When Steele and I returned to the Six's main living space, the fae male was still a seething ball of tension. Steele made eye contact with Rhynn, something unspoken passing between them, and the shifter quickly left with the fae male in tow.
Leaving me alone with Shane.
The vampire looked up at me from his position, unmoved on the couch where we had left him earlier. "Enjoying the view?" He drawled, his gaze drifting back down towards the tablet in his hands.
"Not particularly," I responded icily, moving into the kitchen to grab a snack. I wouldn't be baited by him. Especially not after Steele's cold warning in the elevator. It would be best to leave some distance between myself and the others.
Shane didn't seem to get the memo.
As I lifted on my toes to grab a bag of chips from the upper part of the cupboard, I got a sense of the vamp's speed as he moved behind me faster than I could turn.
Shane's voice was low in my ear. "Konnor hides the best chips underneath the sink where he thinks no one will look. I'd try there first." His voice was silky smooth, and I picked up a whiff of Shane's scent, a musky cologne masking the iron tinge of blood. I gulped, and I felt the vampire's gaze land hungrily on my neck.
I cleared my throat and moved to the space below the sink, opening the cupboard, finding the bag just where the vamp said it would be.
Shane leaned lazily on the kitchen island and surveyed me. Despite his rather lazy appearance, I knew it was all a facade. Nothing seemed to escape those keen, dark eyes. "How is your back feeling, Ikaria?" The vampire asked lowly.
My first instinct was to respond with some witty retort about how it was none of Shane's business, but the last forty-eight hours had sapped me of my strength and witty retorts.
"Better," I mumbled instead, opening the bag of chips. I carefully moved around Shane, finding a spot to sit on one of the couches.
Shane let out a chuckle. "Careful. Once Deseric is back, you won't be able to do that any more."
"Do what?"
"Eat on the couch."
"That's ridiculous," I scoffed, "Everyone eats snacks on the couch. What on earth do you do during movies when you snack?"
"Sit on the floor."
I just stared at the vampire. Even Vik hadn't been so strict. To be fair, Vik tended to swing the opposite direction, leaving his house and quarters in complete disarray. Mold and dust had settled into every crevice of his apartment. He had hired a nymph at one point to clean the place, but they had been quickly scared away by an over-eager Lion.
"Well then," I broke the silence, "I guess I'll have to take advantage of my freedoms when I can."
"Indeed," Shane said with a glimmer in his eye. He took a seat beside me. "May I?" He gestured to the chips.
"Uh, sure." I let Shane grab a handful of chips, and we snacked in each other's quiet company for a while.
Shane broke the silence with a chuckle, crumbling a chip in his hand. He turned to me with a sideways grin. "I won't tell anyone if you don't."
And Shane shoved the chip crumbles into a crack in the couch cushion.
I couldn't help but return his grin. "You're crazy."
"Yep. But just wait until you meet Konnor. He puts the rest of us to shame in the crazy department."
I cracked another grin, and opted not to follow in Shane's footsteps with the chip crumbs. I'd rather not make an immediate enemy of a dangerous angel named Deseric. I did, however, finish the rest of the chips with him.
Shane cleared his throat, standing up. He towered above me, his eyes piercing into mine. "I'm going to be perfectly honest with you, Ikaria," Shane's voice changed, becoming serious. "I want a taste of your blood. But I won't take it unless you're willing, despite what Zeph may have said to you. Just know - it's always optional with me. Okay?"
I found myself nodding, a little speechless when juxtaposed with what Steele warned me of earlier.
"Good," the vampire said, his voice relieved. "Well, I'm off to join a call with Cass, Des, and Konnor. It'll be about an hour. If you need anything, my quarters are that way-" He gestured to a door towards my left. "Just follow the sounds of shrieking and cursing, and you'll find me." Shane walked through the door, and I was left in the living room again.
Alone.
The Den, as I'd dubbed the common room, was filled with multiple entertainment systems. I got myself comfortable, looking through them until I found a system similar to one I used to use when I lived with Vik. After a quick setup and a scroll through of a few games, I finally decided on a classic favourite of mine.
After an hour or so, my back began to ache with the familiar onset of growing pains between my shoulder blades. They felt somehow more agonizing than normal, likely due to Brady's advanced healing. My wings were healing faster than they normally did, and I could feel the top layer of downy feathers on the nubs already. They grew itchier and itchier by the second.
