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“If there’s even a grain of truth to this, we need to know more,” said Lux, his deep voice rumbling with concern. He leaned forward, elbows on his knees, the movement causing the couch to creak softly.
Stone sat forward, too, his jaw ticking as he ground his teeth, ever the anxious one. The sound was barely audible, but I’d heard itso many times before. “We need to confirm this. Fast.” His words were clipped and tense, but that was the Stone I knew well.
I sat back and crossed my ankle over my knee, trying to project an air of nonchalance even for myself. “How many times have we heard they’re really coming for us now?”
“We should still look into it.” Stone’s gaze snapped to me, the intensity in his eyes almost palpable.
“So look into it then,” I replied, taking a long swig of my beer. The bitter taste did little to wash away the unease settling in my stomach.
Lux scrolled through his phone, the blue light illuminating his face in the dimly lit room. He tapped a name and held up a finger to us. The soft beeping of the phone dialing seemed unnaturally loud in the sudden silence.
“Yeah, it’s Lux.” His voice was low and urgent. “Heard anything interesting lately?”
We all waited, the tension in the room thick enough to cut with a claw. I could hear the faint, tinny voice on the other end of the line but couldn’t make out the words.
“Yeah, that’s what we heard, too. So it’s true?” Lux sighed, the sound heavy with implications. “Brok? Never heard of him.” His eyebrows drew together, and his mouth turned down at the edges, deepening the worry lines on his face. “Please do. We need all the info we can get on this. Thanks, man.”
He hung up and looked at us, his expression grim. The silence that followed was deafening, broken only by the soft hum of the refrigerator in the kitchen and our collective breathing.
“That didn’t sound good,” said Cross, his deep voice rumbling like distant thunder in the quiet room.
Lux shook his head, his long fingers running through his hair in a gesture of frustration. “Zara’s info was true. There’s a new General.His name is Brok. Real stick up his ass about seraphim on the mortal plane. Seems to think Alpin was just letting us get away.”
I laughed, the sound sharp and sudden in the tense atmosphere. “They were pretty pathetic.”
All eyes snapped to me, a mix of disbelief and irritation in their gazes. I shrugged, the leather beneath me creaking softly with the movement.
“Anyway,” Lux continued, shooting me a look that could have curdled milk, “I’ve asked Mac to find out anything he can, so we’ll have to get him some goats.”
Stone groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Will he not take any other payment?” he asked, exasperation clear in his voice. “It’s such a pain in the ass. He lives here, too. Surely he can use cash.”
Lux shrugged, his shoulders rising and falling like a wave. “He likes goats.”
“What does he do with the goats?” asked Cross, curiosity etched on his face.
“You don’t want to know,” I confided, my tone deliberately ominous.
Zara’s face scrunched up, her nose wrinkling in disgust, while Cross raised an eyebrow, his expression a mix of intrigue and revulsion. “You’re right, I don’t,” he conceded, settling back into the couch with a soft thump.
“I’m not okay with it,” said Stone, his jaw set in a hard line.
I looked at him, taking in the tension in his shoulders, the way his fingers gripped his beer bottle a little too tightly. “While your exclusive goat-only empathy is beautiful,” I drawled, “frankly, I don’t care. We need Mac’s information, and Mac wants goats.”
“Shut the fuck up, Maverick,” Stone snapped, his words cutting through the air like a whip. “You don’t care about Mac’s info anyway.”
I paused, considering his words. The room seemed to hold its breath, waiting for my response. “That’s true,” I admitted, feeling the weight of the others’ stares. “I’m not worried. But I’m a team player, and everyone else here wants that info, so I’m merely relaying the message they’re too polite to say out loud.”
Stone huffed, the sound somewhere between concession and annoyance. Zara giggled, breaking some of the tension. Lux and Cross both looked exasperated at our antics, exchanging a long-suffering glance.
As I watched Stone’s irritation fade into the back of his mind, I was reminded once again of our bond. We were like blood brothers, always at each other’s throats but ready to lay down our lives for each other if it came down to it. The familiarity of our banter, even in this tense moment, was oddly comforting.
The room fell into a contemplative silence, broken only by the soft clink of beer bottles and the distant hooting of an owl in the forest depths outside. The weight of the situation settled over us like a heavy blanket, reminding us that despite our jokes and squabbles, a very real threat loomed on the horizon.
Cross leaned back and took a sip of beer, the leather of the couch creaking under his shift in weight. “Did Mac know anything about new plans or tactics?”
Lux shook his head, his expression grim. “Not yet. He’ll look into that. In the meantime, we have to lay low.” The room seemed to warm a few degrees as everyone’s eyes swiveled toward me, their gazes heavy with expectation.
I held my hands up, palms out, in a gesture of mock surrender. The silver bands on my fingers scattered pinpricks of light across the walls like a constellation of stars. “I have no plans other than to resume whatI was doing with that witch when I was so rudely interrupted for a rumor that honestly could have waited twelve to twenty-four hours.”
