Page 90 of A Shade Too Far
“Hi,” I said, scratching the itch of magic under my arm.
Sadie nodded at me and Eli waved, laughing in horror at Naveen’s insistence that the fish heads baked into the crust of Stargazy Pie, so they “gazed” up at you, was perfectly normal.
Shaking her head, Daya groused that anyone who thought that was better than Marmite on toast was clearly wrong.
No need to worry about how they were doing, they’d settled in just fine. I mustered up a smile. That wasn’t fair to Daya and Naveen. I was grateful to them for their kindness and hospitality. Daya, in particular, since she’d model treating magic as perfectly ordinary. If she could help guide them, they’d be in good hands.
Still, I felt shut out, watching someone else raise my kid, and fair or not, I wanted to stamp my foot. Daya had been my doctor, my friend. I was the one who’d had to weather Naveen’s jeers and slurs, and yet, Eli and Sadie had slotted right in.
Almost like they’d reformed as a new family.
I rubbed my palm against my chest, swallowing the thickness in my throat. “Ready to go?”
“Interesting outfit.” Naveen stood up. “I’ll grab my keys.”
Holding my shirt closed with one hand, I gave Sadie a one-shouldered hug. “Anything special happening at work today, sweetie?”
“Not really.”
There was a honk and Sadie grabbed her lunch, shoving it in the backpack on the counter. “That’s Asha. Gotta run.” She picked up Evani, spinning the child around. “We’ll play Candyland later, okay?”
Evani nodded, hearts practically floating in her eyes.
Sadie slung the backpack over her shoulder. “Bye, parents.”
“Bye, spawn,” Eli said.
“Bye, kiddo. Love you.”
“Yup.” She jogged out of the kitchen.
Evani followed, but Daya scooped her daughter up by the waist, passing me with a sympathetic squeeze of my shoulder.
“Let’s get you dressed, monster.” She blew a raspberry on her daughter’s stomach and sailed out of the room.
I leaned onto the counter, blinking quickly to dispel the moisture in my eyes.
“Sades needs to blow off steam,” Eli said. “Last night was a lot to deal with. She saw firsthand what an angry vampire looks like, she found out you can travel through some alternate dimension, and then she had to leave her home because of potential demons.”
I sighed. “I know.”
“But our kid is resilient. All will be normal soon enough.”
“You certainly seem well.” I forced a lecherous smile onto my face.
“Get your mind out of the gutter. He’s a good guy.” Eli removed the apron, picked his police shield up off the table, and clipped it to his belt. “Nav said he’d have some of his people watch our house in case any demons showed.”
Eli got to call him Nav?! I mean, Naveen had people? And why was Eli fiddling with his empty coffee mug? He was always Mr. Confidence when it came to potential fuckbuddies. He couldn’t like like him, could he? There wasn’t someone nicer like a cocaine-sniffing stockbroker or a sleezy used car salesman he could be attracted to?
I didn’t get a chance to pry further because Eli caught sight of the time and hurried off to work.
I had to face facts.
Fact: Eli and Sadie had gotten cozy with the Kumars in the space of one night. Fact: I was jealous. Fact: I had until tonight to find Banim Shovavim blood for Zev to complete the ward or our home was a write-off. Fact: Laurent wasn’t speaking to me.
With a heavy heart, I called Ryann and asked to speak with Elizabeta. Given the current complication with my blood, even she might not be able to help, but if she could, it was the least horrible of all my current options.
There was a long silence.
