“It’s probably just a blood brother thing,” I said, dismissively. “Can you put your dick away now?”
“I call him Cal,” Seth complained, getting to his feet and looking like he wanted to go chasing after Orion to join in with them.
“Everyone calls him Cal, dude,” I pointed out, but Seth just tipped his head to the roof and howled.
“Let me get dressed and I’ll be ready to go,” Darcy said, hopping out of bed and moving to get some clothes while Darius grabbed a pair of sweatpants from the floor and tossed them into Seth’s lap.
“Stop sitting there naked in front of my girl or I’ll burn it off,” he muttered distractedly, turning to look at the door just as it pushed open and Caleb and Orion shot inside laughing and nudging one another.
“What’s the joke?” Seth asked, jumping up and pulling his pants on while looking between the Vampires with hope in his eyes.
“You kinda had to be there,” Caleb laughed, shaking his head as he exchanged a look with his new bestie and I rolled my eyes at them.
“Is everyone ready to go?” I asked and the others agreed, though Seth was still pouting as we headed out of the room in hunt of the others. Max had taken to helping Geraldine with her bagels in the mornings and Hamish and Catalina were always overseeing the kitchens too, so we made our way back to the dining hall quickly.
Caleb and Orion raced ahead of us to let the others know what was going on and by the time we caught up, Hamish was amplifying his voice throughout the entire rebel sanctuary and demanding everyone return to their rooms once more.
“Who needs help from a little one?” Washer called, pushing his way through the crowd towards us in a lycra leopard print shirt with a zip down the centre of it in place of buttons. A zip which was open so low that his freaking nipples were on display. He was looking extra sun baked thanks to the nice weather we’d been having which had drawn him out to naked sunbathe at all hours of the damn day on the roof of the barn outside. He claimed he went up there for privacy, but it just meant that all of us flying orders were gifted a free show of his teeny weeny whenever we came in to land after exercising up there which was just freaking great.
“Ew, no,” I said, shifting away from him but his gaze zeroed in on us all the same.
“Oh, poor, sweet girls, are you in need of some help processing the trauma of there being yet another murdered body amongst the people who followed you here in hope of refuge?” he asked, opening his arms for a hug and I bristled at that suggestion.
“It’s not on us that there’s some psycho running about this place,” Darcy said angrily. “And no, we don’t want any help processing anything from you.”
Washer sighed and turned away to go offer his slippery hugs to some other Fae and I watched him sashay away with a shudder.
Darius and Orion started barking orders to everyone on how they wanted the search conducted and I offered to show Hamish where the body had been left.
Darius caught my wrist and tugged me close, kissing me hard and looking into my eyes. “Stay with Darcy and use your Phoenix fire on any asshole who so much as looks at you wrong.”
“I’m a big girl, Darius, I got this,” I assured him, and he narrowed his eyes at me before nodding sharply and turning away to start the hunt once more.
“You need the breakfast of queens before you head off on your gruesome quest, my ladies!” Geraldine cried, thrusting two plates of buttery bagels at us and I accepted mine with a word of thanks, my stomach rumbling after my run this morning.
The other Heirs and Geraldine headed after Darius and Orion, and Darcy moved to my side, giving my fingers a little squeeze as I headed back through the tunnels towards the body.
“Are you okay?” she asked as I took a bite out of my bagel.
“Yeah. Just a little freaked out that this thing is still roaming the tunnels and we haven’t caught it yet,” I replied as Hamish started muttering about all of the vengeful, fruit based punishments he planned on offering the scoundrel who had done this once he apprehended them.
I made it through my own bagel and Darcy offered me hers as she noticed me licking my fingers, claiming she was still full from her dinner, and I wasn’t gonna complain about free food so I gladly accepted it.
When we reached the room where the woman had been killed, we hung back, letting Hamish head inside to investigate and waiting as he cried out in horror at the sight of the butchered body.
“How are you feeling today?” I asked Darcy as we lingered in the corridor, unsure how to help any further now and wondering if we should go join the others on the hunt.