The energy behind his spell washed over Cheyenne like a chilly breeze, making her skin tingle.
The troll slowly scanned the living room and shrugged. “Looks clean to me. But if there is anything in here, it’ll show up purple.”
“Okay.” Cheyenne nodded slowly, gazing around the room to check for herself. “Thanks.”
“No problem.” He hefted the duffel bag.
“Get some sleep,” Corian said. “That’s all you need to focus on for now. And tomorrow, we’ll get our answers.”
“Right.”
Ember raised her hand in a brief wave. “Thanks for showing up when you did. And beefing up security.”
The corners of Corian’s mouth twitched. “It’s the least we could do.”
Lumil snorted. “Don’t lie to her, man.”
The nightstalker ignored her and focused on opening a portal into the warehouse. Then he waited for Persh’al and Lumil to step through before he nodded one last time at Cheyenne and disappeared. The portal closed, and Cheyenne sank back into the couch.
“This has to have been the longest day of my life.”
Ember ran a hand through her hair. “He just told us to get some sleep.”
They looked at each other and chuckled wryly. “No way in hell am I gonna be able to fall asleep right now.”
“I’m gonna have to take the couch. I think they skipped the cleanup in my room.”
“Sorry, Em.”
“Hey, having to pick up shattered machine bits is a lot better than someone else having to clean up scattered fae parts. I’ll get to it eventually, but I am not sleeping in there tonight.” Ember snatched the remote off the coffee table, aimed it at the entryway table to lift the TV out of its slot, and dropped it in her lap. “I don’t care how long it takes. I’m falling asleep with the TV on.”
As she wheeled around the couch again toward her usual show-streaming spot, Cheyenne slapped her thighs. “We still have ice cream, right?”
“At least two more pints.”
The halfling stood and headed for the kitchen. “I’m on it.”
Chapter Twenty-Nine
The next morning, Cheyenne managed to slip out of her bedroom, hop into the shower, and get halfway through drawing on another layer of thick black eyeliner before Ember stirred on the couch.
“What time is it?” The fae groaned and pushed herself up against the armrest.
“Nine-fifty.” Cheyenne leaned closer to the mirror and smudged her eye makeup around a little before nodding. Won’t find this on a makeup tutorial. Smokey-eye in five seconds, ‘cause I couldn’t care less. When she stepped out of the bathroom, Ember blinked.
“Woah. You look fancy.”
“Yeah, right.” Her hair was almost dry, so she pulled it away from her face and started on a loose braid. “This is my ‘just got attacked by O’gúl war machines and had wards put up around my apartment before going to teach an undergrad class’ look.”
Ember snorted. “You make it seem so effortless.”
“Well, I try.” Tying off her finished braid, the halfling grabbed her black Vans from where she’d kicked them off by the couch the night before and jammed her feet into them. “You know, yesterday, I couldn’t figure out why Maleshi would go back to campus and pretend to be a professor with everything that’s going on right now.”
“She is a professor.”
“Sure, but not really. I get it now, though. The normal things are all that’s left when everything else turns to shit.”
Ember folded her arms and sat back against the armrest. “Not everything.”
“Okay, fine. Slight exaggeration. But if I didn’t have something to do right now, I have a feeling I’d go looking for trouble. I’ve recognized a pattern with that.”
“I thought it was more like trouble finding you.”
Cheyenne slung her backpack over her shoulder and cocked her head. “We can call it a fifty-fifty split. You need anything?”
“Nope.” Ember grabbed the edge of her chair and pulled herself off the couch. The purple light of her magic engulfed her body, and two seconds later, she was sitting comfortably in the wheelchair with a smirk. “I think I’m gettin’ the hang of this.”
“Guess I’m obsolete, then.”
“Oh, come on.” Ember clicked her tongue and wheeled between the couch and the coffee table. “I’m sure you’ll find some way to be useful.”
“Ha-ha.” Cheyenne headed toward the front door. “I’ll be back in a few hours. Then we’ll head to the clinic, and I’ll figure out how to handle things from there.”
“While I’m at my PT session.” It wasn’t a question.
“I think we should cover that when we get there. Gotta play it by ear, you know?”
“Uh-huh.”
“Hey, if that Marsil guy running around with George on his nametag has anything to do with—”
“We’ll figure that out later.” Ember gestured toward the door. “You have a room full of eager young minds to expand.”
Cheyenne wrinkled her nose. “Ew. I can’t believe I’m grateful for that right now.”
“Like you said, even the normal things count.”
Grabbing the doorknob, the halfling paused and looked over her shoulder again. “Don’t open the door for anyone while I’m gone.”
“Aw, bummer. I was planning on leaving it open all day for anyone who wanted to stop by for a chat.”
“Not even Matthew, okay? Until we figure out who knows what and where they heard it, we can’t risk it.”
“I know, Cheyenne.” Ember spread her arms and shook her head. “I was here last night too, remember?”
The halfling gave her friend a knowing smile. “Yeah.”
“But I will say, I feel a lot better knowing our apartment isn’t bugged.”
“As far as we know. If you see any purple dots, cover them and text me.”
Ember gazed slowly around their apartment and grimaced. “Just when I was starting to feel comfortable in my own living room.”
“Don’t let it get to you, Em. If I haven’t found any by now, they probably don’t exist.”
“I’m trying to believe that.” With a disbelieving chuckle, Ember tossed her hand toward the front door. “I know the drill, halfling. Go teach your class.”
“Yeah. See you in a bit.” As soon as she opened the door, Cheyenne turned the lock on the doorknob, then doubled down
