This time I launched at him, and Gil leaped backward to avoid my fingers, his fangs flashing as he snickered some more. Before I could swing my leg up and kick him in the throat, he was gone, scrabbling up an impossibly tall tree. “Go on, then,” the vampire called down, waving his pale hand. “I’ll be here when you’ve finished telling your family what horrible danger you’ve put them in.”
“Fuck you. I have a plan, damn it,” I snapped back. Gil just waved again.
“This is why I hate the British,” Lyari said flatly. I turned to her, wondering why she’d stopped. Lyari saw the question in my eyes and added, “I’ll wait out here, too. Reunions make me itchy.”
“Have it your way. I’ll summon you when the emotional part is over.” Battling a surge of guilt over leaving Gil in a tree, of all things, I stalked through the yard and approached the barn. At the door, I halted again and stared at the handle, willing myself to reach for it. A memory assaulted me—Collith’s soft smile as he revealed what he’d been working on all those weeks. My home is where you are.
As if I could lock the memory out, I hurried inside and slid the bar over the door. I ascended the stairs without delay, worried that any more pauses would be enough to make me lose my nerve. I reached the door at the top within seconds, and suddenly I wished I’d stalled a little. The air was still and silent. No shadows moved past the crack of light near my feet. Should I… knock? No, that would be strange. You live here. Annoyed by my own uncertainty, I tried the knob and discovered it was unlocked. I lingered in the stairwell to take some calming breaths, and then I finally went inside.
The space was lit with lamps, everything darkened and serene. It looked the same, and yet not. Everything had been new and untouched when I left. Now the couch had indents in the cushions, toys littered the floor, and there was fresh fruit on the countertop. A vase of flowers rested on a side table. The wall hooks to my left were heavy with coats and scarves. Small details that made a place into a home. I closed the door behind me, looking around with a warm feeling in my chest.
There was no one in the kitchen or living area, but there were soft sounds coming from Damon’s room. Was Matthew waking up from a late nap? Driven by a rush of anticipation, I strode across the loft and knocked on the door.
It must not have been shut all the way, because at the tap of my knuckles, it creaked open. Before I could react, I had a perfect view of the bed, and I glimpsed my naked brother kneeling on all fours in front of someone… who was also naked.
“Oh,” I said with blank surprise. “Oh.”
I rushed to close the door again, but the man spotted me, and our gazes met just before he yelped and fell to the floor. Damon yanked at the bedsheet and wrapped it around his waist, staring at me with more disbelief than annoyance. “Fortuna? Is that you?”
I gave him an awkward finger wave. In the corner of the room, his lover began frantically pulling on his clothes. “Hey, there,” I said weakly. “Yes, it’s me. I’m back. You know, why don’t I go to the kitchen while…”
I left the sentence unfinished and made my retreat. As I rushed to close the door behind me, and I crossed the length of the main room again, a grin tugged at the corners of my mouth. Of all the homecomings I’d imagined, this certainly hadn’t been one of them. Way to go, Damon, I thought.
To occupy myself while they got dressed, I moved toward the cupboard to fetch a glass. I had just turned from the sink, water in hand, when Damon emerged from the bedroom. He’d switched out his birthday suit for a pair of jeans and a knit pullover, I noted with another burst of amusement. Our eyes met, and Damon walked toward me with soft purpose. There was a hint of laughter in my voice as I started, “I’m so sorry, I should’ve—oh.”
Damon wrapped his arms around me—which were sturdier than they’d been a few weeks ago, I noted with faint surprise—and didn’t say a word. I expected a brief, brisk hug, but he held on. I felt my brother’s cheek rest against the side of my head. Slowly, I set the water down and put my arms around him, too. The movement should’ve hurt, but the pain from touching that holy chain breaker had completely faded. After another moment, I grasped my wrists at the small of his back and pressed even closer. When did my little brother get so much taller than me? A familiar stinging entered my eyes, and I blinked, fast and hard.
This, I thought. This was the embrace I’d dreamed of when I first found him at the Unseelie Court all those months ago.
“Once we did the scrying spell, Laurie told us he knew where you were and that he’d take care of it,” Damon said as he pulled away. He raked his flop of brown hair back. “He’s been keeping us updated in that vague, mysterious way of his. Then Lyari came by yesterday to tell us that you were at the Unseelie Court. We thought for sure you’d be home by this morning. What happened to your shoulder?”
“I probably shouldn’t have come back at all,” I admitted. “Oh, that’s just a scratch. A small token from a confrontation with Queen Viessa. Did Laurie tell you who took—”
Damon’s guest filled the doorway of his room, adjusting a starched collar. Now that I wasn’t so distracted by his nudity, I was able to notice his features. He was uniquely handsome with those thick dark eyebrows, a narrow face, and a wide mouth. A shock went through me when I saw he wore the uniform of a deputy. But there hadn’t been any squad cars in the driveway, and I knew every police officer in Granby…
Then I remembered that Laurie had recently created a vacancy in the department. Oh. Right. This human was probably a brand-new addition.
“Well, that’s definitely not how I was hoping to meet my boyfriend’s sister,” the man said on a sheepish exhale. He walked past us, and the face of his watch caught the light as he reached for a coat hanging on one of the hooks.
“Boyfriend?” I echoed.
He glanced at Damon, who’d just started drinking from the glass of water I had abandoned. “I’m Danny,” he said, offering his hand. “I’d stick around for a bit, but I’ve got the night shift. Perks of being a rookie, I guess. Are you hurt?”
His dark eyes lingered on my shoulder. Before I could come up with an excuse not to touch his bare hand, there was the unmistakable sound of a werewolf hurtling up the steps. I braced myself, but Finn didn’t throw himself at me—instead, he walked a circle around me, his nostrils flaring and huffing. I stayed where I was, holding up my arms to make it easier for him, and held back yet another smile. “I’m fine, Finn. It’s damn good to see you, too.”
Emma appeared at the top of the stairs, a grocery bag in one arm and Matthew in the other. She spotted me instantly, our gazes meeting across the room, just as it had been with Damon. Matthew saw me a beat later, and he clapped his tiny hands together. Thankfully, my nephew didn’t seem to notice my torn shoulder. “Tuna,” he chirped happily.
Joy filled my lungs, making the next breath I took ragged and uneven. “Hey, Matt,” I whispered.
This time, Damon didn’t correct the nickname I’d given his son. Emma set the child down, and Matthew had only gotten two or three steps before I was there, plucking him off the floor like he weighed nothing. I cupped the back of his head and closed my eyes, breathing in his scent. It was the best smell in the entire world.