“It’s just a meal.” He took two steps back, my clutch still in his hand.
I crossed my arms, moving two small steps toward him. “When is a meal ever just a meal with Royals?” I glared as I continued moving forward, my steps still small. I could not believe I had been roped into this. Not to mention, I was actually doing it.
“Had much experience with Royals?”
“A bit,” I murmured vaguely. I was really going to have to watch what I said, so I went with a safe topic. “Where is this pancake place?” I couldn’t deny I was hungry.
“Just a few short blocks away.” He grinned.
“And least I’ve got flats on,” I muttered, quickly peering away from him and picking up my pace, deciding I was definitely hungry. “Okay, let’s go.” I stared straight ahead, wrapping my arms around myself against the chilly air as I moved in line with them. I stood between Elder Kincaid and Elder Fergus, their bodies blocking the worst of the chill. “Do they have oatmeal?”
“I believe so,” Elder Fergus walked easily next to me. He slowed, his longer legs making his steps smaller, when he glanced down at me. “Are you cold?”
“A bit,” I murmured vaguely. It took a second for me to understand that none of them were cold, and the fact I was probably had something to do with me not using my powers as I should be. “I won’t freeze, though.” A pause before I amended, “Actually, I would gladly freeze if I could find a decent bowl of oatmeal around here.”
“It’s good,” Elder Nelson stated from the far side of our group. “I’ve had it before.”
My pace quickened. “Good is definitely better than I’ve had so far.” My head cocked. I asked the group, “Have any of you ever made oatmeal yourselves before?”
Elder Fergus cleared his throat. “I have. Why do you ask?”
I scowled at the street ahead, dodging lots of Coms and a few Mysticals, most of them staring covertly at the men around me. Each passer-by knew these Royals’ status, even if I wasn’t entirely sure yet. “I tried making it when I couldn’t find any place around here that didn’t serve a sludge they called oatmeal.” I shrugged. “It came out tasting like all the crap I’d been served.” My lips pinched. “Possibly a little worse.”
He cleared his throat again. “The directions are on the tub.”
I waved an irritated hand before quickly tucking it close to my body. “Never mind. I’m just the world’s worst cook.” I huffed, my breath a white puff on the breeze. “I never fail to ruin something I try to make, hence I am willing to freeze for something decent.”
Elder Venclaire’s head tilted around Elder Fergus, his brows scrunched. “Why don’t you use your powers if you’re truly cold?”
I blinked straight ahead, seeing my small fumble way too late. I stated the truth, “I try not to use my powers too much.”
“Why?”
“Not a real big fan of them sometimes,” I mumbled, then I squinted ahead of us. I hopped as I walked to see over the heads of the taller people. “Are we getting close?”
“Not really,” Elder Fergus stated, then he grabbed my right arm and pulled me to an abrupt stop. He placed two fingers in his mouth and whistled loudly at a cab driving by. The monstrous, old—new—cab came to a screeching halt. Elder Fergus grinned at me. “You’ll be warm when we all fit in there.”
And…he wasn’t kidding.
Elder Venclaire was at least kind enough to say he’d run—and he’d probably make it there faster than us. But the rest of us—all four of us—piled into the back seat. The cab felt much less monstrous when you were crammed into the back with three powerful men, their magic leaking and making it stuffy inside. Not to mention, I was sitting on Elder Fergus’s lap, sitting as far on the edge of his knees and as far from any private areas as I could get, pressing myself against the bench seat in front of us. I mean, dammit, he had said just a meal.
He grabbed my hips when we took a turn.
I slammed one hand against the door, hanging on, and slapped at his hands with the other. I glanced back at him, peering down my nose. “None of that.”
I swear his lips trembled, but it could have been a shadow from a street light playing against his face. “I was only trying to keep you from falling.”
“Mmm-hmm.” I sniffed in his direction covertly, scenting spiced earth and herbs. The scent only grew stronger in the small, confined area. “I don’t believe you, so keep your paws to yourself.”
He deadpanned, “If you start to fall, I’ll make sure to keep my paws to myself.”
