Page 15 of Forging Darkness

Under normal circumstances I’d have trouble masking my amusement, but my conversation with Steel hangs at the forefront of my thoughts, pressing down on my mood.

I avoid Ash’s gaze even as I feel it bounce over my face. She heard every word, including the bit where I almost confessed how isolating it feels to know I might be the only seraph angel-born. At some point during our one-sided confessional, I’d forgotten about the other people in the room. It wasn’t until Sterling turned to me with a giant grin and two thumbs-up—the signal that he’d tracked Steel’s location successfully—that I jarred back to reality. After that, I’d gotten off the phone as quickly as possible. Steel’s hung up on me so many times I didn’t feel at all guilty doing the same to him.

Rather than face Ash’s knowing eyes, I turn to Tinkle and chuck a pillow at his furry head. Currently in the form of a monkey, he scampers out of the way and onto the bookshelf.

“What the heck? I almost missed the call.”

When the phone rang, Tinkle snatched it and started bouncing around the room like a caffeinated . . . well, like a caffeinated monkey. Ash and I chased him until she managed to tackle him to the ground so I could pluck the phone from his spindle-like fingers. By that time, the phone had already rung five times and I wasn’t sure Steel would still be on the line when I answered.

“What?” Tinkle cocks his head. “I thought we were playing keep-away.”

“Why in the world—” Stopping myself, I take a long drag of air in through my nose before exhaling out my mouth. It’s a breathing technique I’ve picked up since Tinkle dropped into my life. “Okay, Sterling. Let’s hear it. Where is he?”

“Right.” Spinning back to his computer, his fingers run over the keys. A moment later all three of our cell phones ding.

When I unlock the screen, I see Sterling has sent a group text. Except instead of “Sterling” where his name should be, it reads “#HotStuff.”

I glare at him. “Stop hacking into my phone and changing your name in my contacts.” Last week it was “Ironman,” and the week before that, “The Most Attractive Durand Sibling.”

“It’s not hacking when your passcode is one-two-three-four.”

“He has a point,” Ash says.

I bite my tongue and read the message.

#HotStuff

Busted. Steel’s in Michigan.

“That’s . . . random,” Ash says. I nod in agreement.

Even though it’s the middle of the night, the first reply comes through barely a minute later.

Nova

Detroit?

#HotStuff

A suburb north of Detroit. Pontiac.

Greyson

Never heard of it.

Nova

What’s Steel doing in the mid-west?

Greyson

Better question is, what’s Silver doing there?

The chat goes silent.

“Don’t Forsaken usually keep to the larger cities?” When I was on my own, I’d convinced myself there was safety in numbers. Turns out, living on the streets in Denver was the wrong move. I should have holed up in a ghost town somewhere. Hindsight is twenty-twenty.

“Usually,” Ash answers.

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