Andre’s thumb rubbed the skin beneath my eye. “You need rest, soulmate. All of this running around isn’t good for you.”
I smiled at that. He was still clucking over me like the most troublesome thing about my life right now was my exhaustion. Considering the horde of supernaturals after my scrawny butt, rest was the last thing I needed to worry about.
“I fear your body isn’t replenishing your blood the way it should,” he said.
I worried he was right.
His hand drifted down my face, his touch soft. It was odd to think that we were equally matched in wickedness—the girl that was promised to the devil, and a living extension of him. And here we were, redeeming one another. If there was ever a case for salvation, we were it.
I leaned into his touch, my eyes closing. “I want to go back to that tent in the woods.”
“What tent in the woods?” Oliver shattered our privacy.
When I opened my eyes, Andre was giving me a heated look … and Oliver’s eager face peered over his shoulder.
Moment ruiner.
“So do I,” Andre said.
Oliver glanced between me and Andre. “What tent?”
I cleared my throat. “How do you think the Amazons found us?” I asked Andre, getting back to business.
“No, no, no, Sabertooth, you do not get to change the subject after you drop a bomb like that.”
“Let it go, Oliver,” Leanne said. “You’ll have plenty of time to badger her later.”
Oliver huffed, but quieted.
“The Amazons must’ve used circumstantial evidence to figure out where you were and who you were with. They’re mercenaries—they’re used to finding people who wish to stay hidden.”
“Crazy bitches,” Oliver muttered.
“Fairy,” Andre said, “are you well enough to take us to the Isle of Man?”
“You want to go there? I hate being the voice of reason, but that is not wise—”
“Are. You. Well. Enough?” Andre repeated.
“Yes—”
“Then we need to go—preferably now.”
Andre’s attention turned to me. “Soulmate,” he said, his tone softening, “we have to leave. Can you walk, or would you prefer me carrying you?”
“I’m fine,” I said. Heaven forbid I let Andre haul me around in his arms. He’d never put me down.
“Oh, he gives her the royal treatment,” Oliver muttered. “Real fair, Andre.”
“I am not fair,” Andre said, his gaze lingering on me. “I am lawless, and I have little empathy for anything other than the woman in my arms.” Aw, Andre was proclaiming his love. Too bad he was going about it as abrasively as possible. “You should never forget that, fairy.”
“Hmph. Well, not the best response ever,” Oliver said, rising to his feet and dusting himself off, “but I have more important things to worry about, like the horrid state of my clothes.” He reached up to pat his hair, only to pause. “My hair’s a mess too, isn’t it? Dammit, I’m no longer the hottest one of the group.”
“Are you okay to travel?” Andre asked me, his voice low.
“I’m fine, Andre,” I said.
“‘I’m fine,’” Andre repeated. “I learned long ago I should never trust a woman who utters those words.”
“You really shouldn’t,” Leanne threw in.
I huffed out a laugh, rising to my feet. “The sooner we get back to the Isle of Man, the sooner I can take a hot shower.”
And the sooner I’d have to face down a murderous coven of vampires, among other things.
Awesome.
Chapter 15
Wilderness grew over the ruins of the small stone house we stood in front of. Bright green grasses and wooded trees surrounded the four of us.
“Home sweet home,” Oliver said. “We’re finally back to bloody civilization,” his upper lip curled at the sight of the ruins, “though you’d never know it.”
For a fairy, he was oddly anti-nature.
Andre stepped up next to me, taking my hand in his. His eyes scanned the forest, searching for any hints of ambush. While he did so, he brought the back of my hand to his lips and absently kissed it, like affection for me came unconsciously to him. My heart picked up its pace at the action.
He glanced down at me, arching an eyebrow, a small smile tugging at his lips. That only made my heart thump faster.
His other arm snaked around my waist, and his eyes told me that he was thinking illicit thoughts.
“You guys done eye-banging, or should I give you another minute?”
I turned to face Oliver. “You are worse than that little voice inside my head.”
He raised a shoulder. “I’d like to say I try, but I was just born this fabulous.”
I turned to our surroundings. “So we’re back to the Isle of Man?” I asked.
“Mmhmm.”
“Why not exit at the Braaid?” I asked. The stone circle located near the center of the island seemed like the most obvious portal here.
“Because that’s where the Politia will be expecting you to exit.”
Oh.
“This exit is one us fairies exclusively know about.” Oliver seemed mighty proud about that fact.
Andre stiffened next to me, his nostrils flaring. A moment later he pushed me behind him. “Who’s there?” his voice thundered.
The wild grass rustled and shifted as though someone moved through it. I breathed in the forest air, but I smelled nothing over Andre and my friends.
The grass stilled, and Cecilia stepped out from the ruins of the house.
“You’re late.”
“Did you sell the bed and breakfast?” I asked, staring at our surroundings. A warm fire burned in the hearth, heating up the small cottage. A cottage that, from the outside, was nothing more than crumbling stones. Just like Peel Academy, Cecilia’s home here had been enchanted.