“Five days.” Mack nods at him.
Standing in the doorway, Nico pauses. Without turning to look at me, his shoulders moving heavily up and down as he breathes, he says, “Nova, I truly am sorry for what I did to you. And Sam? I’m sorry we didn’t get the chance to know each other.”
He’s gone before I can reply.
“I’ll make sure he leaves.” Luther slips out the door, and I hear his heavy footsteps follow Nico down the steps.
As if I’m breathing for the first time in almost an hour, I lean forward with my hands on my knees and suck in a deep gasp of air. Mack’s hand on my side makes me stand up straight. Smiling a little, he brushes his finger across the top of my dress. “Why don’t you change, Little Star? I’ll make tea. Then we’ll talk.”
I don’t want to talk. I want to curl into his arms and disappear. I want him to kiss me until I forget everything I’ve just heard. I don’t want to discuss how we stop a maniac from raising the dead, or an unbeatable demon from slaughtering me in my sleep. I don’t want to talk about prophecies or the end of the world.
I just want to lie down with the men who love me and forget that anything else exists.
“Come with me?” I ask him, searching his face. “Please.”
Mack looks at the others.
“It’s all right, Baloo. You take care of her. We can manage the tea.” Tanner cocks his head in the direction of the kettle then says, “Right, Sam?”
“Right,” Sam agrees, although he looks like he could use some taking care of, too.
Wrapping his arm around me, Mack guides me to the bathroom. He flicks on the shower, then stands in front of me. Gently, he peels off my dress. When I’m naked, steam swirling around me, he strips out of his tuxedo, picks me up—as if I weigh no more than a bag of feathers—and carries me into the shower. Lowering me to my feet, he smooths his hands over my body. I wrap my arms around him and press my face to his chest so I can hear his heart beating.
For a long time, we just stand under the water. He holds me, without speaking or moving. Just holds me. When we finally step out, he wraps a towel around me and kisses my forehead.
“Wait there. I’ll fetch you some clothes.” Slinging a towel around his waist, he darts from the room. When he returns, he’s holding a large white shirt. “I think this is Luther’s?” he says. “The clothes are a mess up there.”
His tone of voice makes me smile a little. “Us pesky kids should tidy up after ourselves, huh?”
Mack raises his eyebrows at me. “Wouldn’t hurt,” he replies, handing over the shirt and watching me button it up.
“Looks good on you,” he says, kissing my still-damp forehead.
Sitting down on the closed toilet lid, I brace my hands on my knees. “Is Sam okay?”
“He’s talking to Tanner and Kole.”
“Is heokay?”I repeat the question.
“I think so.” Mack’s answer is diplomatic but doesn’t make me feel any better.
“After what Nico told him, his head must be an utter mess. Ragnor wants to bring his mother back. Hismother.”
“Tanner and Kole are taking care of Sam. What about you?” Mack crouches on the floor. He’s swapped his towel for gray sweatpants. The kind that hang deliciously from his sculpted hips. “So far, you’ve taken all this in your stride, Nova. You’ve been through so much and you’ve just gotten stronger and stronger. But we’re talking about yourlifenow. We’re talking about—”
“I know.” I snap at him, then shake my head at myself and soften my tone. “I know, but what choice do I have? I’m part of this. I have no idea why, or how I’m supposed to suddenly become powerful enough to stop what’s going to happen, but I do believe I’m part of it. So, I guess I just have to trust that when the time comes, I’ll know what to do.”
Mack studies my face. Lacing his fingers together at the back of my head, he kisses me. Where once he was unsure, now he is passion personified. He leaves me breathless, my heart beating fast. “We’ll figure it out,” he says. “We’ll figure out a plan.”
* * *
“So?”Luther asks loudly, drinking whiskey even though the rest of us are drinking tea and we thought we’d gotten rid of the last of his supply. “What’s the plan?”
A resounding silence greets his question until Kole speaks up and says, “The plan hasn’t changed. We speak to my mother. Gather as much information as we can about the prophecy, and why Nova’s a part of it. Then we return here in time to stop the ritual.”
“Why not skip the homecoming visit and go straight to destroying Eve and Ragnor?” Luther replies darkly.
“Because we barely escaped with our lives when they had us in their clutches before,” Kole snarls. “So, we’ll need more than just a few spells and some good luck.”