Under A Voodoo Moon (Darkin World Book 4)

Chapter 21

With firmed resolve, Remi faced Gideon. Crossing her arms over her chest, she leaned back in her chair. The time had finally come to meet the issue that'd been recently haunting them for the past few days head-on.

Gideon mimicked Remi's posture, leaning his hips against the windowsill. Those beautiful, blue orbs were shuttered, showing her none of the intimacy they'd shared. Keeping her arms stubbornly crossed, her stomach dropped as she tried to swallow the lump in her throat.

The silence stretched before Gideon finally spoke. "I've been forthcoming with you. Why haven't you afforded me the same courtesy?" he fired at Remi. "Why wait until now to tell me, Trystan-" he spat the name "-had access to your phone?"

The accusation stung. "I'd forgotten that he briefly took it from me," Remi earnestly admitted. With everything that'd happened on the train and afterward, it shouldn't have been surprising.

A grunt was Gideon's only response as he straightened. "I wonder what else you might have forgotten to tell me?"

Remi's arms became stiff, heavy. Uncrossing them, she let them drop to rest on the sides of the chair. With rigid fingers, she gripped the wingback's arms. There was something she should've had the courage to tell Gideon a few days ago.

Stalking forward, Gideon then dropped into the chair opposite Remi. His large frame dwarfed the delicate antique. "I sense that you're holding something else back. Is it anything to do with Trystan?" His lips twisted in distaste after he once again spat out her ex's name.

"No, it's nothing to do with him. Ayida-Weddo didn't even mention him," Remi said, thinking of her vision with the loa.

Twin, dark eyebrows rose at her odd admission. "What is it you've been withholding, Remi?" Gideon prodded.

Biting her lower lip, Remi knew she wanted to tell the witcher. Why else would she have blurted out that bit about Ayida-Weddo? But how to tell Gideon?

A sigh came from the chair across from Remi. Gideon relaxed in his wingback and stretched his feet out before him. One booted foot crossed over the other. "You still don't trust me." It was a statement without even a hint of question.

"I do trust you," Remi was quick to assure. Gideon's brows rose again, doubt written all over his face. "I do," she reiterated. "I'm just not sure how to tell you, is all."

"May I suggest you just say it? I don't need sugar-coating," Gideon all but growled.

"Fine," Remi nearly spat. The "offness" in their relationship was tiresome. It needed to end. "Ayida-Weddo talked about you."

Gideon stilled. Remi didn't know if he even breathed. The only movement was that of his lips when he asked, "Me?"

"You," Remi shot. A heartbeat later, she clarified, "Well, me actually." Shaking her head, she realized that wasn't quite right, either. "Or us, maybe?" she tried one last time.

"You aren't making any sense," Gideon noted. There was thawing in his once-cold eyes. A small smile creased the skin at their outer edges.

"Don't you dare laugh at me," Remi warned. "This is why I wanted to take the time to think how I should tell you."

Gideon's features cleared. "Is it something I should worry about, this discussion you had with an otherworldly being? About us," he stressed.

A noisy breath whooshed out from between Remi's lips as she tried to reorder her thoughts. "No, it wasn't a bad discussion." Squaring her shoulders, she decided to be forthright. "Ayida-Weddo told me to stop thinking. Instead of over-analyzing everything, she recommended that I simply feel. Also, she said I needed to trust my instincts."