Page 90 of Daman
“Daman. Enough.” Warrin grabbed my arm and tugged me back to his side. He buried his face in the side of my hair, and I calmed at his touch. He then looked at his brother. “Did Alastair say anything else?”
“He believes Asa is searching for something. You said shades are trackers?” Nikolai asked me. I nodded. “The angel, Lazarus I believe his name is, alerted Alastair that shades have swarmed to Europe, traveling through Vienna and Budapest.”
“Toward Romania,” I whispered, and the memory I’d been trying so hard to recall prickled at my mind again. A cave. A man with a scar. But then the memory fizzled out.
Nikolai walked over to the window. The night was clear, no clouds in the sky. “I never wanted to be like our father, Warrin, and send our people into another war.” He shifted his gaze to us. “But sometimes, war is necessary in order to have true peace. I see that now.”
The drive home was quiet.
Warrin and I didn’t race through the woods like we’d done earlier. We parked the snowmobiles in the garage and went into the cottage. I shrugged out of my heavy coat and kicked off my snowy boots by the door so I wouldn’t track slush all through the house. I placed the coat Kira had designed for me on the chair in the entryway.
My scalp prickled.
“Warrin?” I grabbed his arm before he could leave my side. “Wait.”
“What’s wrong?”
I surveyed the entryway, and that uneasy feeling spread from the top of my head down into my arms and legs. Instincts were everything. And I’d learned to trust mine over the years.
“Someone’s in the house.”
Chapter Fourteen
Warrin
Daman unsheathed his sword, his steps soundless as he crept down the hall. I followed close behind him, hand on the hilt of my sword but not drawing it. Yet anyway.
Despite the seriousness of the situation, I couldn’t help but admire his stealth and how much of a turn-on it was to see him armed and dangerous.
“Quit staring at my ass,” he whispered, looking at me over his shoulder.
“Can you blame me?”
His lips twitched.
“What are we whispering about?” another voice asked.
Daman whirled back around, sword aimed at the stranger’s throat. I saw a flash of blond hair before the person ducked out of sight, popping up again several feet away. Shadows masked their features, but from the outline of their body, they were super tiny.
“Gray?” Daman hissed, lowering his weapon.
A creak came from above us, and a light turned on.
“Whoa, what the fuck?” Bellamy peered down at us from the second-floor landing, naked apart from a towel around his hips. “Did you just try to kill our baby brother? Shame on you.”
“What are you doing here?” Daman asked. “And why are you naked?”
“You expected menotto shower after that long-ass flight and trek through BFE to come see you?” Bellamy rested his arms on the railing, a smirk on his lips. “Can you see up my towel when I stand like this?”
“Go put on some clothes before I murder you.” Daman swept a hand over the top of his hair and deeply inhaled. Frazzled was an understatement.
“I’m surprised you didn’t sense us,” Gray said, walking into the living room and curling up on the couch. “You must have a lot on your mind.”
“You could say that.” Daman put away his sword. “Why are you here?”
“Alastair sent us,” Gray said. “Cas and Kyo are here too. Somewhere.” He looked at me. “Did you really meet Asa?”
“Yes.”
