“We knew this day might come,” I try to soften the blow.
Bolt starts to say something, but there’s a knock at the door, which is half open. It’s Bolt’s girlfriend, Ashley. “Is everything okay in here?” She sounds hesitant as her head pops around the door.
“All good, Babe. I’ll be out in a minute.” Bolt winks at her, looking the picture of calm.
Ashley smiles at him. “I just wanted you to know that another one of your friends is here.” She steps to the side, and Rage walks in.
“I was at a loose end and thought I could come and help paint.” He looks bored. It’s weird to see a paintbrush in his hand. He’s dressed in black from head to toe. Not very smart, considering what we are here to do. “It’s a shit show out there.” He points with the paintbrush to all the madness of the flashing cameras and people. I think more people have arrived since Ashley and Bolt appeared. “I thought I would come and work in here with you guys where it’s quieter.”
“I’ll leave you to it,” Ashley says. “I’m outside painting with my folks. Emily wants some pictures of the bakery staff working together, so I need to find Simon. Then she wants us to mingle with our customers.” She smiles, looking excited. “It’s going so well. I’m having so much fun!”
“I’m so glad, Gorgeous. Let me know if you need me for anything. Otherwise, I’ll be there soon,” Bolt says to her.
“I will.” They share this look. It makes me feel like I’m imposing for watching…for just being here. Then Ashley leaves.
“What the fuck is this about dragon demigods here in Newfolk?” Bolt whisper-shouts at both Rage and me. “Are they still here? Is their vehicle still at Forge’s shop?”
Rage locks eyes with me. “He needed to know,” I say by way of explanation.
Rage nods. “They’re still here,” he tells Bolt, sounding a little unsure. He’s probably trying to figure out how much Bolt knows.
“You also need to tell me more about this premonition that almost happened. You nearly died? Is that right?” Bolt narrows his eyes.
I nod. “Yes.”
“You might need to sit down for this,” Rage says, pointing at one of the chairs. It’s been covered in plastic wrapping.
Bolt sits, and it makes a crunching noise. His attention is on me. “You’re making me nervous. I don’t like being nervous.” He shakes his head.
“There are four dragon demigods and one dragon shifter.” I start giving names and various other details I didn’t give before.
Rage groans. “I can see this is going to be longwinded. You have a half-brother!” he blurts. “One of the dragon demigods is related to you.”
Bolt’s mouth has dropped open. He just stares at Rage, and then looks at me, and then looks back at Rage. “A half-brother? Are you shitting me?”
“One of the guys from the group shares the same father as you,” I say. “That would make him your half-brother. His name is Zale.”
“Fuck!” Bolt grunts. “That’s insane.”
“You’re not alone,” Rage says. “Maddox is my half-brother.”
“Holy fucking shit!” Bolt’s eyes are wider than they’ve ever been before. He roughs up his hair with his fingers, scratching his head. He no longer looks camera-ready when he drops his hand.
I go on to tell him about Trident, Forge, Death, and Night having half-siblings. Then I tell him the rest of it. All of it. I don’t go into too much detail, just enough for him to get a clear picture.
“You nearly fucking died? You could have gotten trapped inside your own mind? A whole lot of us have half-brothers we knew nothing about?” His eyes widen for a second. His hand goes back to his hair.
“Don’t forget Death and Night’s half-sister,” Rage rasps. He has started painting. He still looks utterly bored. There’s this tension coming off him, but then again, he’s Rage.
“Fuck! All of this in the space of a week. I go on a business trip, l come back, and all of this happened.” He’s shaking his head. “You even have yourself a girlfriend.” His eyes brighten up.
I glower. “No, I don’t have a girlfriend.”
“Sounds like it to me,” Bolt says. “Late-night swimming. A pie-eating date, and then sex in a deep dark forest with the enemies circling.”
“I didn’t say anything about sex.” I narrow my eyes.
“I’m not stupid. You were both naked, hunkered down together, and seriously attracted to one another. You totally fucked.”
I don’t say anything.
“Okay, so you had sweaty sex out in the wilderness. Then you agreed to fight to the death for her. You nearly died, but came back from the brink and won. Sounds like she’s very much yours. That’s the stuff those romance novels are made of. Romance being the key word here.”
I laugh, but it quickly dies. “Yeah, except I think Raven might still have feelings for West.” I tell them about what Raven said to Maddox.
Don’t hurt him!
Fuck! I still feel my chest clench. I still feel jealousy rise up. I’m hurt and jealous, and it makes me angry.
Bolt laughs, which pisses me off more. “All that means is that she’s a nice person. I mean, that West guy sounds like a complete dick. I can’t believe he’s even related to Tri. Raven sounds intelligent. I’m telling you, she was just being nice. It’s what nice people do. Nice people don’t like seeing others hurt or killed. Even if they deserve it. Ashley would have said something similar too.” He gives the goofiest smile as he thinks about his girlfriend. “They’re forgiving and kind and loving.” I think he might be talking about Ashley more than Raven at this point.
“I’m not so sure. At the very least, she’s seriously on the rebound.” My chest feels tight. “They didn’t break up that long ago. She was sure he was the one. They dated for years.”
“You have real feelings for her,” Bolt says. “I recognize the look.”
I nod.
“What’s happened since they went to talk to West? That was two days ago.” He frowns, eyes on mine.
I shrug. “I haven’t seen her since then. I’ve been laying low. I wasn’t well, and then…I holed up. I had this thing I needed to get done for work.” I look down at my paintbrush. More like hiding away like a yellow-bellied coward. A chicken shit!
“You haven’t talked to her?” Bolt asks, sounding shocked.
I shake my head. “I’ll admit that it wasn’t my injuries or work. I’m afraid. I don’t want her to confirm my suspicions.”
“It sounds like they might have plans to move on. To leave town. You need to talk to her before it’s too late. You need to ask her straight out. Don’t assume. Never fucking assume. It’s one of the first rules in business.”
“This isn’t business.” I smile, feeling marginally better.
“Relationships work in a similar fashion. Frankly, the assumption rule counts for everything in life. If you like her, go after her. If you ask me, she’s waiting for you to do just that. Women have a thing about who makes the first move.”