I glared down my nose. “I’m glad we understand each other.” I rubbed at my sniffer as the smell was sharpening, and I asked the cabbie, “Can you please hurry?”
The Com’s eyes flashed back. His driving was too fucking careful. His hands were at ten and two, and he was driving at least five miles under the speed limit. He whispered harshly, “Don’t you know who they are?”
I ran a hand over my face, exhaling a heavy sigh, then leaned forward further and waved a finger in front of his face. “Open the damn window then!” I rubbed at my nose again, the smell stuck inside this vehicle. The cabbie griped at me, slapping at my hand and cursing in what was possibly Russian, so I did what any woman would do when stuck with people from the past. I lunged over the seat, grabbing the wheel when the cabbie shrieked and jerked it the wrong way. I quickly righted our course then snaked a fast hand to the crank to roll the window down, bumping his chest hard with each round. I barked gruffly, “When I tell you to do something, you fucking do it. Got it, asshole?”
“Yes, yes,” he mumbled in shock.
I glanced up, seeing the red light he couldn’t. I shouted, “Brake! Brake!”
Like a good little pissant, he slammed on the brakes and stopped just in time. The pedestrians crossed the street in front of us in a huge mass. The small problem was that my body landed on the steering wheel—or more like, the horn—the thing blaring loudly at the mass crossing the road. Still half hanging over the seat, I waved at the shouting crowd. I yelled out the window, “Sorry! But fuck those damn cabbies, right?”
I pushed myself to the back of the cab, ignoring the round of curses still being shouted at us. Not everyone liked almost being run over. I sat primly on the edge of Elder Fergus’s knees, brushing my hair out of my face as I murmured casually, “Friendly crowd.”
All three of them started choking.
I patted the driver’s shoulder softly. “It really would have gone much better if you did what I asked the first time.”
“Yes, ma’am.” A hurried nod. “Yes, ma’am.”
Elder Fergus, a fist over his mouth, gave up the fight and dropped it to burst out laughing contagiously, the other two following right behind him.
I found myself laughing too, a real laugh.
This was camaraderie I hadn’t felt in three months. And I liked it.
Chapter Thirty-Two
All four of us were still chuckling and wiping our eyes when we exited the cab, the cabbie not taking any fare from us whatsoever. I stretched my back while standing on the sidewalk, rubbing at my stomach which was aching from laughing so hard.
Elder Venclaire opened the door for us to a small, all-night breakfast eatery. Eyeing the four of us, he asked, “What did I miss?”
Elder Nelson wore a huge smile on his face. “She almost killed us.”
Elder Fergus snorted. “Correction: she almost killed twenty innocents.”
Elder Kincaid shrugged, snorting. “Close enough to the same thing.”
Elder Venclaire’s eyebrows were lifted high on his forehead, glancing at each of us, then he nodded his head toward me. “Next time, I’m riding.”
An eye-catching earth Elemental hostess came up behind them, grabbing menus. She ran her fingers across Elder Fergus’s stomach, her pink nails bright against his black shirt. She held her hand firmly against his flat stomach. “Your usual table, babe?”
Elder Fergus glanced down at her face while removing her hand without troub
le. “We’ll actually need a table for five tonight, Donna.”
“Five,” she stated slowly, her gaze darting to me. Her attractive brown eyes ran over my form from head to toe, her brows puckered. “Five?”
I lifted both my hands in an easy truce. “I’m not interested in him.” Truth. “But if he’s not interested in you anymore, I can’t help that.” When Elder Fergus cocked a green brow, I shrugged a shoulder. “Sorry.”
His lips twitched. “Friends?”
I nodded, a smile lifting my lips. “I’d like that.”
He held up his own hands. “I’ll really keep my paws off you then.”
I believed him. “Good. I’d hate to break ’em.”
His head tilted back, and his laughter filled the diner.
I smiled, then I turned my attention to the staring waitress. “The table?”
Her composure flared to life, and her spine straightened. She grabbed one more menu from the stand and glanced around the intimate room. “I can put you all in a round booth. That’s all we’ve got to fit your group.”
“Thank you,” Elder Fergus stated gently.
