A Meet of Tribes (A Shade of Vampire #45)(39)

“That was a hit below the belt, Jovi,” he jokingly berated me, but I’d already been put on the defensive, and I wasn’t done yet.

“You’ll live. You’re a big boy, after all,” I replied, and then turned my sights on Field with the most serious expression I could muster. “What about you, Field?”

I’d seen him stealing glances at Aida during our little back-and-forth and decided to address that, since he’d been so eager to poke fun at me for talking about Anjani and the effect she had on me. He froze and looked at me, reminding me of a kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

“What about me?”

“What’s up with you and my sister?” I asked, my tone heavy with a dash of warning.

Field blinked a couple of times, looked at Aida, then back at me. His face showed no emotion, but his irises flickered every time he saw her. He then shook his head, prompting a grin to bloom on my face.

“Nothing,” he replied, his voice carrying a slightly higher pitch than usual.

“You’re a terrible liar, you know that?” I shot back, close to bursting into laughter.

“No, I’m serious, I don’t, I can’t, I…” he paused and cleared his throat, trying to find his words. “I’m not interested in your sister, Jovi. I’m still…I’m still processing my breakup with Maura.”

A moment passed before I replied. Not that I had nothing to say, but I was fond of Field, and I knew he deserved to be with someone extraordinary. And as protective as I usually was of my sister, it did seem like the right time for both to get out of their comfort zones and explore the possibility. I wasn’t an idiot. I knew what those glances meant, even if they didn’t.

“Hm, that’s a shame,” I said, looking at my sister. “In that case, you’re definitely missing out.”

“What?”

“Aida’s an incredible woman. Any guy would be the luckiest creature in all the worlds to get her attention,” I replied, perfectly aware of the blank look on Field’s face. “I mean, she’s been head over heels for you for as long as I can remember. It’s a shame you don’t see her like that.”

I turned my head slowly to see his expression. I bit my cheek to stifle a smirk of sheer satisfaction.

Field looked stunned. He moved his gaze from me to Aida on the other side of the basement, and I could see his blue-green eyes flaring as she looked back at him. He immediately looked away, once again focused on my nonplussed self.

A minute passed. I could no longer hold it in, and neither could Phoenix. We both laughed hard, further adding to Field’s visible anguish.

“I can’t believe you didn’t know, Field,” I continued. “You are blind. You’ve been blind for the past ten years if you haven’t noticed something that we all knew. All of us.”

“I mean, I knew. It was that obvious,” Phoenix added with a chuckle.

Field looked at both Phoenix and me for a moment, then back at Aida. The girls were all the way across the room, and they’d only heard the laughter, not the context. Nevertheless, it was fun to watch the Hawk experiencing befuddlement.

He got off the bed, unable to take his eyes off my sister.

“I need to go. See you guys later,” he said, without even looking at Phoenix and me, and hurried up the basement stairs.

I laughed, shaking my head. I watched my sister and her best friends for a little while.

I had a feeling that those three would withstand anything together–their bond was strong, and they somehow complemented each other perfectly. Vita was the introvert, but Eritopia had managed to bring out a side of her that none of us had previously seen. Serena was the firecracker, the curious and inquisitive one; and Aida was the fighter, the girl who always felt like she had something to prove—more to herself than anyone else.

I liked their dynamic and, given our current circumstances, I felt like they could really come into their own and accomplish some extraordinary feats together.

Field, Phoenix, and I had a different yet similar rapport—where one faltered, the others pushed until we reached our goals.

Occasionally, we helped each other out in more ways than one. In this case, I’d decided to snap Field out of his emotional limbo; he clearly felt something for Aida, even if he didn’t know it yet, and there was no point in dragging it along without doing something about it.

Maybe it wouldn’t work out, but if he didn’t try he would hate himself for the rest of his life, and since Azazel and the destruction of everything we held dear loomed heavily above us, that life seemed shorter than ever.

“I can’t believe he didn’t see it,” Phoenix said, amusement lighting him up.

“I know, right?”





Vita





Aida, Serena, and I went for lunch once I felt steady enough to stand up. The Daughter was kind enough to get the wards to change the menu a bit again. It felt good to diversify our food. It changed the atmosphere around the house in a way, breaking the routine.

I then left the girls to their own devices and went out into the garden. The sky was painted in soft pinks and vibrant oranges when I sat down beneath the magnolia tree, once again facing the dark green jungle beyond the protective shield.

The air was relatively dry, and a warm southern wind swept over the tall grass. Birds sang in the trees, their trills bringing me a sense of comfort. I had always loved nature and its sounds. My connection with it transcended the material. It was emotional, and the elements spoke to my soul in the bird songs and rustling leaves. It was a conversation in a language that I had yet to understand.