Page 76 of Fae Farewells

I blinked at their interaction, mostly because I’d never seen him touch anyone. Not to my knowledge, anyway. He was always exceptionally professional with Sloane, though he’d grown more lax the longer we’d been around. He was a mysterious man, but he had this comforting charm about him when he wasn’t being creepily quiet.

Maybe all vampires were silent creatures, and Novak was broken?

“It’s good to be free, Frank,” she said.

“Let’s get you two home.”

“Wait,” Nate exclaimed softly. “We need to speak to Sloane. I can’t reach her from here in my current health.”

“Can it wait a few days?” I suggested.

He raised a brow. “I’d rather it didn’t.”

I sighed, but nodded. “Get to the portal. We’ll meet you there.”

“Why not here?”

“Because if the guards show up and you’re already at the portal, they can’t stop you from leaving,” I explained. “It’s safer that way. Just go. I’ll bring her back within the hour. Don’t wait any longer than that.”

“Are you sure?” Freya asked, wrapping her hand around my forearm.

“Yeah. I’ll mist her here. We can use magic and hide it. They can’t. Sloane might not be happy about it, but it could be important.”

She patted my arm, almost in sympathy. “Let’s go, Vaughn. Our mates await, and so does the battle.”

A battle that she wouldn’t be a part of.

I just couldn’t find the right way to tell her.

* * *

Freya was antsy as she gently knocked on the door. She shooed me away, but I wasn’t leaving until I saw Sarge on the other side. He opened the door, releasing a deep sigh when he saw us.

I tipped my head as I turned, ambling down the hall to where I could feel my mate. My hand wrapped around the doorknob, but I stopped, listening to Sloane cursing colorfully about something.

“I didn’t think it would be this godsdamn hard. They’re too fucking thin.”

Briggs mumbled incoherently, and she laughed humorlessly.

“Then you fucking do it. But I can tell you now, this is nothing like skinning a fish.”

My brows furrowed in confusion, and I dared ask myself what they were doing... But I didn’t want the answer.

It was probably something ridiculous, and though I missed them all, I’d be exasperated as soon as I saw whatever it was.

I opened the door anyway. Because I did miss them.

And I halfway regretted it... Because the room was a fucking bloody mess.

It was everywhere. Puddles on the floor, dripping off the side table, smeared on the wall. Sloane looked like something from a horror movie, her hair stained and clothing soaked.

“I’m not holding hearts again,” Palmer argued.

“I haven’t gotten that far. Just hold her fucking head. I’ve got my hands full with—”

“Her hands?” Novak finished with an amused chuckle. “We’re not participating, Trouble. We’re here for moral support.”

She cut her glare to him, but when she heard me sigh heavily, her head snapped to me.