Page 2 of Iced Heat

“Dude?” I nudged him with my elbow.

“Yeah?” he startled.

“Is it that bad? So bad that you’re acting like we’re walking you to your execution?” I asked him.

“Not that bad but it’s out there, I guess,” Teddy shrugged and shoved his hands into his pockets.

“What is?” I asked him. “The whole Nelum is your mama thing?” I arched a brow.

“That and that Daliah is getting married, and she and Seq are fighting still. Is it bad that I don’t want any of that drama?”

“He’s always like this,” Selt said. “He worries about everyone else. He nearly choked me out the first time we met because I was giving his friend some smack talk.”

Teddy smirked, opened his mouth, and shut it again. We all knew the story. So, I guessed Teddy stopped himself from saying how much Selt liked it. I never broadcasted my sex life but if that’s what got their rocks off, more power to them.

“So, you’re worried about them?” I asked, trying to get the conversation back on track.

“A bit. I don’t know. I’m anxious. It’s like everything is about to change forever,” Teddy said.

I stopped in my tracks and looked at him.

“Either you forgot to inform me that you’re a seer or you might be having a panic attack, man,” I said, looking him up and down.

“I don’t get those,” Teddy shook his head.

“Alright,” I said and kept walking. “They make some good stuff for them these days, though.”

“I’ll get some pot from Seq when we get there. Don’t let him lie to you. He always has it on hand. He’s just stingy with it,” Teddy said.

“I got my cigarettes. That’s enough for me,” I shrugged pulling the pack out of my pocket before sliding it right back in. I wasn’t about to kick the habit any time soon, but I had a self-imposed rule about not smoking around Baby Selatris. Little man was part lion and didn’t need me getting him all sick or stunting his growth or whatever bullshit secondhand smoke did to babies.

“Probably not good for you either,” Selt laughed, picking up my thoughts over the flight link.

“You don’t know that. I might live with you, but you don’t know that. I haven’t even uttered the name of my home world. Now that the damn doorway’s up one of you all might go and beat the shit out of someone and conquer it just to prove a point.”

“I might,” Selt shrugged. “Do you think I could conquer it while the baby napped? I don’t have a lot of free time for all that these days.”

We all laughed. Even Teddy.

“Are you ever going to tell us what you shift into?” Teddy asked.

“I’m ice,” I shrugged because it was close enough to the truth.

“Ice,” Selt nodded. “We know you took it as your surname but what? You shift into ice cubes?”

“No, he shifts other people into ice cubes,” Liatris laughed. “You’ve seen him do it, baby.”

We arrived at the Earthside door laughing hard enough that the elves who guarded this side of the door smiled as if waiting to be let in on the joke. We told them where we hoped to go instead. The guys looked a bit let down, but I learned a long time ago not to hand out too much information. Teddy and I went through but Liatris and Selt lingered to speak with them. They were the people Liatris was born to after all.

“You really okay?” I asked once Selt wasn’t around. He was Teddy’s sort of ex but not ex. Well, that’s how it was according to them anyway.

“I’m fine. Anxious. Like I want to bounce into the sky or some shit. I wish Sunny could’ve come over with us instead of waiting until later, but he wanted to be there for Laken’s match tonight.”

“I don’t blame him. If Laken were my mate, I’d call that foreplay,” I shrugged, and Teddy laughed.

“So, this is Earthside, then?” I blinked looking around.

“Part of it. We’re near one of the lakes. I can never remember their names. We’ll fly out from here unless Selt and Liatris change their mind and want me to call a car.”

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