Page 117 of Love Bites Extra Hard

I blinked.

Avery’s lips curved upward. “You can stay for a few days in my old bedroom. We have hot springs.”

Clem’s eyes widened. “Hot springs?”

“With a cave system,” Avery confirmed.

Kai’s forehead furrowed. “Aren’t those dangerous.”

“So dangerous,” Clementine said, her voice full of barely-contained glee. “And with your vines, we can’t get lost.”

Kai considered it. When he finally nodded, he looked grudging.

“I can go with them,” I said.

“Ooh, I’m jealous. Can you learn how to breathe underwater?” she looked back at Kai, waiting for an answer.

“Nope.”

“Bummer.”

She didn’t look bummed, though.

“We get to ride on a dragon too, right?” she checked.

“Yep. A glittery one.” Avery messed with my hair.

Clem’s grin widened. “Alright, let’s go now.”

I blinked again.

Avery laughed. “Okay. We’ll probably need a day or two to get Stella back to the castle, though. She’ll want to be there when we take Sylvester down.”

“We can vacation before the seduction.”

“I don’t love knowing that this plan involves you seducing someone other than me, Five,” Kai warned.

She looped her arm through his and kissed his cheek. “Do it for the vacation.”

He grumbled, but didn’t protest.

He had to be a saint to put up with a female that wild. Or maybe just bored.

Hehadseemed bored for a long time. That was probably the right answer.

After Kai and Clementine disappeared upstairs to change and grab their bags, we headed to Dragon Manor instead. It took some finagling to get all three of them on my back, and was a small hit to my pride. But for the sake of finally ridding the world of Sylvester, I could handle it.

The flight was quick and painless. Avery’s old room had been cleaned out thoroughly, with the mattress and bedding replaced,so it was perfectly fine for visitors. After Clem assured her they wouldn’t have a problem settling in, Avery promised her a tour in the morning, and we finally headed to our own room.

“Did you enjoy feeling like a pack mule?” she teased me, bumping her hip against mine.

“There’s nothing in the world that I enjoy more,” I drawled, and she laughed.

We were both tired, but in a good way.

It had been a nice day.

I was glad she had invited me to the party, despite my initial uncertainty.

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