Silent, she nodded and showed us to our booth. “Ryan will be with you guys in a moment.”
“Well…” Elder Venclaire drawled, breaking the silence as she walked away. He had his eyes on the booth. All of them did, as if they were hesitant to sit directly next to one another. “Who’s sitting where?”
“Technically…” Elder Fergus rubbed his mouth, his amused eyes dancing.
My lips twitched, finishing his sentence for him, “There’s only one seat.”
“All right, smart-asses.” Elder Venclaire pointed at the booth. “Everyone pile in.”
Still they didn’t move.
“Okay, where do you guys normally sit?” I asked.
As one, they pointed to the far corner at an empty, large table with four separate seats. “Okay.” I was understanding their difficulty in adjusting to the more crammed booth, but still… “Just imagine it’s the cab.”
Elder Fergus’s nose crinkled. “That wasn’t so bad.”
The rest nodded.
Elder Fergus allowed me to sit first, only to push me as he sat. I had to scoot quickly or risk getting squashed. But I slammed into Elder Kincaid, who had snuck in the other way. Elder Nelson sat next to him, with Elder Venclaire sitting down last, on Elder Fergus’s other side. A bit breathless, and squashed again, I murmured, “That wasn’t so hard, was it?”
“Apparently not,” Elder Venclaire muttered dryly, sliding menus over the table to everyone, his blue eyes meeting mine. “I’m seriously riding next time.”
“The cabbie was fucking hilarious,” Elder Fergus stated, a small chuckle bubbling past his lips before he cut it off. He rumbled a decent impression, “Yes, ma’am. Yes, ma’am.”
Elder Nelson snorted. “I still think her best work tonight was getting all of those prostitutes’ real names.” He shook his head. “It was like watching dog shit turned into pure, rose-smelling gold.”
I laughed outright. “Thank you.”
“No, the best of the evening was that she managed to pass his test with flying colors.” Elder Kincaid lifted dark eyebrows. “She even managed to get him, a Mage, to hit on her in front of us.”
My lips twitched. “You heard that, huh?”
He nodded, his smile cunning.
I added to the conversation, “What I found amazing was four Royals who flew completely under the radar as they used the owner’s game against him.”
“He’s an ass,” Elder Fergus grunted, peering at his menu. “The first night we went there, he tried that shit on us, and we let it fly.” A shrug. “Just so we could come back and work him over a few times.” Amber eyes flicked to me. “Would you like to share what you’re up to with him? He’s obviously your main target.”
My head teetered back and forth. “No, it’s probably not a good idea.”
He hummed quietly, not pressing any further, and turned his eyes back to his menu.
“Actually, I’ll tell you what the most fascinating feat of the night is.” Elder Venclaire drummed his fingers on the table, staring directly at me, his eyebrows slowly rising. “It would be the Mystical who could pass for a Com—if her hair wasn’t neon red. Because we can’t feel your power, Ms Farrow.” His eyes flicked down to my right wrist. “And that bruise has been on your arm since you exited the cab.” Slow words. “You’re not healing like a Mystical, even a weak one.”
I tilted my arm. There was a nasty bruise on the side of my wrist peeking out from under the edge of my sleeve, the colors garish. I must have hit my arm on the steering wheel. I silently cursed his damn Vampire sight. Even though the action was useless, I tucked my arm under the table quickly as my gaze darted to each of the Elders staring at me with carefully blank expressions. “I’m not a Com. I’m a Mystical, an Elemental.” I let my eyes glow, glancing at each of them before I shut off my power. “And let’s skip past the topic of what you just saw.” There wasn’t really anything I could say as an excuse. “I am protected magically from others feeling my power, and I’ll warn you up front that if you try testing me, it feels like sandpaper running over my skin, so please don’t.”
When I stopped speaking, Elder Nelson’s eyes flew to Elder Kincaid.
The Elder Shifter nodded once, stating, “Truth to all.”
“All right, Ms Farrow,” Elder Fergus stated with a serious tone. “As the Prodigies, we’ll trust you. For now.”
Well, that answered that question. Prodigies.
I grinned. “I wouldn’t expect any less. And call me Sadie.”
