Page 50 of Hell to Slay

It really was. Being here with her felt like home. The Roost was too small to be a proper coven-house, and yet, this felt like where we belonged. If we had to keep sleeping in two bedrooms for a while, so be it. Whatever kept us together as a coven. Someday we might move into a proper coven-house, but for now, I was happy to be wherever Mel was happiest.

Nico came inside, and all the air seemed to be sucked out of the room. It was like I could feel Jax and Mel holding their breath. Nico stood beside Mel’s chair, then addressed the room.

“The exterior wards are in good shape.”

“Glad to hear it,” I said, thankful to have something to say to cut the tension in the room.

But then Jax pulled out only three bowls and put them beside the now steaming pot of chili on the stove. Bringing out three instead of four bowls didn’t make sense to me until his eyes sought out mine. I knew my brother well enough that my chest ached in sympathy for the heartbreak I saw there.

“I’ll take first watch,” he said, his voice brittle.

“It’s a little early yet.” I tilted my head, silently pleading with him to stay and work things out with Nico, coven-mate to coven-mate.

Jax shrugged and went outside. It wasn’t quite evening, though the days were definitely shorter now than when we’d crossed the infernal threshold. Surprisingly, Tempest went with him.

“I’ll watch the watcher,”the little hellfox said inside my mind. I couldn’t be sure who else heard her, or if she’d told Mel the same thing.

“He’s avoiding me,” Nico groaned as soon as the door closed. Then he hunched down at the dinner table beside Mel. Until Jax relented, there wasn’t much left to say in response to Nico.

“Do we even need a watch?” Mel wondered.

“Considering we’re the only free vampires in the area?” I asked. “Yes. I want to know the moment someone tries to breach the wards.”

The three of us discussed what the OIB might do next in response to the DHA’s change in leadership and so on.

“I’m so glad your cousins made it out of here safely,” Mel told me.

I nodded. “Jiro still would’ve been locked up right now if he’d stayed.”

Of course, so would Ichiro, because he wouldn’t have watched his twin become imprisoned any more than I would have with Jax. Even though it was La Cora and Cyrene who’d ordered the capture and detainment of all vampires until we closed the portal, Preta still hadn’t done anything to reverse that decision, though he’d promised better conditions for them.

“I’m going to go work out a bit,” Mel announced as soon as she put her bowl in the dishwasher. “Otherwise I’ll never get to sleep.”

That left just Nico and me in the front room. I heard the weights clank together and wondered if I could give her a different way of burning off some excess energy.

But then my eyes landed on Nico, who looked out the front windows, his gaze tracking Jax as he made another circuit.

I wanted to tell Jax to pull his head out of his ass, but maybe Nico was the one who needed a pep talk. And now that I’d apparently gone from agent in charge to chief relationship officer, the job fell to me.

“You know, Nico…” I started. “I really would like to see things work out between you two.”

“Really?” The big guy sat back in his chair, his attention on me now that Jax had passed out of our line of sight.

“But you’ve broken my brother, and I’ll never forgive you for that.”

“He won’t either.” Nico crossed his arms. “He won’t even let me try…”

“You made yourself and Jax miserable because of your choices.”

“I know.” I thought for a moment Nico might leave it at that, but to my surprise, he went on, “I’ve always loved him. I know that now. He’s so…”

I held up a hand. “I don’t need to know all the things you find attractive about my brother, honestly.”

“I was going to say good. And… he retains a kind of innocence, even after all he’s been through.”

“It took Mel and I some time to reconcile our differences,” I pointed out. “Remember how long it was before she’d let me talk anything out with her?”

Nico snorted. “Then you botched it the night you revealed the truth about vampires to her.”

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