Page 34 of Fated to Monsters

But with Sydney as our escort, I’ll get to go out during the daytime.

The sun hasn’t shone in Prania in centuries, at least, that’s what I’m told. There were moments the sky would be clearer than others, but the ruins of that world taint the atmosphere with a relentless cloud of smoke. It’s thick and heavy and completely different than here in Arthlia.

“You can’t be serious,” Bo calls out after us.

I don’t bother turning around, instead, I tug Dash along with me into the hallway and down the stairs of this massive house.

Sydney waits at the bottom, his attention turning from the small device in his grasp to the two of us. He clicks a button on the thing and shoves it into his pocket.

I’ll have to ask him what that is later.

“You don’t mind if Dash comes, do you? He’s harmless, I promise.” I wait for his reply, watching the way he rubs at his neck and hesitates to answer.

“Uh, I mean…” Sydney glances between us.

Wes approaches from another one of the hallways and plants one hand on my shoulder and one on Dash’s. “He’s practically human aside from coming back from the dead.”

“Yeah, I suppose that will be okay.” Sydney shrugs. “Things are already weird enough, why not bring a phoenix along for the ride?”

Wes kisses the top of my head and whispers, “Be safe, and come back to me, okay?”

My cheeks blush even more than when I pinched them.

“Thanks for not throwing a fit about me leaving.” I turn to tell him, my gaze flitting to Bo, who stands at the top of the stairs like a fucking statue as he glares at me.

Maybe he could learn a thing or two from Dash and Wes about how to engage with a woman. Bo might be expertly skilled in the bedroom but he’s an idiot otherwise. An infuriating and sexy idiot.

“You can explore the grounds if you’d like. It’s a rather nice day today, but please don’t venture beyond the tree line. I’d rather people not ask questions we can’t give them answers to just yet. The less you draw attention to yourselves, the better.” Sydney looks at Wes the whole time, almost like he’s putting him in charge while he’s gone.

He’s typically the most reserved and rational of us all, so it makes total sense Sydney would gravitate toward thinking along the same lines.

I don’t imagine Jade and Everest will need much convincing to keep themselves concealed, but I wouldn’t put it past Bo to defy the orders just because he can. Sydney may have been better off encouraging Bo to roam as far as he pleases, and Bo would probably stay in and be a lazy bum.

Tremont is supposedly still confined to his room, so it’s unlikely he’ll cause any issues.

Dash and I follow Sydney down another hallway that leads to a part of the house I have yet to venture into. A strange unease rises through me at being led away by a stranger, but in these few short days, Sydney has shown me a different side of what being supernatural means.

Where I come from, everyone is filled with hatred and darkness—but Sydney has this pure aura about him that I can’t help but put trust in. Like my gut knew before I did that he would be on my side.

Perhaps it’s that there are no sides. Instead, a common good that the people of Earth, or at the very least, Sydney, and from the sound of it, Willow, want for everyone.

The Angels sent me here for a reason, I should put a little faith in that.

Air hits my cheeks, warming them and spreading throughout my body. I blink a few times to adjust to the light and take in a deep breath. “Angels, this is…”

“Welcome to spring,” Sydney says. “We’ve been having unseasonably higher temperatures lately but none of us are complaining. Winter was rough and aside from Deghan, none of us are really a fan of the snow.”

“Is Deghan a witch, too?” I ask him since he’s mentioned him enough that it seems an appropriate question to have.

"Deghan is a werewolf." Sydney points toward a shiny-looking thing with wheels. "My car."

"Car," I say, getting a feel for the word on my tongue. "Does it operate on magic?"

Sydney chuckles “No, it uses fuel to function. Gasoline.”

Fuel. Gasoline. Car.Not magic.Got it.

“Interesting.”

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