While expelling some of my magic soothed some of the exhaustion in my bones and re-energized me, I was still functioning on little to no sleep. Fatigue hit me like a truck, and tomorrow would only be worse if I didn't get the rest I needed. And the day after tomorrow? I'd have to be very well rested if I wanted to begin training with the best of the best. I had to prove myself if I wanted to make these next years less dreadful.
I left to grab my phone from my room. When I returned to the Den, Steele and Rhynn were back, and both of them scented me right away. Steele's eyes glanced at my throat fearfully, but seemed satisfied with what he saw there. He must have thought Shane would have bitten me by now.
I ignored their gazes, making my way to a loveseat in the corner. I decided to open my phone for the first time since I left my parents' house. I pushed down the panic that threatened to creep into my chest at the name that popped across the screen - seventy two missed calls.
Vik had been calling me since I escaped. The rest of the missed calls were from my parents, undoubtedly panicking at waking up this morning to find me missing. I left a vague note, but still.
"You'll need a new sim card," Rhynn called from the kitchen island, "Your old number is useless now. Zeph told us to remind you not to accept any incoming calls. And don't make any from that phone. It's too easy to have a phone call traced back to your location here."
"Where do I get a new one, then?"
"I'll take you to the tech department tomorrow," Rhynn said, taking a seat on the couch across from me. "We'll need to do a full tour, anyways, and you'll need to meet with security to book an appointment for a tracker."
I gaped at him. "A tracker?"
Steele turned from where he was bent over a frying pan in the kitchen and glared at me. "Everyone has one, sweetheart. It's part of the trade. It's tiny, and it goes in your lower back. As long as you don't squirm when they put it in, you'll be fine." Steele turned around and lifted the bottom of his shirt, revealing a thin line of white flesh no longer than my pinky finger. "They put it in, and the only way to get it taken out again is through minor surgery. In the meantime, it's the best way for Zeph to keep track of us if we get captured. And in your case," the fae male sneered, "It's extra assurance that you won't do something fucking stupid, like run."
"You're in this for ten years anyways," Rhynn muttered bitterly, "Might as well get used to it."
Steele sent a glare in Rhynn's direction, exchanging some unspoken warning, and the shifter silenced himself.
"When do the rest of the Six come back?" I decided to ask, changing the subject from trackers and unpleasant things.
"It depends. They've been training new recruits in Lornley for the last few months. Depending on how Shane's meeting with them went today, I'd imagine they'd be back soon. Otherwise, we'll ship you out to join them when you're assessed and trained here."
I pondered that while Steele slaved over the stove. Delicious smells poured from within the kitchen, making my mouth water. My appetite was back in full force.
"Greetings from Lornley," Shane conveyed as he strode through the Den, "They said they'll spend another week before coming back. Final testing for recruits is happening over the next three days. Konnor mentioned they've had pretty good luck with this round of Serpents."
"That's great," Steele called out as he stirred a pot, "The last few batches have been rough."
"Bad recruits, or bad teachers?" I ventured tentatively, not sure what information I would be privy to.
"Both," Rhynn admitted. "That's why the other Three are in Lornley. The last guys that Zeph put in charge were terrible. Half the recruits quit just a few days in. One of them had been drained until he was nearly white as bone."
"The previous trainers were vamps?" My eyes widened.
"Yes," Shane scoffed, "But with no self control. We're lucky Des got to the drained guy in time, or we would've essentially had a mutiny on our hands. As it is, Zeph's probably gonna lose Lornley in the next couple years. Our base just isn't as strong there."
"And Zephyr wouldn't send one of you out there permanently?"
Steele cocked his head in my direction. "You're asking a lot of questions."
I found myself glaring at him. "Like you said, I'll be here for ten years. If Zephyr is expecting me to join the Six, why shouldn't I ask questions?"
Steele met my eyes with a challenge of his own before turning around and draining a pot of pasta. "Supper will be ready in ten."
I huffed and joined Shane at the kitchen island. The vamp simply laughed at me before glancing back towards something on his tablet.
When dinner was served, I took it directly to my room. I was done with puffed up males for the day.
I had no idea how I was going to put up with it for ten years.