Joanne stopped in a wide open room lined with shelves and drawers on all sides. She gestured to the far side and Freya strode over to a shelf full of the same rock we’d seen out front. I remained by the door, worried she would do something to close it and lock us in here. You could never be too careful. Even with nice, all-knowing grandma types who didn’t seem outwardly malicious.
“How much do you want for this stone?” Freya asked, turning around with one held in her hand.
It was the same shape as the other but smaller, and had more black than brown. She lifted it up in front of her face, observing it in the dim lamplight before nodding.
“A piece of silver will suffice. The stone isn’t overly rare or precious.”
Freya tossed her one. Nolan had given Freya instructions on where he kept his Zemterran currency so Freya could procure some for us, and we all had a small amount. I let Freya lead the way out, standing back with Joanne. “And for the other?” I asked in a low voice.
I was lucky Freya’s hearing was only human. If it had been any of the others, they would have heard me. Joanne smiled wryly. “Only a silver.”
Slipping one discreetly into her hand, I carried myself back down through the hallway to find Freya peering at the shelves of crystals on display. Most were gorgeous, but smaller than the ones we’d seen in the back room. Probably to deter theft. I didn’t want to know what happened to people who stole from this woman, which was why I’d been sure to pay her for what Ozzy was taking for us.
“If we weren’t in Zemterra, I would want to come back here,” Freya said, running the tips of her fingers along the edge of a wood shelf. “I need a new wand considering mine is half broken, and I’d prefer to craft it myself.”
“Come visit me on Earth when this is all done and over with,” Joanne suggested, keeping herself to the edges of the room, her posture non-threatening. “Once you’re certain I am who I say I am, there’s no harm in a trip here every once in a while.”
Freya glanced at me, purple eyes full of interest, but shook her head. “No, there’s no need to come here to get crystals and supplies. I’m much more comfortable on Earth.”
She wasn’t uncomfortable at all, but she could tell how much I hated this. My heart swelled, but I avoided eye contact. My mate shouldn’t have to avoid an entire realm only because I was uncomfortable. Maybe once we were in less danger overall, I’d be able to calm down enough to visit. Occasionally. Frequent visits would never be something I wanted to do.
“I can point you in the direction of something on Earth as well, of course,” Joanne said. Her smile was filled with pride. “Now run along. You’ve got plenty to do, and danger tends to wait around every corner.”
My back stiffened at the warning, taking it seriously, but Freya rolled her eyes. Holding Oswald’s hand, she headed out of the shop, and I was left to take up the back of our little group, fretting over every corner we turned.
I wasn’t pointlessly fretting for long, because as we turned the corner beside the brothel, Nolan nearly rammed right into a wide chest.
THIRTY-FOUR
Freya
“Danger tends to wait around every corner.”
Joanne’s words echoed through my head. I’d assumed it was a warning, but I hadn’t expected it to be quite so… literal.
The man Nolan had almost had a head-on collision with was large, bigger than anyone I’d ever met. He towered at approximately seven feet tall, shoulders wide and skin visibly tough. His nose was too big for his face and his teeth were uneven as he frowned down at us.
“Watch where you’re going, vamp,” he spat.
Literally, he spat along with the words. Saliva flew from his lips, narrowly missing our group. I stiffened, tempted as usual to begin a fight, but knew better. We didn’t know what kind of supernatural he was, and there was something off-putting about his scent. He was a Beta, but the scent was stronger than it should be. More… pungent.
“Ogre blood,”Oswald said in my mind.
He was poised to run, tense from head to toe, and his grip on my arm told me he was going to drag me with him if he did.
“I thought ogres were lumbering and less than sentient?”I asked.“How do they breed with other species?”
“It’s not something that’s done intentionally.”
He didn’t elaborate. As possibilities flashed through my mind, I decided it may be better if I didn’t know. Especially with the man in front of me right now.
“My apologies,” Nolan said with a tight laugh. He took a wide step to the side, and we all followed his lead. “I wasn’t paying attention. Enjoy your time at the brothel.”
Beginning to walk away, I kept my head down. The stranger took interest in me regardless, stepping between Nolan and Oswald before we could follow him. “This one smells good. She work here?”
“No, she doesn’t,” Emmett said.
He drew up, trying to make himself taller and more threatening like you would when facing off against certain wild animals. The same rules applied here, apparently. May the strongest win, and the weakest run. We would have been fine taking the position as the weakest and running if the man hadn’t noticed me.
