Incendiary (The Premonition Series (Volume 4)) (41 page)

Taking a deep breath, I turn
around to face them. “Cold Misery, you’re looking fresh. Is that brai
n matter in your hair?” I ask
him, seeing his hazel eyes soften in the corners in humo
r. I lean
casually
against an ancient stone
wall
behind me
,
crossing my legs negligently
.
Buns’
s
brows pull together as she looks
at them in
confusion.

“I always loved t
hat nickname,” Cole replies
, a smile touchin
g
his seductive lips. “Did you come up with it?”

“Yes,
but I can’t take all the credit—
you earne
d it all on your own,” I reply
, cro
ssing my arms in front of me while
trying to keep my features
blank.

“We ha
d to be tough on you,” he says
, coming to stand by my side. “We had to prepare you for the c
hallenges you faced
—
thicken your skin. I bet it’s ea
sier to take being called ‘half-
breed’ after s
urviving high school as ‘cheesy
.
’
”

“Was that your reasoning?” I a
sk
Cole
in a bored tone.

“We also had to keep the hormona
l humans away,” Xavier add
s
.

“Bravo
then. M
ission accomplished,” I
reply
with no emotion.

“Not really,” Xavier replies
. “We had to get creative with a few of the males
in school
, right, Tau?
” he asks
rhetorically.
Tau nods.
Xavier continues, “Greg Landon
wanted to do more than watch the movie
..
.
but
he was more of a lover than a fighter.
”

“Why would you care who I dated
?
You were th
e one who decided that we weren’
t right for each other,” I say to
Xavier. “
Wait...was that an act? Were you just pretending to like me?
” My heart constricts with betrayal. “
W
ere
you just there to spy
on me?” I ask Xavier
, not letting my voice change or show irritation. I can’t let them get to me.

“
I was
protecting you,”
he states.

“By lying to me,”
I counter.

“
I wasn’
t allowed to tell you anything,”
he frowns.

“You’
re an angel,”
I accuse him as he comes to stand next to me.

“So are you,”
he re
p
lies with a small smile.

“
No.
I’
m not,”
I say without emotion.
“You should’
ve told me.”

“
You’ve adapted well
since
we last saw you
,” Cole
says
, flanking my other side and taking in all
of
my attributes. “Look at her
lack of emotion, Xavier
,” he adds, like he’s proud of
my demeanor. “Who taught you
to act like a Seraph
?”

“
A fallen angel
named
Casimir,” I reply
, watchi
ng
the smile instantly leave Cole
’s
face.
They probably kne
w Casimir. He
was
Seraphim
like them
and
may have even been their friend before the Fall. “He tried to take me
to Sheol when I was with the Gancanagh
.”

“
When you were Brennus’ queen,
” Tau states
, his mouth turning down in disdain.
“We have been apprised of that
incid
ent.”
Approaching me, Tau’s features beco
me more
unreadable than mine
. “Reed killed Casimir
, is that correct?” he asks
.

“Yes, my
aspire
,” I say and Xavier growls
at my words, causing my eyes to narrow at him.

“Why do you have an
aspire
?” he asks
, sounding angry.

“Why do you care?” I counter
, frowning at him
like he’s boring me
.

“I care
for many, many reasons,” Xavier
replies
, leaning nearer to me and invading my personal space.

I pretend
to ignore h
im, but my wi
ngs react anyway. My coat falls
off me as my wings spread out,
pushing him back.
S
peaking in Angel, Xavier reaches
out to gentl
y stroke my wing. I straighten
, feeling confused.

Turning to Buns
, her mouth
is falling open a little.
“What did he just say?” I ask.

“He thinks yo
ur wings are adorable,” she says
before a smile spread
s
ov
er her face. Then, she whispers
, “I think he
likes
you.”

Meeting Xavier’s
mismatched
eyes, I frown.
“
No, he doesn’t and he never really did,” I reply
, inching closer to Buns. “Well, thanks for coming today
…Tau
. I app
reciate the help—k
i
lling the Fallen—
good job. I guess I’ll see you all at the
ten-
year class reunion. Keep in touch.”

Standing up
stra
ighter
, I hitch
my arm in Bun
s
’
s
and try
to move past them.
They instantly create
a wall in front of me so
that we can’t get to the door that leads down
the tower.

