Blair squeezed my hand. “I owe you an apology for the things I said about War. Hoax and his army have killed more of our family than Hex13 ever did, so if we can give them grace, I can put my hatred aside. I just want to protect you all, that’s why I nitpick. Jinx and I decided to live in the forest—we’ve got our tree house up and ready.”
“Thank you, Blair. Your acceptance means a lot to me,” I replied, my voice thick with emotion.
“Them killing Lune was a wake-up call for us. We’ve been living with our real oppressors for too many years,” Blair said quietly.
At the mention of Lune, my heart clenched. Jinx shot Blair a look. “You weren’t supposed to tell her Lune is dead so soon. She just got her new heart, don’t ruin it!”
“I didn’t mean to,” Blair said, biting her lip.
“Lune is in paradise with her child. I saw what it looks like, so I’m sad for us, not for her. We can celebrate her transition to a better place,” I said.
Suddenly, the door burst open and Crash Out bopped in, arms full of carry-out bags. He grinned at me, flashing his gold tooth. “Look who’s back! Good to see you, Eboenia. I knew you were going to wake up, you’re more solid than Steel’s big terminator looking ass,” Crash Out said.
“Bro, fuck you!” Steel said from across the room.
Crash Out winked at Blair, making her blush. “What’s up, pretty?” he teased, blowing her a kiss.
“Blair, Crash Out is young,” Jinx whispered, shaking her head.
“He just turned nineteen and we’re not dating. He just says nice things to me and brings me treats,” Blair replied, rolling her eyes but smiling.
“Bro, did you get the mumbo sauce?” War called out.
“Fuck, I forgot!” Crash Out groaned, plopping the bags on the table.
“I don’t know why y’all send him out to D.C. He don’t remember shit,” Grim grumbled as he rifled through the bags.
“I remember where my dick at, muthafucka,” Crash Out replied.
“You’re a virgin, bro,” Grim said, and we snickered.
War squeezed Crash Out’s shoulder. “Ain’t nothing wrong with being a virgin. I was one for thousands of years before I got bamboozled by that succubus,” War said, referring to Clover.
“Damnnnnnn!” Everyone said in unison.
“Jinx, come here, sweetheart. You had an order of duck fried rice, right?” Grim called, waving her over.
Jinx walked over to Grim to grab her order from him. They were flirting heavily, purposely brushing their hands across each other’s. I joined them at the table, taking a seat next to War. He handed me a fried chicken wing and I ate the whole thing, bone included—I was starving.
“Y’all are too pretty to not have table manners,” Grim pointed out.
“So, what. You like it,” Jinx said, with duck sauce dripping from her lips.
The room buzzed with laughter, warmth, and the comfort of found family. Natural born enemies coming together as one was just a sign that we were never real enemies—we were supposed to be a family, and we found our way back to each other.
After the feast, War caught my hand and led me out of Grim’s tower. The others were still laughing and cracking jokes as we slipped away. War didn’t say much—he never did when he was in his element. We hoverboarded toward the forest.
“War, you better not drop me. You had too much to drink,” I said.
He wrapped his arms tighter around me, spinning us in lazy circles. “I should punish you for this,” I told him.
He licked my lips. “I can’t wait until you completely heal, so I can ruin your pussy again,” he threatened, and my nipples tightened in response.
“You can torture me now,” I challenged.
He palmed my ass and kissed me. “You don’t know what I’ll do to you when I’m gone off the Henny. It’ll give you a heart attack, send you back to those golden arched bridges in your heaven,” he slurred.
I moaned, pleading with my eyes for him to chain and dominate me.
