Page 134 of Shadowblood Souls
When I make it back to the front entrance with ten minutes to spare, Riva is already waiting there. The jeans she’s wearing look the same as before, but they’re tucked into a pair of lace-up leather boots totally ready for ass-kicking.
She waggles one foot at me with a slightly larger smile than I saw before. “I figured I should be prepared for more forest hikes. And snow. If we keep ahead of the guardians for much longer, we’ll be dealing with winter weather too.”
“Very wise,” I say casually, like my heart hasn’t skipped a beat taking in the rest of her. She’s swapped her old navy hoodie for a deep maroon one that brings out the gold tones in her vibrant eyes.
A couple of plastic shopping bags dangle from her arms, so obviously she hasn’t held back. Good.
A little of her previous uncertainty returns as we head across the parking lot. “Do you need the cash I didn’t use back?”
I shake my head immediately. “We should all have at least a little money on us in case we get separated. Oh, and I got a phone for you. We’ll have to program in each other’s numbers once we’re back at the motel.”
She takes the package from me and holds it tightly for a second before slipping it into her bag. “We’re really getting our act together this time.”
“It should have been like this from the start.” I open the trunk and toss my bags inside, then glance back toward the mall. “We should probably do a little grocery shopping too. Non-perishables. The money’ll go a lot farther that way than with restaurants.”
“Good point.” Riva rubs her hands together as if she’s already envisioning the meals to come.
The supermarket attached to the mall contrasts starkly with the rest of the space, a chill in the air and the overhead lights twice as harsh. I can’t help noticing one of the clerks drifting along behind me while supposedly checking that the shelves are properly organized.
Does he think I’m going to rob the soup and sauces aisle?
I fill the basket I picked up hastily, including a box of cookies and a tray of tarts in recollection of Dominic’s sweet tooth. I rejoin Riva in the fruits and vegetables section, where she’s contemplating bags of lemons.
“Looking for something to stuff down Jacob’s throat?” I ask wryly.
The corner of Riva’s mouth quirks upward, and she shakes her head. “I was thinking that I kind of liked that drink I got… with Brooke… at the club. It was kind of citrusy and sour. But I’d rather have it without the alcohol.”
Brooke—who lived in the townhouse next to the one we were squatting in on campus. Who died when the guardians ambushed us there.
I wince inwardly at the memory and motion to the lemons. “You should get them, then. Experiment. Why not?”
“Yeah. There’s no one to tell us what to do now. Why not.”
I wouldn’t call her peppy, but by the time we return to the car for a second time, her stance has definitely gotten looser. So when we reach the motel and I’m sorting out her bags from mine, I only feel a little awkward getting out the bath and body stuff.
“I bought something else for you,” I say, handing it over. “In case you want to just chill out for a bit while we can. There’s regular salts and a bunch of different scented stuff…”
Riva peeks inside with a trace of confusion and lifts out one bottle full of pearly blue liquid. “Bubble bath?”
I grin and spread my hands. “Maybe you want to relive the childhood we never got.”
When she gives me a pensive look, I let my hands fall back to my sides. “You’ve been through a lot, in general and recently… and a lot of it is because of us. You deserve a chance to relax.”
I can’t read her expression, but at least she doesn’t appear to be pissed off. She glances into the bag again and cocks her head.
“Maybe I will.”
She goes in through her door and I knock on Jacob and Zian’s, not wanting to disturb Dominic if he’s still deep in hacker-consultation mode.
Jake flings the door open as if he thinks I’ve come to warn him of the impending apocalypse. Zee only pauses briefly where he’s pacing the room, his hair still damp from his own earlier bath.
“No emergency.” I hold up the bags. “I’ve got clothes, phones, and food—and packs to stash them in so we can keep everything with us wherever we go.”
Naturally, Jacob grabs the bags from me and immediately starts sorting the clothes into their respective backpacks,deciding without asking what belongs to who. But he knows us—it’s not like I can say he’s wrong.
“Is Dominic still on the call?” I ask Zian.
The big guy nods and resumes his pacing. He’s only crossed the floor a few times before he pauses to contemplate the grocery bags. “What did you get to eat?”
