“Unless someone were to let us borrow their sweet little Mini Cooper...” Susan adds.
The professor sighs and fishes out a set of keys from his cape’s inner pocket and hands them to the girl.
“And your credit card?” Katie chimes in. No wonder they like coming to visit this guy. “You know, in case we need... gas?”
“Progeny,” he mutters, rolling his eyes as he reaches for his wallet. He hands a black American Express card to Katie. “I’d better not see any charges from the Manolo Blahnik store this time,” he scolds.
“No, Professor,” the girls chime in unison. Though under Elizabeth’s breath I can swear I hear, “I prefer Jimmy Choo anyway.”
“Jayden, you want to come with us?” asks Susan. The three girls look at him hopefully.
He glances at me, then at the girls. “Um...”
“Now, girls, why don’t you let our guest get himself settled in before you try to abscond with him,” Professor Lucedio suggests, his voice leaving no room for argument. “He must be tired from his journey.” He shoots Jayden a meaningful look, and thankfully my friend nods in agreement.
“Oh, fine,” Elizabeth grumps. Then she winks at Jayden. “We’ll see you later!” she says saucily before she and her friends skip over to the detached five-car garage at the far end of the driveway and pull open one of its doors.
“Be back before sunrise!” Professor Lucedio calls after to them. Then he turns back to us, shaking his head. “Sorry about that,” he says. “They mean well. But they can be a bit much at times.”
“That’s one word for it,” I say, watching them peel out of the driveway at a thousand miles an hour. I hope their holiday is over soon and they pack up and head back to the Northern wastelands ASAP. ’Cause bunking with these bitches is so not going to be any fun.
I notice Jayden watching them go, a wistful expression on his face. Traitor.
A motor’s roar behind me brings my attention back to the present. I turn, just in time to see our stretch limo pull away from the curb.
“Magnus!” I cry, dashing after it. I can’t believe he just took off like that, without even saying good-bye. He must be more pissed than I thought. My heart pounds in my chest as I run after the vehicle, my lungs seizing with exhaust. But it doesn’t slow down, and soon I’m forced to stop, leaning over with my hands on my knees, trying to clear my throat. I feel a hand on my shoulder and whirl around, expecting it to be Jayden, come to comfort me. Instead, it’s the professor, looking down at me with a concerned expression.
“He’ll be fine,” he assures me, mistaking my heartbreak for worry. “He’s tough, that one. We fought side by side during the Werewolf Uprising of 1863. They called him the Biteproof Baron. Nothing could stop him from storming the wolves’ lairs and rescuing the humans they’d trapped within.”
I reluctantly allow the professor to lead me back to the house as I try to digest this new piece of Magnus’s history that I knew nothing about. It should make me feel proud inside—my boyfriend, defender of the helpless. But instead it just reminds me of how much I don’t know about him. Not to mention how many lifetimes he’s lived without needing me by his side. I’m just a ripple in his endless pond of existence. And if he grows displeased with me, I’m sure he’ll have no problem moving on, taking my crushed and broken heart along with him as he goes.
“Are you crying?” Jayden asks as we approach. “No!” I retort, angrily swiping my eyes with my sleeve. “I’ve got allergies, okay?”
“Oh. Right. Sorry.” He hangs his head and stares down at the ground, which only serves to make me more miserable. What am I doing, resenting him for talking to girls? He has every right to make friends. Or girlfriends. I had my chance to be with him. I chose Magnus instead. And now I need to learn to live with my decision and let him move on.
But as I catch a glistening tear caught in his black, sooty lashes, I realize that’s going to be easier said than done.
“Please, follow me inside,” Professor Lucedio instructs, clapping his hands in stiff-upper-lip fashion. “Rufus will bring your things to your rooms.” He starts up the imposing set of stone front steps, flanked by two gargoyles.
I give one last look down the now empty driveway, then reluctantly trudge up the steps, my legs feeling as if they’re made of lead. I still can’t believe Magnus didn’t even say good-bye...
8
About twenty minutes later, I find myself lying on a king-sized bed in a small bedroom, very similar to the one Magnus and I shared on our first trip here so long ago. (Okay, it was technically just last May, but with all that’s happened this year, it feels like a lifetime ago.) At the time I didn’t want to touch him— and he’d gallantly offered to sleep on the floor so as not to offend me. But instead, I let him stay, and while we both fell asleep apart, somehow, through the night, we unconsciously came together. I didn’t want to admit it at the time, but I was already falling fast for him.
What I wouldn’t give for another night like that now. Curled up against him, his strong arms wrapped around me, refusing to let go as we drift off to dreamland together without a care in the world. Instead I’m cold and alone and scared and he’s boarding a plane to go halfway around the world. And he didn’t even say good-bye.
I toss and turn in my bed. Will Magnus really keep his promise and make seeking out Jayden’s one hope a top priority? Or will he get caught up in Consortium business the moment he steps off the plane and, despite his best intentions, allow the quest for the Holy Grail to fall by the wayside? How long will I be stuck here, waiting, wondering? And why can’t I just trust him to do the right thing?