But not everyone believed that was the case. Some of our younger teammates were not only a possible risk due to a lack of control, but suffered from uncertainty when it came to the obvious affection Arabella had for us.
Zain was a good example of that. Despite his lighthearted attitude, I knew the nightmare pined over Arabella and was constantly watching her, trying to figure out ways to get closer to her without possibly hurting her. I had heard him tell Saint several times that he wasn’t convinced she had feelings for him, and despite Saint’s assurances, I knew he wasn’t swayed. I honestly had no idea how the two of them were friends to begin with, because they were so drastically opposite of one another. It didn’t help that I knew Saint encouraged him to toe that line, and while it was frustrating, it was completely unsurprising. The reaper had said several times that we were worrying about nothing, but that was obviously not true. Frankly, I had no idea how we hadn’t fucked up yet, because we were always on the verge of it.
Blackwell almost had. My gaze moved to where he and Damian stood talking quietly to one another in the kitchen. I considered everyone on this team a friend, or whatever nightmares like us could have that was close to a friend, but they were actually like brothers. I think part of it came from being legend terrors, but more so because of their fathers and their important place within human culture.
At least they had a built-in check for one another, which was why when Arabella had kissed Blackwell and he had lost his shit, Damian hadn’t hesitated to lock him up. It was the most considerate thing to do, because outside of killing him, it was probably the only way to stop him. I enjoyed slaughtering someone as much as the next monster, but I was actually a fan of both of them, so I preferred to not have to.
“Bella,” Zain called out, grabbing her attention. “What are you going to do while we are gone tonight?”
Her eyes widened, as if she hadn’t fully considered her plans. I loved her two different shades of eyes, one a smoky, velvet gray and the other a silver that reflected her emotions perfectly. It was for sure a positive that she was easy to read, because without it, I had absolutely no doubt that we would fuck shit up way more than we already did. As it was, I often felt like she was keeping back her opinions and thoughts about stuff just to provide a measured response.
Her gaze moved to Amun. “I’m going to be on the radio like normal. I mean, Amun should see how everything works from this end, so when he joins you guys next time, it’ll be easier.”
“I can’t focus with your voice on the radio,” Saint groaned as I nearly chuckled at the blush that lit up her cheeks. He wasn’t lying, despite her acting as if he was teasing her. Saint didn’t joke around—everything he said was exactly what he meant, even if his mannerisms suggested otherwise.
“Too bad.” She poked his chest, his eyes snapping to her finger as he caught her hand. Her attention was already back on Amun. “You should get settled, though. We don’t really have anything else to do today but hang out until they leave.”
“Are you staying here?” he demanded, looking worried, suddenly, as if she was going to leave. I knew he probably wanted to haul her to his side, but the man had some level of self-preservation, clearly, since she was in Saint’s arms. If he tried to remove her, he would probably get his soul forcibly ripped out.
“Of course.” She flashed a smile and slipped off her shoes before crossing the room towards me, causing Saint to scowl at her absence. Zain had already turned on the television, and despite everyone trying to look busy, most of us were just staring at her. Well, except Saint, who was once again having a stare-off with Amun. It was enough having one nightmare with death magic; having two was a fucking cluster, and it was causing my own magic to buzz in annoyance.
The minute Arabella squeezed between Zain and I, though, it didn’t matter. None of the tension, the shit with Amun, or even my magic mattered. Just her.
Razar slid down on the floor in front of her as she tucked her legs underneath her frame and began to run her fingers through his short hair, my own finding their way to her back. She rolled her shoulders and let out a happy hum as I began to draw patterns there, my eyes on her instead of the television and the bullshit human news program that was flashing headlines in bright colors.
The actions of humans had become predictable. Attack after attack. It just proved that humans didn’t change over time. They hated one another, but they hated anything different than them even more. Nothing could unite them like hatred for something alien or ‘scary.’ I suppose I should be grateful for their fear since it fed our power, but instead I found myself annoyed that they were the reason we had missions in the first place. Missions that caused my pixie to stress and took us away from her.
Her nose twitched once again in clear frustration over the headlines as she melted against my side after a few minutes of watching. Everyone else was settled throughout the large room, Zain draping a blanket over her lap as Arabella offered me a concerned look after another moment focused on the television.
“Promise me you guys will be careful.”
“You know we will.” I kept my voice so low that only she could hear it. Her eyes warmed as she nuzzled further into my side, her sweet perfume surrounding me.
“You will come back to me?” she murmured.
That wasn’t a true question.
My fingers ran over her cheek lightly, like she often did to me. “Always.”
Either that or die trying.
6
Arabella
Before I could wake up enough to control my reaction, a small moan broke from my throat, instinctively reacting to the feeling of a hard, muscular body behind me. It wasn’t just that, though. No, it was Cy’s minty scent, the feel of his muscular arms wrapped around me possessively, his lips pressed against my neck, and more than all of that… how hard he was.
Shit, he was huge… like, I wasn’t positive I could handle that type of ‘massive.’ I mean, would I give it a shot? Absolutely. But shit. I couldn’t help but instinctively arch my body, pushing my ass back against him as a low vibration emitted from his chest, making me wonder if he was up already or still napping as well.
Attempting to keep another needy noise from breaking from my throat, I tried to not squirm against him too much, already feeling like I was more wet than moments ago. This was a wonderfully dangerous place to be.
When had we even fallen asleep in the first place? Were we still in the living room? I squinted open one eye, the room slightly blurry in front of me, as I recognized a dark comforter and accents of silver that decorated Cy’s room. I didn’t even care where my glasses were right now, because I didn’t want to move. I didn’t care if I couldn’t see as well as usual, because all I needed was to feel, and let me tell you, I could do so absolutely perfectly.
“Arabella.” Cy’s voice was suddenly low and warm against my ear. “You’ve only been sleeping about an hour or so. You should go back to sleep.”
I stretched against him, my small frame nearly completely overtaken by him as he tightened his arm around me. I turned into his muscular chest, looking up at him as he propped himself up on an elbow, looking down at me with interest as well as a slight darkness that seemed to shift behind his unique eyes, like hidden shadows. Cy’s body was rigid, but his gaze was slightly hooded, making me wonder how he managed to look relaxed but feel so hard and tense at the same time.