When the three of us stride into the kitchen, sweaty and covered in dirt, we find Kian standing in front of Erik’s old-fashioned mint green refrigerator, a clump of lunchmeat in one hand. He’s wet from a shower and wearing only a pair of low-slung jeans. With his tapered waist and muscles on display, plus those tattoos I know so intimately, I find myself staring.
He glances over at me, and our gazes lock before I can look away.
Busted.
So I cover up my completely unbidden and unwanted lust with snark.
I raise my eyebrow. “Feeling peckish?”
“Don’t you get hungry after you kill?” he shoots back, turning to peer into the fridge again.
“No, I’m usually horny.” The words come out before I even realize it’s happening.
What the actual fuck, Amora?
All three men whip around and look at me, each with a slightly different expression. Kian’s jaw is clenched, like I’ve said the worst thing he’s ever heard. Frost’s face is as expressionless as usual. And Malix just looks amused.
The violet-eyed man smiles and remarks, “Huh. Good to know. I’ll keep that in mind for the future.”
I carefully keep my embarrassment to myself and hope nobody can see the flush heating my cheeks. Catching sight of a bottle in the fridge beyond Kian, I reach past him and snatch up the water before darting away from his whiskey-drenched scent.
“So. Anyone want to tell me who Felicity is?” I say, unscrewing the top on the bottle and leaning a hip against the counter. “Better yet, how about why she’s sending shadows after you and offering me up as payment for information on finding you?”
All three of them exchange loaded glances. Frost turns his back to try to fit the broken door back into its frame, while Malix snatches the lunchmeat from Kian’s hand.
Kian glares at him, then leans back into the fridge for more.
None of them answer me.
I slam my water bottle on the counter. “Look, assholes. I’m here against my better judgment. I don’t like you. Any of you. But I’m not going to continue to put my life in danger for you if you’re not going to come clean to me.”
Kian grunts, emerging from inside the fridge with a pizza box. He lifts the lid and grimaces, then turns to put it right back where he found it. His voice drifts out. “Your life is already on the line.”
Malix makes a noise in his throat, shoving the rest of the ham into his mouth to free his hands so he can help Frost with the door. “Sap from the Tree of Life,” he mumbles around the lunchmeat. “Anybody got a damn clue where that is?”
Kian slams the fridge door shut. “No.”
“That poses a logistical problem,” Malix says with a grimace. “We’re gonna need the sticky goo.”
“That’s what she said,” I say under my breath, grabbing my water up to drink.
Malix guffaws, and even Frost cracks a rare smile. It utterly transforms his face from emotionless stone granite to something beautiful and alive. It nearly takes my damn breath away. I feel the dangerous desire to reach out and touch his face, to trace the curve of his lips with my fingertips.
I cover that up with sarcasm too.
“Oh, so you listen to me only when you want to. Got it,” I say, giving them a thumbs up and an eye roll.
Kian’s lips press into a firm line. “Can we focus, please? We don’t need to deal with anybody else willing to sell us out to the highest bidder. But we need to find this tree. Any bright ideas are welcome.”
Frost turns back around and dusts his hands off. The door is settled back on its frame, albeit somewhat precariously. Anybody else who wanted to kick it in could do so easily. “Books. There’s a library upstairs.”
Malix drapes an arm over Frost’s shoulder and looks at me. “Have we told you he’s the smart one?”
“You haven’t told me fuck all,” I point out, unamused by the way they’ve all danced around my questions.
Kian ignores us both. “Astute observation. All right, let’s search the place. Journals, magic books, anything that might tell us where to find this tree. See if the guy’s got a laptop and Google. Also, keep an eye out for anything of value that might help in our goal.”
I scoff. “What is our goal, pray tell?”