Page 18 of Visionary

Mitz leaned forward and lifted the hood off his head. He wore a black beanie that he adjusted before he looked over at us. “Ceril has everyone out looking for you, Severn. He has groups of angels out, and he’s hired at least two packs as well. The posts I found online for packs for hire got hits, and I saw two packs bragging in another thread that they were hired. There could be more too, some that he got straight through Myq. But these are the ones we know about at least. We’ve run into the angel groups because they don’t know what they’re doing. They have our buildings scouted…as if we would keep you there.” He rolled his eyes, leaning back on the couch.

“Does it seem like they may find us?” I shifted uncomfortably where I sat, not liking the thought that so many beings were out looking for me. The thought was unsettling. Aiden reached over and set his hand on mine on the couch, and I relaxed almost immediately.

Mitz shrugged as he stood up. “It’s hard to say. We are keeping a close eye on everything.” He walked back toward the small door to the storeroom. “Oh, Aiden, I’ll be back tomorrow morning. Vea wants you to go to the office for a couple of hours; I’ll stay here with Severn.”

My eyebrows pulled together in confusion. Aiden stood and followed behind Mitz. “Oh, uhh, okay? Did she say what for?” He asked.

Mitz shook his head and turned to Aiden as he reached the door. “She said she would call you later and let you know.” Mitz waved at me. “See you two tomorrow morning.” The vampire pulled his hood back on before stepping out into the storeroom.

As soon as Aiden began walking toward me, I spoke up. “What do we need to do?”

When Aiden sat down, he faced me and placed his hand on my thigh. “Exactly what we’ve been doing. Just stay here out of sight. We will find out what Vea needs later today and just go from there.”

Nodding, I looked forward, trying to process everything that was happening. Everything started running through my brain like a montage. Being at the auction, driving through the night with Aiden and Milo, now being here with Aiden…everything seemed so surreal.

But it also felt…right.

“Oh,” Aiden said softly as he stood and walked back over to the kitchen. When he walked back toward the couch, he held a small brown paper bag and handed it to me. “This is for you.”

“What’s this?” I questioned, and Aiden just smiled.

Reaching in the bag, I pulled out a small sketchbook and a set of drawing pencils. When I set them on the table, I looked at Aiden, confused.

“I asked Mitz to bring these. I hope that’s okay.” I didn’t respond. I wasn’t sure how to. Creating art was the one thing I’ve ever enjoyed. Seeing how Ceril used it for his own gain and never being recognized for it was so frustrating. But now, it seemed like I had a chance to make art for myself, the way that I wanted to.

Aiden reached for the book, but I stopped him. “Please. Don’t.”

“You’re uncomfortable. I’m sorry, I should have thought more about it. I didn’t think at all.”

“Aiden.” I cut him off so he wouldn’t talk himself into a circle. “I appreciate this more than you can imagine. If you’re reading this as uncomfortable.” I leaned forward slightly, wrapping my hand around the side of his neck. “It’s just because I don’t know how to thank you for something like this. It means a lot.” Kissing him softly, I felt Aiden lean into me and deepen the kiss.

“How the fuck did this happen?” His forehead fell against mine as he broke the kiss. We both let out a light chuckle.

22

AIDEN

Severn was already asleep when I got back from my meeting with Vea. Her schedule changed about four times yesterday, and I didn’t end up going to see her until around eight PM. I got back to the Pulse Den at about two in the morning.

“See you later, Aiden. Let me know if you need anything.” Mitz waved as he closed the door to the storeroom. I heard the lock automatically click shut and began heading to my room, walking straight to the bathroom to wash my face.

The meeting with Vea was partially what I expected. She wanted to know how Severn was, if he needed anything, or if there was anything else we could do for him. Her care and consideration for this being that she gave life to but doesn’t know was incredible. My senses remained open through the entire conversation. I needed to know that the trust I had in Vea wasn’t blind trust. Especially after learning what I had about what Severn has been through. Her sincerity was a relief.

Reaching over, my hand gripped the towel to dry off my face. After patting my face dry, I looked at my reflection in the mirror. Water had dripped onto my shirt. I reached my fingers up and unbuttoned it, pulling it off and tossing it on the bathroom floor. Quickly following that with my socks and pants. As I began walking back toward my room, the door leading to Severn’s room creaked open. When I turned around, Severn rolled his lips between his teeth before smiling as he looked down at the ground.

Squinting, I gave him a questioning look, but the quirky smile just remained on his face. I was too tired to try and figure out what he was feeling, so I just continued into my room, brushing it off as nothing.

My eyes drifted closed, and another wave of tiredness ran over me. Just a few moments later, the bed dipped to my right,t and I could feel Severn getting under the blanket. I couldn’t help but smile as he settled in close next to me.

“Are you going to have to go see Vea again?” Severn asked as he sat on the floor sketching.

“I shouldn’t anytime soon,” I answered truthfully. Other than asking me about Severn, she wanted to get me more information about what they knew. Since Ceril had initiated a Tethered Ritual and the last Division was likely soon after Severn created those last paintings. When he explained to me the absolute terror he went through on a regular basis to give blood to Ceril, I wanted to kill the angel more than I ever have before.

Based on the timeline, Ceril had another month before he needed to complete the next Division. Taking Severn’s vision into consideration as well, we could assume that it was nearly complete.

“We just need to stay safe for the time being. Hopefully it can all blow over. We just don’t know what will happen if the ritual isn’t completed. Des and Milo are looking into that.” I leaned forward, and Severn looked over at me with a sad smile. “Hey, what’s wrong?” I asked, leaning forward more and lightly punching his shoulder.

Severn sighed, “Nothing.” He shook his head and continued to sketch. “Did they find out anything else?”