Page 68 of Micah

Cam leans against me, taking in the impromptu family drama. Grandmother doesn’t look happy, but she nods curtly, conceding to Zac’s greater knowledge about the area and the necessary safety concerns. “We’ll make other arrangements. We have time to sort them out. It’s not even spring yet, and I think this year the snow will linger into June.”

Nobody says anything, but those of us who know her well are probably all thinking the same thing: What the heck is she basing that on?

Brandt claps his hands. “That’s all arranged, then. Excellent. Gideon, I just need a word with Ronan, and then we can go back to CSG, if that suits you.”

“Of course,” Gideon says politely, and then as Brandt draws Ronan aside, he makes a beeline toward Zac.

“Are we going to go listen to them?” Cam murmurs. “Is Gideon telling him off or giving him advice?”

I tug him along with me and head in that direction. “Knowing Gideon, probably both.” Sure enough, as we get closer, I hear Gideon call Zac an idiot and then follow up with, “I’m not going to mourn you if you get killed by a dragon.” Other people might not consider that advice, but from Gideon, it really is. It’s loving, even. I crash the conversation before anything else can be said.

“What’s with you lately?” I ask Zac. “I can’t believe you argued with Grandmother over this. You’re only doing research and reading right now, and you can do that from here while Garrett and Ronan work.”

His face sets in mutinous lines. “Maybe I don’t want to sit in a cave when I can be in my comfortable house.”

Gideon and I roll our eyes in perfect unison. “I did it,” I point out.

“You were getting sex,” he snaps. “Maybe if someone offered to fuck me, I’d be more on board with this.” His voice rises slightly at the end, and over his shoulder, I see Garrett’s head snap around. Nobody else seems to notice, though, thankfully.

“Keep it down,” Gideon warns, obviously having noticed the same thing as me. “We don’t want an inter-species incident.”

I try not to wince, since he doesn’t know about how narrowly we avoided the last one.

Zac sighs. “I just wish someone would care about my opinion.”

“We do,” Cam says earnestly. “I got distracted before, but you still need to tell me what’s wrong.”

“Something’s wrong?” Gideon asks sharply.

“No,” Zac replies, even as Cam says, “Yes.”

“Nothing’s wrong,” Zac insists. “I guess winter’s just getting to me this year. I’d go spend a week on a beach, but now I’ve been voluntold for taxi and babysitting duty.”

Cam immediately begins assuring him that he can take a couple of days off to go to the beach, since there are still some things he wants to do here in the cave, and I can be the taxi-slash-babysitter. But I tune most of that out. Zac might’ve been able to distract my boyfriend, but I know him too well, and that was absolutely a lie.

Gideon meets my gaze. He knows it too. Something’s going on with Zac.

CHAPTERTWENTY-EIGHT

Cam

I stareat my list in frustration. It’s too short—I know it is. There’s a lot more stuff I’m gonna need to set up my workroom here in Hortplatz. But damned if I can remember what all that stuff is.

Oh well. When I get to the house and see it, I’ll know what to grab. It’s just annoying that my brain won’t let me be organized as I take this huge step and move in with my sexy demon boyfriend.

“Ready?” Micah asks, coming out of the kitchen. I grin at him.

“Yep! I—”

His phone rings, and he frowns.

“Get it,” I tell him. “We’re not in a rush.” We’re really not. Today I’m just going through my stuff and deciding what needs to come back now. We’ll bring what we can carry, but the rest we’ll pack up ready for when Micah’s cousins are going to help.

He still doesn’t look happy as he takes the call, and from the sound of what he’s saying as he wanders back into the kitchen, his mood’s not going to improve. That’s so sweet. He’s mad that people are taking away from his time with me.

Oooh—time! I add clockwork pieces to my list. I don’t often use them, but they can be fun, and I don’t store them with everything else.

“…hold on,” Micah says as he comes back into the room, then taps the screen—I’m guessing to mute the call. “My client’s builder has fucked up and I need to go to the site. Is it okay if—”

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