Jonas (Darkness #7)(40)

I crinkled my eyebrows as I glanced over at him. “Yeah. Who else? By now you know how much I eff-up. I figure you’re the only one who won’t throttle me inside the first minute.”

“I have less patience than others.”

“Well, whatever. You’re family. And I think you have a better handle on how my magic works than others.”

“Yes.”

He fell silent again, staring out. The crinkle in my eyebrows got deeper. I didn’t say anything this time, though. The guy was grieving—he was allowed to be weird. We were all strung out and flipped around—I doubted anyone would be right for a while.

“I am honored that you call me family,” Toa said finally. “And once we are recuperated, we will attempt the link in a safe location. Thank you for bestowing such a deep level of trust for me. Excuse me.”

I must’ve looked like I was trying to solve a difficult riddle as I watched Toa stiffly walk away, because when Stefan appeared at my side, he said, “He acting weirder than normal?”

“Yeah. Way weird. I get the feeling that he’s half afraid of that magic merge… thing.”

Stefan glanced toward Toa as Ann trudged up to my other side.

“I think it’s hilarious that those guys took off running through an open field as if no one would chase them.” Ann pointed at another guy who’d made a run for it. About a hundred yards away, he quickly changed direction. Someone popped out of the cabbage and gave chase.

“The yin and yang of magic is a terrifying thing for people that know absolutely nothing of human magic.” Stefan watched the chase in progress. “They know the dangers of inverting, but not the result. We’ve been taught since we were little that inverting magic is a life-ending situation. Until you did it regularly, and then the rest of the humans, we didn’t realize the explosions and angry flora that result aren’t the disastrous situation we were led to believe.”

“So why is Toa freaking out?” I asked as I leaned against his arm.

“He has the potential to mess up as badly as you always do.” Ann ran her hands through her shock of blue hair.

“Yeah. He’s probably afraid you’ll say ‘I told you so’,” Charles added from behind us.

I sighed. “Let’s get home. I’m exhausted and I miss my babies.”

Stefan kissed me on the head and turned to lead the way when Ann said, “Can I ride with you guys? Tim got a shallow knife wound and you would think his arm was falling off. The man is such a baby with the small stuff.”

“What are we going to do with Emmy?” Charles wanted to know.

Jonas still had his arm around his new love-interest and was following the group’s movements at a small distance. I didn’t think it was because of the alone time, though. I had a feeling Emmy wasn’t comfortable being in the presence of Stefan and Charles. Maybe even Ann. I was too tired to force my sparkling wit on her just now, though. I’d have to wait until I got some sleep and some coffee.

“Let Jonas sort it out.” With a last glance at the crumbling building, we headed to our cars and what would hopefully be a stress-free few months to follow.

Chapter Twelve

“I’ve never been anywhere where things were so… lax.” Emmy huddled next to Jonas as everyone got out of the cars at the Mansion. From what the Boss said, they only had about half of their force returning right now. The rest were left behind to collect any that didn’t make it. With the amount of bodies strewn around, Jonas had every reason to believe it would be a black few months to follow as they mourned their lost.

At the moment, though, Jonas could barely keep his eyes opened. He hadn’t slept soundly since he’d been taken. On top of that, he’d battled. He was on empty.

“Sasha is a rare breed. She needs things to stay light and easy or she gets bogged down with the pressure. If she spends too much time in her head, she makes mistakes. She’s in charge, but it helps to often let her forget it.”

“And Stefan—the Boss?”

“It doesn’t help for anyone to forget that he’s in charge. Except Sasha. He bends whichever way she pushes him, generally. Lax around Sasha, alert around the Boss.”

Emmy shot her eyes to the ground as the Boss strode by with a nod to Jonas. Sasha trailed behind, pale and weary. She stopped briefly in front of Jonas and Emmy. To Emmy she said, “I’m full human. Totally, one-hundred percent human. I didn’t even know Stefan’s people existed. The humans wandering around here are the same. When we’re not treated equal, we kick someone in the balls. Well, the others do. I earned my place. I zap them with magic. Anyway, my point is, you will only be lesser as long as you think that of yourself. No one else will see that about you. Hell, you have half their blood—you’re one step above me. And Paulie has already led the way on that score. Plus, he got someone pregnant—but don’t talk to him about it, because he’s totally freaking out about it. He was determined never to have kids. He totally likes the girl, and he’s only ever with her now—they have an understanding, which she is apparently fine with her since he can give her babies—but she’s pressuring him to mate, and he—totally freaking out. Anyway, my point is, you will be like gold. People will be knocking on your door to try and get at your womb. It’s freaking weird, but there ya go.”