Phaedrus says
something to Tau in Angel.

“What did Phaedrus
say?” I ask
Buns.

She’s just as startled as I am, probably because she’s not used to coming up against Seraphim. “Ba
sically, he just told them to relax
—
not to push you. He told them that they’re bein
g too aggressive,” she whispers
.

Tau replies to Phaedrus and I look
to Buns to translate.

“Sweetie, uh…he wants to know how to tell you that he’
s
assuming the protection of you without appearing too aggressive.”

My eyes narrow
.
“How do you say ‘get stuff
ed’ in Angel, Buns?” I counter
,
before
see
ing Phaedrus cringe
.

“You don’t,” Tau warns in a soft tone
, his wings spreading out, making him look huge
and frankly, terrifying
.

Letting go of Buns, my wing
s spread out, too, mimicking Tau’s aggressive posture
.

While Tau frowns
at me
, Xavier grins
saying, “Evie, you can’
t do that
.
I’ve been waiting for you to grow
up. I have so much to teach you.”

“Not interested,” I
reply
.

Xavier’
s grin is gone
,
replaced by a frown.
“Get interested,” he says
in a stern tone.

“Why? I
already
have me
ntors and protectors,” I reply
.

Xavier’s eyebrow rises cunningly over his blue eye.
“And you didn’t
need us at all today?” he
asks
calmly.

“Thanks for the hand today, but where were you when everything was falling apart? Where was he when this all started?
” I ask, flicking my hand towards Tau.
“
When I began evolving into a TOTAL FREAK?
You were nowhere—
you’re
a little late and you’re
u
nreliable,” I say
as
Xavier’s
eyelids hood
over
his mismatched eyes
.

“We were called back!
” Xavier
responds in a harsh tone
. “None of us wanted
to leave you—
a
nd you’
re not a freak
!
”

“Easy, Xavier,” Tau says
as I
str
uggle to keep the cool mask in place, but it’s slipping and I’m trying not to cry.

A breeze touches my face and then Reed is
nex
t to me, taking me in his arms and holding me close to
him. “We won, love,” he breathes
softly in my ear. “Now
take a deep breath and we
’ll handle this
together
.
”
He kisses me
, causing crazy
things to happen in my stomach and my knees to feel weak.

Xavier growls behind us. Reed grins
, his green eyes showing humor. “
Another admirer, love?” he asks
me in a sexy, teasing tone. “You’re really going to have to start telling them about me.”

“Why tell them wh
en I can show them?” I ask
. My arms snake behind his neck and I brush
my lips light
ly over his, while pressing my body to him.

Hearing anothe
r low growl from Xavier, I break
off our kiss, glancing at him. His
crimson
wings are stretched wide, and Tau has his hand on Xavier’s arm, holding
him firmly.

Reed gently nudges
m
e back from him, before spreading his
charcoal-colored
wings wide and growling back at Xavier.
Reed looks fierce
with
his brows drawn together and his jaw clenchi
ng.
They look like they’re about
to pounce on each
other
, causing
fear
to creep
up my spine.

Phaedrus steps
between us
all
, facing Tau. He speaks
rapidly to the Seraphim,
looking like he’s reasoning with them.

Then, Tau speaks
to
Xavier
;
his voice, although musical, has
an authoritative
to
ne to it that even I can
recognize
. Xavier
, still frowning,
slowly retracts
his wings while his jaw tense
s
even more.

Next,
Tau
speaks
to Reed in the same tone
.
Reed’s charcoal
-colored
wings retract
slowly
, too,
and co
me to rest
elegantly
behind him.

To me,
Tau says
, “I’m going to give my
orders to the Powers. We will leave within the hour.”
He
turns and stri
de
s
toward the door to the tower with
Cole next to him. Xavier stares
at me for a momen
t before he reluctantly follows
Tau into the Bridge Gate.

“
Take Tau’s
number o
ff speed-dial, Reed,” I mutter
.

“
Listen, love…Tau is used to being in command. He has
your best interest at heart, I’
m certain, and I think you should give him a chance
,” Reed says
, taking my hand.
“W
e should consider going with hi
m.”