Lonely

Chapter 56, Sadie

I woke up in the morning to an empty bed. Hanger and I had mostly stayed in our room after the picnic, except for going out to check on the kids occasionally. I stretched my arms and shielded the sun from my eyes. The floor suddenly trembled. That could only mean one thing. I opened the door and strode down the hall where Arianna had the kids circling her. Not one of them looked happy.

“Hey guys, what’s going on?” Sophia turned her glare on me.

“Arianna is making us train.” She said. I looked at Arianna.

“Train for what?” I asked, confused.

Arianna took a deep breath.

“For the battle. I just want to make sure they know how to use their powers to their best advantage.” I put my hands on my hips.

“I’m going with Arianna on this one, guys. It will make me feel better.” They all groaned.

“But, this is like our vacation.” Sully whined. I raised an eye brow.

“You can have a better vacation after. For now, you’re listening to Arianna.” I said, giving him the look.

Sully and Libby pouted, and the floor rumbled again.

“Libby, if you tear down this house on purpose, so help me god, I’ll-” Libby held up her hand to stop me.

“I won’t.” Thunder cracked outside and I glared at Ariadne, who glared back. Why do kids have to be such a pain in the butt? I gently pushed a thought around that would help them listen to Arianna. All of their expressions changed.

“Fine.But not all day.” Ryder said. Arianna nodded and ushered them away. I wound my way down the house to the kitchen where I knew I could find the guys.

The twins were sitting on the counter, talking to hurriedly to the maid. I was amazed she even understood them until she spoke and had the same accent. Levy, Max, Boomer, and Dodger were playing poker in the dining room. Hanger was leaning against the wall, watching.

“That’s cheating! Dodger can probably see right through these or something! And Max practically controls the whole game!” Levy cried, shoving a mound of chips to dodger, who smiled triumphantly. Hanger saw and a smile played around his mouth. The guys followed his gaze.

“I thought I heard you arguing with the munchkins.” Dodger said. I came and sat down next to Max.

“Yeah. Training, I guess. You notice the sudden change in weather?” Dodger nodded, but the others looked puzzled. “Ah, the blonde girl, Ariadne, right?” Boomer offered. I nodded.

“I found Jett in my closet this morning.” Max said. I smiled.

“Yeah, he likes that sort of stuff. Don’t keep valuables in places like that. He likes shiny stuff.” I said. Max grumbled something about a watch then went back to examining his cards. Hanger sat down across the table from me and opened his mouth to say something, but then the twins came into the room. Nicco sat down on my other side, his red hair sticking up in all places. He slipped an arm around my shoulders. I picked his hand off and let his arm drop, but he didn’t seem to notice.

“You guys getting to know the help?” Hanger asked. Liam grinned. “Nice Irish lass, but we were just playing the game.” I rolled my eyes. Do all guys have to be pigs? Nicco and Liam sighed in unison.

“I could really go for a nice cup o’ tay right about now.” Nicco said, his accent mangling the word ‘tea’. Liam made a face. “I could really go for a nice cup o’ Irish whiskey. Or two.” He said, a dreamy look on his face.