Page 17 of Shannon in Sombra
We left the window open slightly after the rainstorm. I didn’t bother closing it when I noticed as I was putting her down to nap. Now I’m glad I didn’t because, this way, if she wakes up, I’ll hear her and can go right to her.
My mate knows when he’s beat.
With a nod, he runs the side of his shadow claw against the edge of my jaw. “As you wish, my Shannon.”
CHAPTER8
GIRL TALK
SHANNON
Once Hope, Sierra, and Billie had walked out of Azazel’s healer hut, the three of them laughing and chatting, I flag them down.
Sierra waves. So does Hope. Billie, being Billie, just changes her path so that the three of them head over to my house instead of hers and Glaine’s.
It’s been at least two weeks since Billie’s been back to Nuit. I greet her with as much enthusiasm as I do the other two: by throwing my arms around them each, one after the other.
As soon as we get our greetings out of the way, Hope starts vibrating in place, her obvious excitement ready to spill out before she squeals, “Look, Shannon. It’s Whiskey Rose!”
Oh, boy.
I knew that Hope was a huge Whiskey Rose fan. I also knew that Dagon’s mate SierraisWhiskey Rose. I already had to listen to Kennedy gush about her first meeting when they came to Nuit, looking for Billie after Glaine basically stole her from Sierra’s apartment back in Manhattan.
I didn’t know that Hope and Sierra were acquainted, but you know what? I’m not surprised. With the exception of Susanna, Duke Haures’s mate that he keeps sequestered and hidden in the capital, all the rest of us eventually form bonds due to being a Sombra demon’s mate.
Considering Sierra doesn’t look annoyed at Hope, I figure one has sprung up between the two.
Instead, Sierra gives her an amused grin. “Hope. I thought we got past this.”
“I know.” Hope’s excited expression turns a touch sheepish. “And, I promise, I’m not like this when we’re back home. It’s just… I can’t believe I’m friends with Whiskey Rose!”
“Yeah. Actually… not gonna lie. I was kind of wondering about that. Did you two come here together or was it just luck that there’s five of us in Nuit together.”
Me. Kennedy. Billie. Sierra. Hope.
There’s never been so many of us at one time, and maybe I’m just being suspicious after the rain last night, but… I don’t know that seems kinda omen-ish.
Prophecy-ish.
Hm.
As Billie launches into a quick explanation how she actually arrange for the two to meet so that they could each rely on the other on Earth while the rest of us were in Sombra, I try to pay attention. It’s a good idea, I admit. Glaine, Billie’s mate, and Sammael, Hope’s mate, had worked together under Duke Haures for centuries. Since Billie decided to stay in the demon world, but Sierra had insisted on sticking it out on Earth a little longer, she might need someone who knew what she was going through.
So she had Glaine ask Sammael find Dagon so that Hope could become friends with Sierra. It obviously worked, even if poor Hope can’t shake some of the stars out of her eyes when she remembers that the woman with the gorgeous face, trademark braid, and slight belly bump starred in two movies recently while getting ready for her worldwide music tour.
Hell, I was a little shell-shocked the first time I met Sierra. I’ll admit, I’ve never been all that into pop. Even when I was younger, I was a total musical theatre kid instead. I knew who Whiskey Rose was, of course. I even knew she’d been in a girl group with two others before they broke up and she went solo.
Did I recognize that Billie was one of them? Or that the doppelseers’ feisty redheaded mate was another?
Nope.
Kennedy did. I bet Hope knows, too. Me? They’re just Sierra and Billie… even if there’s no better person to ask for the tea than a woman whose face is constantly plastered over the tabloids.
At Hope’s urging—while Billie rolls her eyes—Sierra launches into a story about how the famous playboy… and her infamous ex… Jared Turner found himself in a sticky situation involving a hot tub, a jar of honey, an Olympic skier, and her hockey-playing boyfriend.
She’s just winding it down, satisfaction in her voice as she says that he spent the last two months trying to erase his mugshot from the news, when Billie suddenly straightens.
Sierra’s former manager/forever best friend hates Jared Turner. Probably not as much as she doesherex that tried to capture Sierra at gunpoint, but it’s still a lot. I thought she’d be just as satisfied to hear that Turner was in legal hot water. And maybe he is, but she’s also distracted.
