Fangs and Fennel (The Venom Trilogy #2)(45)

He nodded. “He says he understands my desire to get away from you, but he’s got other people looking to be on the ‘right side.’”

Although it was good to know where Theseus was, I wasn’t sure how it was going to help me. Tad leaned back in the chair. “You ready for dinner at Mom and Dad’s tonight?”

I groaned. “Damn. I forgot about that.” The fact that I’d even been invited had been a shock until I realized that it had been Dad making sure I was part of the family event.

“We have to decide what to do with this.” Dahlia held up the flask. “Can we just pour it out, down the sink?”

I frowned. “I don’t know.”

The front door clicked open, and the three of us froze. While I picked up a heartbeat, I didn’t immediately recognize it.

Yaya called out, “Darling granddaughter, are you baking?”

Relief swept through me. “When am I not, Yaya?”

She greeted Tad first with a pat on his cheek. A thought rolled through me like a wave of undulating coils. “Yaya, what are you doing up at this hour?” Hard to believe it was only the middle of the night, with all that had happened so far.

“I’m old, Lena Bean, and that means I do what I want. And I don’t sleep worth shit anymore.” She rubbed at her right hip. “What I wouldn’t give to be young again and free of this.”

She pointed at the flask. “What’s that?”

“Fennel oil. We were just going to pour it out.”

“Oh, gods, don’t do that! It has to be properly disposed of.” Yaya flapped her hands at Dahlia as she unscrewed the cap.

“How? Why?” I blurted out. “I rinsed it off me in the river, can’t I just pour it out there?”

Yaya lifted both eyebrows and closed her eyes. “No. It’s not really an oil, though they call it that. It’s imbued with power from the forge of Hephaestus. Which means it is a weapon designed for destruction. If you just pour it out . . . there’s no telling what it will do.”

Well, that was just awesome. “So what do I do with it?”

“Hide it.” She pointed at Dahlia. “Let your friend keep it safe while she sleeps.”

That was actually a good idea. “You okay with that, Dahlia?”

Dahlia swept past me with a nod, clutching the flask tight. She kissed Tad solidly on the mouth. “Keep an eye on her, I have to sleep. See you three at dinner tonight.” She held the silver flask up and I nodded.

“Thanks,” I said. “Wait, you’re going to be at dinner?”

They ignored my question.

Tad swatted her on the butt as she sashayed away. “I always keep an eye on her.”

The sounds of her footsteps faded as the sun rose behind me. “She was cutting it close,” I said.

“She loves you and wants to keep you safe,” Tad said as he took another muffin. “We all do.”

Yaya nodded. “He’s right, we’re all here for you.”

The statements were meant to be heartwarming, I’m sure. But all I could hear was that I wasn’t capable of taking care of myself. I frowned. “I’m going to go shower and sleep for a couple of hours.”

I walked away before Tad or Yaya could answer. I wasn’t really tired, though if I were still human, I knew I’d be falling asleep on my feet. There was something about danger that supercharged my ability to stay alert and functioning. That was probably a good thing, since some of the people closest to me were nighthawks. I’d noticed I could run on only a few hours of sleep each day or night and keep going.

Go me.

Up the stairs and into the bathroom, I did my best to ignore the pacing of Beth’s feet in her room. Sandy was quiet, either sitting or lying down by the rate of her heart. I flicked the shower on as hot as the water would go and stepped in with a gasp. I stayed in for a good ten minutes, letting the water run over my face, muffling the sounds outside of the bathroom.

Letting me believe for a few minutes that I was still normal. I snorted and sucked in a lungful of hot water, which sent me into a coughing fit.

I flicked the water off, grabbed a towel, and headed for my room. Beth and Sandy were no longer upstairs. I flopped into bed, set my alarm for three hours, all that was left of the night, and fell fast asleep.

The buzzing of the alarm went off what felt like seconds later. I jerked upright and checked the clock. Three hours shouldn’t have been enough, but I was alert. With a yawn and a stretch, I slid out of bed and dressed in a flowing short skirt and a beautiful lacy mauve top that skimmed the edge of my belly, giving glimpses of my skin here and there. I braided my hair down one side of my head and left the rest loose to hang past my shoulders.

And not once did I let my mind wander to all the problems.

Yeah, right.

I couldn’t stop wondering if, when night fell, Santos would be back.

If Beth would attack me or go back to Theseus. If we could mend our friendship.

When Aphrodite would make a full move, if she hadn’t already.

If Remo missed me at all.

I closed my eyes on that last one and knew it was the question I wanted the answer to more than any other.

I hurried downstairs. Tad was passed out on the couch, snoring loudly. Yaya was nowhere to be found, but a note said she was looking forward to dinner. I snorted to myself. No doubt she knew the poop show it was going to end up being. How could it not, with a Firstamentalist mother and her two Super Duper kids sitting down together?