"And us?" she asks, daring to sound hopeful. "The spirit is gone, so there's no reason for you to stress over our safety. We're stronger as a group, Kane."
He sighs out heavily, weighing the variables that are probably rushing around in his head. He looks down to me, possibly expecting me to voice my opinion.
"The red moon is coming back," I mumble, knowing they expect him to watch after Amy.
"Fine," Kane grumbles. "The basement isn't set up. You guys will have to do that."
"That's not a problem," Sierra chirps.
"If Amy says one thing out of the way to Alyssa, I'll kick you both out," he growls.
Sierra stays quiet for a minute, measuring her next words carefully. "I'll talk to her. Ask your witch not to break any more bones in our wild girl."
I roll my eyes. She wants Kane to be with Amy so badly that it's almost nauseating.
"I'll tell Alyssa to do whatever she has to when your wild girl steps out of line."
He hangs up and tosses his phone to the side of the bed. He's starting to feel heavy, and I try to shift out from under him, but he traps me, pinning me down harder before his lips find mine again.
"She's nothing," he murmurs.
"I didn't say anything," I grouse, breaking free from the kiss.
"No, but you were thinking it."
I sigh, refusing to argue about something like this when I have so many other things to worry about.
"I love you," he murmurs softly when I don't respond. "I want eternity."
My heart almost stumbles, rapidly beating and scrambling to find a steady rhythm, but that's impossible right now.
"Eternity?" I ask, swallowing hard. I wasn't expecting this conversation.
He smiles, seeming to enjoy my noticeable panic attack.
"Eternity. I couldn't let you go then, and I can't let you go now."
He pulls up my left hand and intentionally kisses my ring finger. His eyes follow mine when I look to it. I feel his smile, though I refuse to look him in the eyes anymore.
"Scared of me again? I think your crush has gotten bigger, Alyssa," he teases, making my smile come up unbidden.
"I think this is a conversation for another time," I murmur, unsuccessful in trying to wipe away my ridiculously betraying grin.
"Is this about children?" he asks, suddenly looking a little sad. "Because bitten fey can't have children?"
"No," I sigh, though that thought has crossed my mind in the past. "Besides, even if you could have children, fey can't conceive a child from someone not within their own realm of magic."
He looks down, studying nothing in particular, as he murmurs, "But you and Gage could have a child."
I laugh, tiring of this nonsense.
"Gage and I aren't going to be together. Even if you weren't in the picture, I wouldn't be with him. There are plenty of fey orphans. One of my friends was adopted when he was an infant."
His smile returns as he looks back up to meet my eyes. "So you're considering eternity?"
I grin again, rolling my eyes at my own self. "I think we need to focus on the fact that I'm a secret monster in training first. Then we'll discuss eternity. You should be worried about what I could become."
He shakes his head, resuming his task of running his fingers through my hair.
"I'm not afraid, Alyssa. I'll bring you back every time you need me to. I'm tougher than you think," he says with a wink. "Besides, if you're like Freya, then you will be a leader, not a destroyer."
"Freya wasn't the only one of these unnamed creatures," I grumble, shifting out from under him finally when I find it hard to breathe.
He lets me, and he falls to my side.
"No, but the others were mindless, even savage. You're not. Dramatic, sure—but not mindless," he jokes, making light of the situation.
I laugh again, a genuine one this time. I don't know how he does it, but he makes any obstacle seem like a blip as opposed to a disaster.
His seriousness resumes as he continues, "Freya was revered as a goddess to some. Not unnamed like the monsters the others were. They couldn't control themselves. They didn't have anyone helping them because everyone was too scared. I'll help you."
My saving grace is a night stalker. If you had told me this a few months ago, I would have died from laughter. I've spent my whole life with a blindfold on, judging so many of the fey. Now, here I am, stuck in the dark place I don't want to be, and those I've judged are my allies as well as my jury. I just pray they never become my executioners.