu?”

“How do you constantly disappoint me?” I back up into my room. “Come look for yourself, you desecrator of the pizza gods.”

He lets out a little huff of annoyance. “A vegetable every now and then wouldn’t kill you.”

“Cocoa grows on trees and is a fruit, and milk is good for my bones.” I join Tris by the window. “Ergo, chocolate shakes are healthy.”

“Nice.” Tris raises his hand, and we high-five.

Aspen sighs like a man long used to suffering and takes the binder from Tris to peruse his options.

Levi leans in the doorway, the top of his head brushing the frame. “I’ll eat whatever is ordered.”

“Pepperoni and sausage for me and Rowe.” Tris pushes open the curtain, then spins toward me. “There’s a hot tub!”

Excitement shoots through me. Tris and I never got to use the hot tub the one time we rented a hotel room with one, on account of the psycho vampire who attacked us.

Now we have a do-over, though. “Did Owen pack my swimming suit?”

“Of course, he did!” Tris rushes to take my bag from Haut and lifts it onto the bed to dig out a skimpy, two-piece bikini with a cherry pattern.

He throws it at me. “Go change.”

“We’re about to order dinner,” Haut protests as I scurry to the bathroom.

“Cold pizza is still the food of the gods.” Tris rummages around in his back and pulls out a matching pair of cherry-patterned swim trunks. “We’ll eat when we return.”

They’re still arguing when I close the door and quickly put on my swimsuit. It doesn’t cover much, but all that means is more hot, bubbly water against my skin.

I wind my long, red hair into a bun on top of my head so it won’t get wet and pop back out into the main room. “Ready!”

Haut’s eyes bug out of his head, and he moves to block me from Levi’s view. “Robe. Now.”

My hands move to my hips. “Why? I’m just going to take it off.”

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