“He got what he wanted from us, at least for the time being,” she continued. “I’m not saying you’ll never see him again — in fact, I tend to believe the opposite — but he’s not going to acquiesce to your demands. He’ll play the game as he sees fit and we have to adjust to him, not vice versa.”
What she said made sense, loath as I was to admit it. “So, what happens next with us?” I asked Cormack. “I mean ... Renley is gone. How are we going to explain that?”
“Technically we don’t have to explain anything,” Cormack replied. “Everyone at the party last night knows Renley was there. They also know wraiths attacked. Sure, they’re all going on and on about sprites — who knew those tiny little devils could take out wraiths in three seconds flat? — but nobody actually saw what happened to Renley. Right now, it’s assumed he and Adam fell victim to the wraiths and died.”
“Renley could come back,” I pointed out.
“He could, but he’ll be the one who has to explain his actions if that happens,” Cormack supplied. “We’re playing stupid just like everybody else.”
“Okay.” I was fine with that … at least mostly. “What about the conspiracy, though? I mean ... there have to be people left on the reaper council who were part of this.”
“I guarantee there are, but we have to play the game. That means we keep up the charade, figure things out, and move on from there.”
“Yeah. I guess.” I rubbed my forehead. “It feels like so much.”
Braden materialized at my side, his hand on my back. “We could go back to bed,” he suggested. “Well, after we get our skillets. My offer to spend the entire day hunkering underneath the covers still stands. I guarantee Dad can get you out of work.”
It was a tempting offer but I knew better than to hide. “I think we should go about our day as if it’s a normal day.”
“I don’t,” Cormack countered, catching me off guard. “In fact, I’ve made arrangements for everybody to have the day off. I thought we would take Sami — and Lily, even though she won’t know what’s happening — to the zoo.”
Sami raised her head, her eyes wide. “Seriously?”
Cormack nodded. “I think we all need some downtime. There’s absolutely nothing we can do about the revenants and reapers right now. There’s nothing we can do about Renley. Everybody needs to decompress and eat gobs and gobs of junk food.”
“Totally.” Sami lifted her hand to bump fists with him. “See, I should totally live here. He gets me.”
Aric chuckled. “We can go to the zoo today. It was on our list anyway. There will be no wandering off, though.”
Sami made a face. “Why would I want to wander? All the hot dudes are going to be with us.”
“The hot dudes that stir her lady bits,” Zoe added.
Aric glared at his wife. “Why are you trying to torture me?”
“It keeps me young.” Zoe leaned in and gave him a kiss on the cheek before focusing on me. “What do you say, Izzy? How about a day of worrying about nothing before we have to start thinking about saving the world again?”
It was exactly what I wanted. “Okay, but I’m going to eat my weight in elephant ears.”
Zoe flashed me a thumbs-up. “You and me both.”
“I’ll eat you both under the table,” Sami promised. “I’m a professional.”
Lily laughed so hard her stomach jiggled.
“Everyone agrees,” Cormack said. “We’ll have a family day. The rest of it will fall into place when it’s time. We need to focus on the positive.”
On that we could agree. “Okay.” I turned to the skillet buffet. “I need to try one of these things before we do anything else. They look too good to ignore.”
“Heaven in a skillet,” Braden agreed. “Make sure you get extra gravy.”
I paused for a moment, the weight of what we were facing barreling down on me, and then I pushed it to the back of my mind. Zoe said it was important to focus on the things we could control. I could control this breakfast and a day at the zoo. The rest would fall into place when it was time. “Extra gravy it is.” I flashed a smile for Braden’s benefit and found I meant it. “Where’s the ice cream you promised Sami, Cormack?”
Sami lifted her head, intrigued.
“Breakfast first,” Cormack replied. “Then dessert.”
Apparently some rules could never be broken. I was okay with this one. As for what was to come, I would figure it out in time. All I knew with any certainty was that I wouldn’t be alone.
That was more than enough.
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About the Author
I want to thank everyone who takes the time to read my novels. I have a particular brand of humor that isn’t for everyone – and I know that.
If you liked the book, please take a few minutes and leave a review. An independent author does it all on their own, and the reviews are helpful. I understand that my characters aren’t for everyone, though. There’s a lot of snark and sarcasm in my world – and I know some people don’t like that.
Special thanks go out to Heidi Bitsoli and Phil VanHulle for correcting the (numerous) errors that creep into a work of fiction.
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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual
