CHAPTER 53

Velvet pointed the blade at herself and unfolded it. They were close enough to the ground that the point of the blade buried itself in the snow. The sword tried to unfold, but the handle got caught in Abella's open mouth and pushed her off the ground.

When Abella let go, Velvet slid behind her and grabbed the sword. She pinned Abella to the ground and placed the tip of the blade at the base of her skull.

"if you try to get up, all I have to do is press." To emphasize her point, she leaned on the blade. "It's called leverage."

Abella went still, her wings relaxing.

"All I want is to leave," she said. "To get some fresh air, some perspective. You don't know me, but I'm guessing you know my kind. Well, guess what? I don't even know my kind. My mother made sure of that, bless her hearts."

Abella growled down in the snow.

"And you know what else? My mother would want me to kill you. Because despite her enlightenment, she was still a killer, because it's what she needed to be." More tears now, hot in her eyes and cold on her cheek as they froze. "And so was my father. He was a killer, too. Never wanted to talk about it, but it's true. Both of them did it, and they would do it again to keep us safe.

"But you know what? Because they had to kill, they spent their whole lives teaching me to be better than them. To live a life where I didn't have to make that decision. And right now, I am so confused, everything is spinning. Yes, you're right. I do want to fuck him, I can't help it. But kill him? Take his life just to eat? He called a goblin amazing. Have you ever seen one? Of course, you have, you live with one. Right now, all I can think about is mating with him and letting him fill my belly with his seed, and that's fine, it's whatever. But do you know what I want even more than that?"

Abella tilted her head, as if to hear better.

"I want him to think I'm amazing, too." She lifted the blade and stepped off of Abella's back. Before the gargoyle could say anything or move, Velvet folded up the sword and ran.

Mike opened his eyes and let out a sigh. He almost didn't want to know what time it was. Once he knew, he would start that mental countdown about how many hours he could still sleep and feel rested. He wanted an early start, because he planned to hike to the edge of the boundary and try to get some cell reception. It wasn't unexpected for him to be gone this long, but he definitely needed to check in.

When he picked up his phone, he squinted when it lit up.

"Ugh." He set it back down. It was almost one in the morning, and he was no closer to sleep than he had been an hour before.

Part of the problem was his current bedmate. While Yuki was able to collapse herself into a cute little fox, Quetzalli was an absolute bed hog. The cabin only had one queen-sized bed. With Bigfoot on the couch, he'd offered to sleep on the floor, but Quetzalli had insisted they share.

He held still for a minute, listening. There was a slight breeze outside, and he occasionally heard the creaking of floorboards. His best guess was that Dana was pacing. He felt bad that the poor girl could no longer sleep, and wondered what he would do if saddled with so many extra hours.

Quetzalli shifted in bed and said something in her sleep. Though the words were unintelligible, he felt the hairs on the back of his neck rise just before he got zapped. Suddenly wide awake, he slid out of bed and put on his pants and shoes.

Yuki opened her eyes and sat up. She tilted her head out of curiosity.

"Can't sleep," he explained. "But don't worry, I won't go far."

She yawned, then set her head back down and watched him with one eye as he walked out of the room.

Out in the living room, he saw that Bigfoot was asleep on the couch. Several empty beer cans had been stacked in a pyramid on the nearby table and an old VCR had been hooked up to the TV. Harry and the Hendersons was playing on mute.

"He thinks it's hilarious." Dana stood in the kitchen, an e-reader in her hands. "Trouble sleeping?"

"A bit. Quetzalli keeps taking the blankets."

She nodded, then set her reader down. "I'm not surprised. I've seen her sleep. She tosses and turns a lot. I think she dreams about flying around and chasing storms. She's totally into you, by the way."

"I kind of figured." He smiled and sat down next to her.

"If you know, then why haven't you fucked her?" Dana raised an eyebrow.

Taken aback by the boldness of the question, Mike felt his cheeks begin to burn. "I kind of thought that you two were a thing and didn't want to cross any lines."

"I appreciate that. But we're not officially anything. My heart belongs to Alex." She sighed and shook her head. "I sometimes wonder if I'll ever fall in love with someone else. Coming to grips with my situation was difficult enough, but I find myself wondering if romantic emotions are frozen in time like the rest of me."

Mike frowned, old feelings of guilt regarding Dana bubbling up to the surface. "I wish I could help," he told her.