Page 7 of Hellfire

I wished I could lean into him and hold him. Later. His sister needed him more and vice versa.

Talon and Cole got the feels too, welcoming him into their brotherhood, sharing our good news with Gable.

My heart swelled with happiness that I got everything I longed for. A permanent home, stability, safety, boyfriends that I also considered my best friends, a boisterous and feisty bestie, not one but two pets, the blanks filled in on my heritage, and study at an elite magical academy. Something told me that Mary might come to be a close friend too, when she came out of her shell. I didn’t think my heart could get any bigger, but it did, and I was looking forward to starting my second semester at the Academy.

CHAPTER 3 - COLE

“Where are you?” I growled at the ledger pages I reviewed for the tallies of stock in and out, recorded by the Hadrians like Blaze’s grandmother.

I checked the time on my sports watch for the fifth time this hour. Luna and I had plans for this afternoon that I refused to cancel. This was the last day of our winter break, the rest of it chewed up by long days repairing what we could of the damaged Veil.

Talon assigned us to search for any missing inventory, hoping to catch Nelle’s accomplice. He hoped that the task was a welcome distraction from the despair in Blaze’s mind.

When we went to Babcia’s office with the request, she cussed at us in Polish, telling us to do it ourselves, and dumped the books on her desk. Four thick registries of magical ingredients from the last year.

The pressure to nail our suspect ached in my shoulders. The longer they remained at large, the more damage they caused the Academy.

With the clock ticking, we split up the task, Blaze reviewing the documents related to the Academy, and I took those related to the Guild operations that Talon supervised.

Blaze and I had cleared piles of spell books from her desk to make space for our task, while she pottered in the storage rooms. Then we divided them up between us and spent the last two hours pouring through records, hiding our investigation from any witnesses who might alert our potential traitor.

If we weren’t hunting down the suspected second infiltrator, Kymbal had Talon, Luna, and me out day and night stabilizing the hole our girl created in the Veil to bring the djinn army through to Earth. So much for the winter vacation plans. Worth it to have my brother back safe and sound.

The adrenaline of busting the traitor only went so far, and I needed more caffeine to stay awake. I grabbed my mug, cursing at the lack of coffee in it, and at the grounds left in the pot on its heating cradle.

The motion startled Blaze and he flinched, his body stiffening, gaze jumping around the room, fingers fisting the pen in his hand.

“You okay, brother?” I asked.

“Fine.” He took one last look at the shadows in the corner of his grandmother’s office before bending his head to read the registry. By the way he flipped through the pages too fast to scrutinize, I knew I was in for more work to double-check them.

Fine, my ass.

It was obvious that he didn’t feel safe since returning from Camus’ castle. Fast movements, loud sounds, or darkness prompted his panic. He didn’t say anything more about his ordeal other than what he told Kymbal, Venellan, and Talon’s temporary Darnax replacement. I didn’t blame him for coming back with baggage.

Nelle made me question my sanity when we dated, gaslighting me, blame-shifting, and lacking empathy. I could only imagine what she did to Blaze when in the confines of a cell.

“Let me know if you need to stop.” I kept hold of the mug, conscious of moving again and alarming him.

“I’m not leaving until I find the traitor.” Blaze nudged the pot in my direction in an obvious attempt to cover his fear. “You need more coffee, you’re out.”

I didn’t want to leave him alone when he was clearly going through something, but instinct told me he needed a moment alone to re-group.

Giving him space, I snatched up the carafe, and said, “Back in a minute.” The coffee refill break would also serve to stretch my legs, get the heart pumping, and blood flowing. “Want more cookies?”

“You’re always eating.” Papers rustled as Blaze flicked them.

Never known him to turn down one of his grandmother’s cookies that she baked for us while we scoured the ledgers the last two days. Another clue he wasn’t his usual self.

I ran my palms seductively down my chest. “Gotta keep up this Adonis body for our girl.”

Blaze snorted, the first smile he cracked the entire study session.

Apart from the shitty two weeks we just had, things felt easier between us, our natural bond returning with each day, and I welcomed it. Beyond the hurt of leaving the Guild, I missed my friend, our close-knit friendship, and rebuilding that outweighed the heartache and pain.

I shrugged with the pot. “And I need the energy for my morning boxing workouts with Talon.”

I left and went to the Hadrian’s kitchen to prepare more coffee, loading water into the percolator and refilling the filter with ground beans. Mission accomplished, I returned to Blaze’sgrandmother’s office and set the pot back on the cradle to do its magick.

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