Page 17 of Last Gift: Supernatural Battle

I blinked. “That’s why you’re always looking at my boobs.”

“No. That’s because you have fantastic breasts, and I’d like to spend my time rubbing my face between them.”

That’s what I’d assumed actually.

Wild paused, then said, “You haven’t noticed the same about me?”

“That you’re some kind of sexy Care Bear?” That was something I might’ve picked up.

“What’s a Care Bear?”

“A toy that shoots a beam of love out of its chest, or something like that. Good stuff.”

“Right. I don’t look like a Care Bear, then?”

I frowned. “No. Why do you think only you can see it?”

His expression was smooth again. “Unsure.”

“Maybe this step in the ritual is different.” Wild usually felt the press of the mating ritual more strongly than me. He’d also stepped into his role and purpose with total confidence since our night in the cave. When I hadn’t felt anything in the last week, I’d wondered if the mating ritual was over. Apparently not.

Was this thing one-sided from here?

I didn’t like that. “Not like we have a book to read on the topic. All we can do is wait.” Just like the wait for my demon to reappear.

Wild pulled me against his side. “And I’m content to do so. It’s nothing to worry about.”

There was that word again.

I rested a hand on his chest over his pendants, feeling the warmth of his body through his token black tunic. “No. Nothing to worry about.”

6

I sat in my authority, nerves tightening my chest. This conversation would be hard to navigate to say the least. I’d spouted some bullshit in my time, but this would take the prize. “A warm welcome to Ruby and Huxley, who have accepted the position of advisor to join our team.”

The others threw them smiles and murmured hellos.

I’d donned the relic robes again today as a symbol. The advisors had their black robes, and it seemed important that I distinguish myself. Sven would be proud of me.

I surveyed their ranks. “We have a lot to do, and first I’d like to hear where you believe we should start.”

Opal said immediately, “Demon defense. They’re the immediate threat.”

Barrow voiced his agreement.

Varden countered. “Coven unity. A demon’s magic feeds off division.”

The other advisors, barring Wild and Huxley, turned to look at him.

“How do you know that?” Winona asked.

“There’s reference to this in texts that our project team has come across,” Huxley replied.

There was likely no such thing, but I was glad Varden and he had ripped that bandage off. “This project team has put together information that will prove invaluable in the coming weeks. We know that any division—having different teams within a coven, for instance—feeds a demon, along with negative emotion. A strong demon can leave their realm to enter this realm.”

“You’re implying that Caves has strengthened the demons’ magic?” Delta said. Her doubt was evident. “For how long? We’d been playing for three hundred years.”

“I don’t know if the demons were there at the origin or if they came later,” I hedged. I did. When Ryzika died, the demons had carpe diemed the shit out of the uncertainty in the leaderless coven.

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