Page 21 of Ignited Spirits
“Actually, Kansas grows twice the amount of wheat than corn. Soybeans are about as popular as corn, but wheat reigns supreme.” Archer’s voice pulls me out of my thoughts. He says it matter-of-factly, like it’s normal to know what crops are grown in a random state.
I blink at Archer. “It’s super impressive that you just know that off the top of your head. But, also, why do you know that?”
He snorts. “I just like learning stuff about places around the world, and I don’t really ever forget anything. At least, once I realized the best way for me to take in information.”
I smile up at him. “That’s so cool, sunny boy. Anytime you feel like sharing fun facts, I’m always happy to listen. And I stand corrected—she’s conspiring with the cows, wheat, corn, and soybean fields. That about right?”
“You’ve got it, sunshine. And I’d love to bore you with the deep well of useless facts I know, but we’ve got a war goddess to track down.” Archer’s mouth tips up into a half smile that makes my heart skip a beat.
“They’re not useless,” Luca gruffly protests.
Raising his brows in surprise, Archer turns to his older brother. “Um, okay?”
Luca dips his head in acknowledgement. “All the stuff you know helps a lot with making decisions for the pack.”
Rubbing a hand over the back of his neck, Archer doesn’t say anything as he looks down at the ground, his cheeks slightly pink in embarrassment. I don’t think Archer’s had a lot of people tell him how awesome he is, so maybe hearing it from Luca will help him believe it.
I give Luca a small smile when Archer turns his back. His teal eyes crinkle ever so slightly in the corners, but his face remains stoic otherwise.
Heat pools in my core thinking about Luca fucking me a couple of days ago. True to his word, he has taken every available opportunity to try to convince me to agree to his demands. Since I refuse to make a promise I know I can’t keep, I’m left horny and frustrated every time Luca gets me alone.
Shaking my head, because now is so not the time to be thinking about that, I focus back on the table. “Do we happen to have a map of Kansas? Or are we just supposed to comb through the entire state and hope Lua stays in the same place the whole time?”
Cain huffs a laugh at me. “I’ll go dig one up, angel.”
“Thanks, quiet boy.”
While we’ve been recovering, I’ve spent pretty much the whole time with my mates, but I haven’t gotten much one-on-one time with any of them. As the quietest one of the bunch, it’s easy for Cain to get lost in the shuffle sometimes.
I know I need to do better balancing the five of them, but with everything going on, it can be hard. Still, I plan to make time to hang out with each of them alone as soon as we get a free moment.
A few minutes later, Cain strides back into the room. He carefully folds up the current map on the table and lays a worn and faded one in its place.
We stare in silence at a close-up of Kansas for a moment before I grab the compass necklace and put it on the new map.
I close my eyes and start funneling mycuramagic into the necklace. When I’ve given it all I can, I open my eyes and hold my breath as I wait for it to move. We don’t know how specific of a location it can give us, but I sure hope it can narrow Lua’s location down at least a little more. That’s assuming Lua hasn’tvanished yet, but oh well. I’m choosing to be an optimist for once.
Eventually, the gold pendant scuttles across the map to the eastern portion of the state. It lands right on top of a city I’ve never heard of called Lawrence. “Well, I guess we’re heading to Lawrence, Kansas. Are we ready to go?”
Everyone nods.
Part of me wishes my mates would protest and tell me they won’t follow me around on this absurd quest I’m on. I want them to stay safe and as far away from Lua as they can get. But the other part of me knows that I need their help to stand any chance at defeating Lua.
Picking up the compass, I loop it around my neck, since we’ll probably need it once we portal to Kansas.
“I’ll pull up a picture and open the portal for us.” Bishop messes around on his phone for a moment before putting it away and leveling me with a serious look. “We’re only going for recon, Isabel. You are not to confront Lua under any circumstances. Do you understand me?”
I bristle at his heavy-handed order, and my first instinct is to disagree with him to prove a point. But I know what he said is the best plan.
We’ve all agreed to avoid fighting Lua until we know more about her magic and any weaknesses she has. I’m personally hoping she has a ton of weaknesses because, otherwise, I don’t know how we have a shot at this.
Blowing out a breath, I cross my arms over my chest and narrow my eyes at him. “I keep my word, St. James. You don’t need to be an ass about it.”
He pinches the bridge of his nose and closes his eyes for a moment. When he opens them, he gives me a small nod. “You’re right. I could’ve worded that differently.” I stare at him in shockbut refrain from saying anything. Bishop’s lips quirk. “I can admit when I’m wrong, sweetheart.”
“I know,” I mumble as I wait for him to open the portal.
When he does, I resist the urge to jump through first and let Levi go ahead of me. Once he’s through, I follow him and emerge into an alley on a cute little main street.