“Okay, Sadie.” His head teetered in thought. “You can call me Fergus.”
I snorted and held my stomach as I laughed.
He shrugged a shoulder, a corner of his lips lifting. “We’re not sleeping together.”
I held up a pointed finger. “Very true.” I stared at the men in this booth. “I think I’m going to like being friends with you guys.” I paused, quirking a brow. “If you can keep up.”
Their wicked smiles informed me that they most certainly could.
The next morning, Saturday, I woke to a soft knock at my door. Although I had only been asleep for a few hours, I still felt refreshed, smiling from my previous evening and rolling out of bed with pep. All four Prodigies had insisted—politely—after a covert glance at my car, that their limo follow me home to make sure I arrived safely. It had been unnerving having the limo follow me. It was like a cop was tailing me and almost as if I needed to follow each driving rule. My trusty car made it fine. The Prodigies had been in superb spirits from their ride, half lit after raiding the limo’s minibar, so I had asked them if they wanted to come inside and watch television. They had stayed and sobered up before being dropped at each of the Kings’ homes. They were much more intriguing and complex than they had let on in 2035.
And with them, I didn’t feel so lonely.
As I peered through the peephole, my grin only grew. I ran my fingers through my hair, trying to fix my bed hair. I unlocked and opened the door. “Don’t you four sleep?”
All four Prodigies grinned then stormed inside, practically running me over. They were dressed casually in athletic pants and t-shirts and held brown grocery sacks.
Venclaire mumbled, “Good morning to you, too.”
Kincaid stated, “We know we’re risking overdoing a good thing too soon, but the Kings and Elders make us spend the weekends together.”
Nelson smiled, a little nervous. “And…it was better with you around, so…”
Fergus bounced the bag in his arms. “We brought breakfast to bribe you to spend the day with us.”
I eyed the bags. “Do I have to cook it?” We might all be ill if I did.
Fergus smirked. “We didn’t bring food over for you to cook it for us. I’m going to cook.”
“Oh, by all means.” I gestured grandly to my small kitchen, shutting the apartment door and locking it. “Consider me bribed
for a day of fun. But I need to brush my teeth first.” I waggled a finger at the kitchen again. “You can start unloading in there.”
“Will do,” Venclaire murmured, his and Fergus’s backs to me, both already walking into kitchen. “You might want to put some pants on, too.”
I blinked, jerking my head down to my attire. “Shit.” I hadn’t even seen him check me out, but he sure as hell noticed more than I had. I was wearing only a tank top and a pair of panties. I was thrilled I had taken off the Prodigy Elemental ring from my toe last night while putting lotion on my feet. “Pants coming right up.” I hurried into the bathroom, taking care of business there before finding a pair of cotton shorts and a bra. I walked into the kitchen, eyeing the goods they had spread out on the short countertop. “You got a lot.”
Fergus nodded once, also eyeing the choices. “We didn’t know what you liked, so we got a bit of everything.” A point at a tub. “Including oatmeal.”
I stared at the eggs, ham, and cheese. “At the risk of sounding greedy…do you know how to make an omelet?”
“I can do that.”
I clasped my hands in front of me, trying to keep from waving them everywhere in giddy delight. “I also want you to show me how to do it, so I can do it on my own.”
“I can do that, too.” He rummaged through the pots and pans I had bought not too long ago in my attempt to learn to cook better. “You’ve got a decent selection here.”
“Thanks.” I carefully watched which skillet he pulled out. “The salesperson was very helpful.”
My phone rang, startling me. I had forgotten I had the dang thing since I never used the bulky contraption. No one ever called me. I instantly grabbed it, continuing to watch what bowl Fergus was pulling down from a cupboard. “Hello?”
All I heard was static.
“Hello?”
More static.
I hung up. “Someone’s connection sucks.” Then I snapped my fingers and pointed at Fergus when he glanced at me. He was cracking an egg. “Give me a second. I want to get a pad of paper and pen to write what you’re doing.”
His lips quirked. “I’m not going anywhere.”
Chosen Fool (Forever Evermore Book 5) Page 30